I have a 1991 maxima gxe 3.0 automatic trans with the VG engine, one day i go to start my car to park it my driveway for the night and it would only crank over but no start, after giving it a couple of tries i noticed smoke coming from my engine compartment, when i raised the hood to see what the hell was going on i saw the smoke coming from around the trans gear selector cable, the next morning i go and try it again, and again i see smoke after looking and feeling and getting burnt, the selector cable bracket was very very hot, got so hot that it actually melted the insulation around the selector cable, I've tried checking for shorted wiring or anything that could of caused this and could not find a problem.
Has anybody run into this type of problem or heard of this that might be able to help me out? Any help will very much appreciated.

SORRY FOR THE LONG STORY IN ADVANCE.

 

You have a bad ground connection to the engine and frame and battery. It is trying to ground, poorly, through that cable.