Help with smoke and no power

Hey guys,
I have a second integra that I was going to work on but found myself not having much time because of school.

Finally, I got some time to work on it and changed the alternator belt because the car didnt seem to get enough power. Everything was dim, windows had a hard time rolling up and the seat belts wouldnt go all the way back. After I changed the belt I still had those electrical problems, but the engine runs great.

I took it for a spin and had it running in a parking lot for a while and noticed some smoke coming out of the gauge cluster area, so I turned it off and looked around but found nothing. After a while I went to try to start it and nothing, not even a crank. I cant even roll up my windows. I checked all of my fuses and they are fine. help me please.

Sounds like a short somewhere. I would probably start by pulling the gauge cluster and looking for burnt wires back there since thats where the smoke was coming from.

Ditto the above^^^.

I would also inspect, [remove, clean and reconnect] all the main power and grounds.

Start by removing the batt. so you can access the batt. to chassis ground, disconnect it, clean it and the mounting surface then reattach it, [even if it looks good], do the same with the chassis to engine ground, [all the same cable], while batt. is out have it checked, if OK make sure it is fully charged, then reinstall the batt., cleaning both the batt. posts and the cable clamps, do not connect batt. neg.(-) yet.

Move on to the power connections, start by disconnecting the batt. lead from the starter motor, clean both the cable lug and the stud on the starter motor, reconnect making sure connection is “snug” be CAREFULL not to turn the stud when tightening the nut, do the same for the alt, “charge” lead.
Disconnect both the alt. and batt. connections at the engine bay fuse/relay box, along with the main fuses, [all fuses held in place with Philips screws, again clean all contact surfaces and reattach, making sure screws are tight.

All the above is to eliminate those things as the problem and can’t hurt on a car that is

Before connecting neg.(-) terminal on batt. pull the cluster, smoke means something was burning, you will need to find that problem and fix it before you reconnect the batt., it may be nothing more then a burnt wire now but could at the least turn into a dash harness replacement or worst burn your car to the ground.

One more thing, check all your fuses and make sure they are the correct size, nothing can cause more damage to a car then having a 25A fuse where a 10A should be. 94

Thanks for the help guys. I took out the gauge cluster and checked all the wires and even under the steering wheel. I will try your suggestions fcm on monday. I have a big test on monday and need all of sunday to study. I just think it is weird that I have no power to my windows. It sucks because the windows arent rolled up.