Narrative:

Certificated flight instructor and instrument student; were on an instrument training flight. After flying two instrument approaches to ZZZ1 airport; the crew asked approach for vectors to final for the RNAV (GPS) xxr approach into ZZZ airport.after approximately 1.4 hobbs (of 1.8 total); while on vectors at 3;000 feet inside the special flight rules area and just outside class bravo airspace; the pilot in the left seat noticed that the trim might have gone out. Very shortly thereafter; the GPS (garmin 430) pulsated and then went black; losing both communication radio and GPS instrument approach. The crew immediately contacted approach to notify them of the equipment lost and asked for vectors to ZZZ runway xxr. While being vectored; the crew noticed that the ammeter read zero amps. Then; the crew felt a pulsating pressure inside the cockpit similar to fluctuating pressurization. The crew reported a lost alternator to approach; so approach gave clearance to proceed at own navigation and altitude to ZZZ.after contacting tower; the communications became unusable. When the radio was garbled; the crew recycled the alternator switch. The GPS and communications cleared up for approximately 30 seconds before it pulsated and went black and smoke billowed out of the ammeter gauge. A small fire flared up covering the size of the ammeter and surrounding gauges. The crew immediately turned off the master switch and opened the left window vent to clear out the acrid electrical smoke.subsequently; tower cleared out the pattern to runway xxr; and the crew landed uneventfully to xxr. Upon clearing the runway; the aircrew used a hand-held transceiver to contact ground. Ground cleared the crew to taxi immediately to the east ramp via taxiway bravo.the crew shutdown the aircraft and pulled it into the next row's hangar section. Shutdown and post-inspection were normal.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-28 student reported an electrical failure and fire during flight. A landing at the destination field was normal.

Narrative: Certificated flight instructor and Instrument student; were on an instrument training flight. After flying two instrument approaches to ZZZ1 airport; the crew asked Approach for vectors to final for the RNAV (GPS) XXR approach into ZZZ Airport.After approximately 1.4 Hobbs (of 1.8 total); while on vectors at 3;000 feet inside the Special Flight Rules Area and just outside Class Bravo airspace; the pilot in the left seat noticed that the trim might have gone out. Very shortly thereafter; the GPS (Garmin 430) pulsated and then went black; losing both Communication radio and GPS instrument approach. The crew immediately contacted Approach to notify them of the equipment lost and asked for vectors to ZZZ Runway XXR. While being vectored; the crew noticed that the ammeter read zero amps. Then; the crew felt a pulsating pressure inside the cockpit similar to fluctuating pressurization. The crew reported a lost alternator to Approach; so Approach gave clearance to proceed at own navigation and altitude to ZZZ.After contacting Tower; the communications became unusable. When the radio was garbled; the crew recycled the alternator switch. The GPS and communications cleared up for approximately 30 seconds before it pulsated and went black and smoke billowed out of the ammeter gauge. A small fire flared up covering the size of the ammeter and surrounding gauges. The crew immediately turned off the Master Switch and opened the left window vent to clear out the acrid electrical smoke.Subsequently; Tower cleared out the pattern to Runway XXR; and the crew landed uneventfully to XXR. Upon clearing the runway; the aircrew used a hand-held transceiver to contact Ground. Ground cleared the crew to taxi immediately to the East ramp via taxiway bravo.The crew shutdown the aircraft and pulled it into the next row's hangar section. Shutdown and post-inspection were normal.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.