Wiring loom incident
I was driving home from town, and as I turned a roundabout, smoke started to come up around the steering wheel! It was unmistakably electrical, and nowhere to stop. I cancelled the indicators in case they were the source, came out of the roundabout and swerved onto the verge to park. The smoke had stopped, and I dropped the steering access panel off to look. A wire had melted badly to one of the ignition switch connectors so I unplugged it. As far as I could see this was the one which had shorted to earth somewhere on or near the steering. The only thing not working was the radio, and I (nervously) carried on home, ready to shut her down and bail out if need be.
Ah well, I had intended looking at the speedo, which got erratic in the cold, and the demist system which was pretty feeble, very little air coming up. I took out the glove box, radio and steering column (5 screws and the stalk plugs) and then the two dash screws near the door hinges. I had to pull out the dash bottom near the driver's lower door hinge as it wouldn't lift over the instruments otherwise. It has a slot in the edge just popped over a bobbin on the door pillar. Pull towards the rear of the car. I couldn't get the dash totally out as the bonnet release seems permanently crimped to the cable and I didn't fancy unthreading it all. If you DO disconnect it, make sure you disable the bonnet catch or there is no way to open the bonnet again....
Some cables will need disconnecting as the dash comes away, mine were things like heater controls, door switches and the little switch panel for the foglights, demist and the alarm LED. The dash was also glued centre top with what looked like half a bottle of superglue which had dribbled down the heater casing as well. I put my hand in the radio slot and was able to prise this off without damage to the plastic.
Here is what I found in the loom:
I couldn't find the other end of this wire, so started dismembering the loom and unwrapped the black tape.
There was a momentary panic as I pulled on the wiring and
started off another smoke incident 
When
my barbecued fingers had cooled I took the hint and disconnected the battery,
which of course I should have done hours ago - DOH!
Anyway, I soon found the red wires are un-fused at this point, and most go to a single thick wire straight to the battery. Inside the loom. Which is why I couldn't find the other end. The only badly damaged wires looked to be the original red one, plus a short section of black 0v ground wire. The black wires do the same splitting trick inside the loom.
I did the same with the damaged red wire, which was much longer, and the frayed bit of the radio wire. I also put an inline fuse at that end for the radio feed!
When it came to securing the loom again, I didn't like what it was resting against:
This completed the loom repair, though I did spend time on other jobs, like this little one -
Plus the demist mystery and the shaky speedometer, but they are another story, and another page.
The loom repair was successful, everything works, no smoke 
Addenda:
The dash top edge where you can see the superglue waterfall needed some glue. I tried some household sealant but it didn't grip and popped up again, perhaps too slow to set? Anyway, a small dose of Gorilla Glue has held it in place since.
The dash moulding also rested on top of the speedo glazing, and had been rubbing. The plastic glazing had cracked a little also either from pressure or impact. I filed the clear plastic edge down somewhat, glued it carefully with some flex-type superglue (let it dry well ventilated before refitting the speedo itself to avoid "bloom" on the glazing) and ran a small bead of sealant on the top to reduce fretting inside the dash.
Aixam