burning parking brake cable

[MikeyB351]

earlier today, my wife was driving and smoke started coming out from under the console, when the console was lifted, the brake cable had just burned away, all the gauges went crazy, the battery is dead, and the rear brakes seized. Anyone know what might have caused this???

Mike
2000 V6 coupe

(it's not a 4.6, but I know it's not engine related, and i'm hoping someone here might know)

 

[GTvert01]

earlier today, my wife was driving and smoke started coming out from under the console, when the console was lifted, the brake cable had just burned away, all the gauges went crazy, the battery is dead, and the rear brakes seized. Anyone know what might have caused this???

Mike
2000 V6 coupe

(it's not a 4.6, but I know it's not engine related, and i'm hoping someone here might know)

Holy hellIs the car completely stock?Sounds like you had some sort of electrical short, but it's just a guess.Can you post some pics?

 

[2k2fourpointsix]

Back when I had my 93 5.0 I had a smilar problem. The bracket that held the e-brake cable in place broke free from the car which caused the e-brake cable to rub against the driveshaft. Luckily I head this and fixed it before it got bad. I suppose if the same thing happened on your car, and it was rubbing a long time before you noticed it, it could have worn right through the e-brake cable causing the smoke and if it the cable broke, it would cause the rear brakes to engage, thus explaining why you back brakes are siezed. That is my guess. Maybe the ABS sensors caused the electrical problems?