handbrake cable fault

Morning all.The car is a 300tdi manual on a 94. After swapping my engine over week before last, i left the handbrake off, so it wouldn't stick. So come to use the handbrake, only to find it won't move(stuck down). I've now managed to pull the handbrake on but now its stuck. Here's where it get weird. The clear plastic coating that wraps around the metal cable, has melted, an so locking up against the outer plastic sheath. Questions lol.

1). does the 300tdi have an adjuster on the handbrake drum somewhere.
2). What the hell could of cause the cable to melt

being used as earth

Yup agree with 3.5 :flame:

Yes the adjuster is on the back plate and also the cable has an adjuster that can be found under the centre console.

You lucky that the heat and melting plastic didn't start a fire.

Sounds as though when you changed the engine you haven't put the earths back correctly.

Hi, sounds like the earth fault like mine, caused a fire, so take care. Remake the earth at the starter motor, and scrape clean the battery terminals clean, clean the negative terminal lead at the chassis end.
The good news is the cables are fairly cheap!!
dave

well had to cut the cable off, to get it to release the shoes. So got a new cable yesterday, not that cheap at £25 but thats all i could get at short notice. Din't see any adjuster on the crum however unless its the 15mm bolt on the blacking plate at the bottom????. Well make sense now, as i forgot to tighten the starter earth, giving the symptoms of a flat battery, and a burning smell lol. very lucky indeed.

very lucky indeed !!!!!!

are you trying to f**kin kill me, i was doing 80 down the motorway in that thing

small fault lol. now fixed. just need to replace the rear seal on the transferbox now