During a return from a 70 mile day trip yesterday our 2005 Crossfire had a burnt smell in the interior. My wife said there were some smoke and a burnt smell as she approached home. There was still the smell of burnt wire or resistor smell coming for the vents a few hours later when I came home. I took the vehicle for a drive and the smell was still there so I shut off the blower, opened the windows and the smell dissipated. Everything seems to be working and no smell with the blower off. The blower still works; any suggestions?

 

Take it and have it checked these cars have miles of wiring and computer components.That smell could be coming from the engine compartment or any where under the dash,, Once it gets to flames it's too late.

 

Does anyone know if the speed of the blower motor is controlled by a number of resistive coils like the old days? If so, they can collect gunk when cold and burn it off when used later and produce a "burnt" smell.

If not then this is meaningless.

 

Also, consider that all the air that comes into the car goes via the cabin filter so it will be worth looking at the condition of this. They are very cheap and easy to change. My car smelt fusty and kept misting up, but all was fixed after i replaced it, including improved air circulation.

If it was definately electrical, check all the relays and fuses under the hood and in the fuse box located in the end off the dashboard, this at drivers side on my uk spec car.

Good luck!
Steve

 

don't think I would risk it...you better start looking...especially if you have done any wiring yourself, such as radio, speakers, etc.....if not, start where you can see...and check all fuses, to see if something has blown you weren't aware of...good luck, these can be hard to find....but, burning the cross, isn't an option I would want...gives a new meaning to that statement...doesn't it...

 

This may sound kinda weird but you may also want to remove the air cleaner and check the valve cover gaskets. A similiar smell alerted me to a leak there. Have you played with any wires?

 

If it smells like rubber, check your A/C compressor. I had that burnt rubber smell in my cabin and found that the pulley on the compressor was frozen up, burning up my belt.

 

Nothing was added that I'm aware of, I bought it used, changed cabin air filter two months ago. I'm at work today, in church most of tomorrow, but Monday is a Holiday (MLK a federal holiday) for me and that's when I check fuses, relays, wiring and just look around hopefully it will be an easy find and fix. Thanks for the help, I'll post what I find out.

 

Dont forget to check for simple things like a plastic grocery bag stuck to the exhaust. Those things get blown everywhere.

 

And don't forget to keep a $20 fire extinguisher in your car. A wrench to remove your battery cable wouldn't be bad either. Why let it burn if it comes to that?

 

Checked under hood, no blown fuses, tested all switches - all seems to work well. blower works and a faint burnt smell is still there. My wife said smoke did come from the vents, but all seems to work well now. I guess need to find time to pull the blower, or take to a mechanic.

Just went back under the dashboard to see if I could get to the blower. Easy access to the blower-the cover is next to the cabin air filter. removed the cover all looks well just a lingering faint burnt smell. Looks easy to pull but will have to wait until next week.

 

ive got the exact same problem with my 05.. let me know if you figure anything out. mines going into the shop on the 16th so ill be sure to post back with any details i get.

 

Yep, definitely a wiring problem if I ever heard of one. Just out of curiosity, have you had any work on the car right before burnt smell started? If you had an oil change, I could say right there that maybe oil was spilled on the engine, but it clearly must not be that. I would definitely take it in and have is inspected. Keep us posted!

 

just heard back from the shop.. the mechanic said he found about 3 handfuls of oak leaves clogging the cabin filter! he cleaned it off and blew out the vents with air. the car is still in the shop but he says it doesnt smell anymore. i also had some clicking coming from the vents which has stopped as well- might have been a leaf iniside? but check it out man its worth a shot especially if you ever park outside under any oak trees. He said they have a funny way of getting into everything.

Good luck with it!

 

I had the same problem with smoke coming from the vents, about two months ago. I done the caps to the front speakers and had used the polarized ones. I had duct tape around them, cause I could find my electrical tape. I also had car fresheners that hook onto the vents. When the car filled up with smoke, I turned off the heater and radio, pulled off the little service doors for the speakers. I didn't turn on the radio for two months, but pulled off the tape and threw away the vent fresheners. I haven't had a problem since and have been listening to the stereo for a few weeks now. I haven't changed the cabin filter yet, so I will pull that out soon and check the outside vents for clogging. I had just assumed that the caps had gotten hot and started melting the tape, but most of the smoke had come from the passenger side behind the glove box. I am glad someone else has had this problem, so i don't feel like such a smuck for a crappy job on my speaker wires, lol.

 

It was a butterfly or moth that was caught in the blower brushes that burned up. Then one of its wings was trapped under one of the brushes that caused blower at operate erratic. Blew it out with an air compressor, all works fine for now.

Sorry for the three month delay, but I could not find time to work on it and th wife wasn't really complaining about it.

Mystery solved.

 

Today I replaced the blower resistor, after cleaning the bug out the blower worked well for a week. Then would change speed all by itself. Ordered from AutohausAZ for $106, order the one for a 2004 MB SLK 320-works great.

 

I dont think so, If the blower motor is on the canbus system, whatever module controls it can alter voltage similar to a PWM circuit