none of my guages work...

no guages work....
Ok, first of all I go out to start the car this morning. Smoke starts coming from behind the dash. Shut it off, find out its the aftermarked temp guage ground wire. It got so hot it melted the insulation. I have had this guage for over a year no problems. So I take it off, and it was sparking when it touched some metal I wasnt careful with. Also for some reason when I hit the brake pedal, my radio and autometer tach stopped working, but started again when I let off the brake. Then everything went dead. No tach, radio, intrument cluster, electric radiator fans, even the back hatch motor. But it still starts and runs. Any ideas???
Chris
I was thinking a fusable link somewhere to the fuse box, but i dont remember where to look. its been a long day.

Could it be a bad ground instead?

Sounds like you lost a ground, grounding through the brake lights. Start by checking fuses for the lights and gauges. Then figure out where you lost the ground.

it would have to be a ground to the fuse box if I did. No power at all coming from it. Where is the ground for the fuse box, if there is one...