Electrical fire/ why to use fuses!

[Basement_Modder]

So I was driving home this evening, and I unplugged the USB charger from my cigarette lighter port so I could use the lighter. It wasn't coming out very nicely, so I had to twist and yank it. In doing this, the positive and negative terminals on the back crossed (this is an aftermarket replacement socket as the OEM one was missing when I bought the car.) I saw the socket start glowing, and I immediately pulled into a gas station, shut it off, jumped out, popped the hood, and ripped off the wires at the battery end. I had wired the lighter socket straight to the battery.Going back towards the (smoky) cabin, I saw flame flicker under the dash. I quickly ripped out the shifter console (it wasn't bolted in) and yanked the flaming wires out, shaking them until the fire went away. Other than a smoky smell, there was no damage to the vehicle. I got lucky.

Don't be an idiot like me! USE FUSES!

[Damkid]

Wow that could have been much worse

[jfd64]

Good advise,thanks for sharing your story