something grounded
>out and suddenly there was a cloud of black smoke. I sat there stunned, and
>then realized I had better put the fire out, or get the heck out of the van!
>Once I saw the flame, though, I wasn't worried. Only about 2 inches high - I
>blew it out...
>
>The wierd thing is that although the ground to the stereo was completely
>fried, I couldn't find anything positive in the area that it could have
>grounded to - the ignition was off, and investigating with a test light
>turned up nothing in the vicinity -

ALWAYS disconnect the battery. Takes a minute, but will prevent any mishaps.
Ken

Ken Bowen
kenb@sirius.com