I packed my trunk and drove on an 8 hour trip (fairly non-stop) at highway speeds between 65-80 mph. No issues but occasionally I smelt electronics -- like something electrical was overheating...like a burnt wire smell. I didn't realize it was coming from my car at first since I was in a crowded manufacturing area. After getting home I realized that the rear trunk vent under the hatch was blocked quite a bit so I'm wondering if I prevented sufficient air flow to a critical area. What is the purpose of the air vent and what does it do.

Afterwards I took the car on a test ride for an hour or so and tried all the electronics and everything seems to function properly. The odor seemed to have dissipated too but I may have partially damaged something even though I see no issues yet.

Any thoughts?? Thanks

 

Those holes in the rear trunk liner allow air to flow through the car, this air exits the car through baffled vents in each rear wheel well. It also saves your eardrums when a door is slammed with you inside the car.
Without the trunk liners fitted the rubber fingers of the baffles make the sound of dried leaves blowing around in your trunk.
I guess your local rodents could get in the car through those vents as well.

I killed one mouse in the garage yesterday, My cat killed one in the basement last week, she let another escape as she played with it. I let her have it to kill but that was not what happened, she waits in the basement for hours. No dead bodies so she either loses them or lets them go and thinks of them as toys. Whatever, traps will be set in the basement tomorrow. My last cat and I killed about ten the year before last, when my cat killed hers she laid them out like in a funeral parlour, all unmarked not a scratch on them. She knew what to do even at the ripe old age of twenty.

 

Thanks,
I did recall the baffles in the rear but I thought maybe there was a component attached to the sheet metal assembly in the rear.

I'll have to see if maybe a heated seat was left on with something left under it.

 

Were the heated seats turned on for your drive?
The seat heating pad can get really warm and darken the foam around them. The seat heating element is located just below the leather seat cover and on top of the foam. Leaving something under the seat would not cause this problem.

Did you have look under the hood when the odour was most noticeable?
lots of electronics located in passenger footwell too.

you’ve referenced “trunk” are you driving a roadster or coupe

 

It is s 2004 coupe. It is not the seats and the smell seems most noticeable in the rear. I cannot smell it in the engine bay. It appears to come and go. I went under the vehicle and checked everything and there are no wires or cables touching and everything is clean underneath. The seats were all off and there is nothing under them that would even burn or melt. So the smell is either an electrical component or wire (connection) or possibly the alternator. Even though the smell is more towards the rear and inside I'm not ruling it out.

Really hard to tell what it is since nothing is failing. I am going to monitor the voltage just to see if it is within range while driving. It could even be the aftermarket radio that was installed years ago....

Is there an external voltage regulator or is it built into the alternator??

Thanks

 

Built in.

 

It bolts on to the rear face of the exterior of the alternator.

 

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Once, while driving, I ran over a blowing plastic bag (and) it got caught on the exhaust pipe. It stunk like something electrical burning. Took quite a while to get that stuff burned off (too late to get all of it off before most of it melted into the metal pipe). Have you looked for something wedged around the exhaust pipe?


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I drove it up on my ramps and checked from the engine all the way to the tailpipes. Almost looks like new still...nothing touching or burned on the pipes and clearance all around the pipes and mufflers. Even the engine bay is clean. It's cleaner than my newer cars.

I did see a small wet spot on the drivers output differential shaft seal. Not leaking yet and no dripping on the pipe or ground ,,, hopefully it stays that way. Other than that the car is squeaky clean. I am leaning towards alternator/regulator or electronics in passenger footwell area. May open it up and see if anything looks burned.