Help Burning Smell From Vents !!

[Drooby]

as i drove home from a long day today i noticed a burning smell.
it was cold so i had the heater ON all day today.
first i thought it was a fire nearby (that how bad it was) bt then i realized it was coming from my vents .
i tried to troubleshoot but with no luck - there is virtually no smell in the engine compartment - and when i turned on the AC the smell went away .
On turning the AC off and just the fan ON - the smell cam eback

Any help is appreciatted

[Drooby]

One more thing - this "smell" was present even with the blower off and even with the circulation on .

i am having a hard time breathing after being insinde it for the last 30 minutes too.

[Drooby]

comeon can anyone help please

[CrimsonBrian]

I think your starting point would be to look at the micro air filter. I would bet that some dead leaves or some dry materials got sucked into the intakes by the windshield wipers and and is now smoldering somewhere around in there. I would also take the car to a car wash and vaccuum out all the leaves, if there are any, off the intakes near the windshield.

If you are unclear on where the air filter is, its behind the radio in the most colossally inaccessable area. I wont describe the process to get it out, you can do a search of the boards to find that or look in a Bentley manual. Good luck!

Brian

[andyman32]

Is any identifiable stuff coming out of the vents? Steam/condensation? Smoke? Or is it clear, and just smells like burning?

[Drooby]

Is any identifiable stuff coming out of the vents? Steam/condensation? Smoke? Or is it clear, and just smells like burning?

i changed the cabin filter myself about 4 months ago
there is no smoke coming out of the vents - just the smell
i noticed some leaves under the wipers but none were inside the grill under there .

also noticed that the smell is there EVEN WITH THE BLOWER FAN OFF .
just the slight air coming from the vents has a burning smell - i'm freaked it could be electric but i cant find anything electrical not working.

[rickm]

Change out the cabin filter....vacuum that area out well. Now get to the fans under where the wipers are. Lots of times crud can - and will - be in there. Vacuum it out. I think you can take the blades out, sniff around. You might have something, er, dead in there too (like I did). I wiped it all down with hot soapy water. Once it's all clean open up the hood, start up the car. Crank the heat on high, open all of the vents....then spray some Lysol are freshener into the fresh are intakes (near the wipers). Let it run for a bit, then shut it off. That helps on my car, I do that every 2 weeks.

[Drooby]

Change out the cabin filter....vacuum that area out well. Now get to the fans under where the wipers are. Lots of times crud can - and will - be in there. Vacuum it out. I think you can take the blades out, sniff around. You might have something, er, dead in there too (like I did). I wiped it all down with hot soapy water. Once it's all clean open up the hood, start up the car. Crank the heat on high, open all of the vents....then spray some Lysol are freshener into the fresh are intakes (near the wipers). Let it run for a bit, then shut it off. That helps on my car, I do that every 2 weeks.

thanks for the reply -
how do you get to where the fans are?
is it near the cabin filter?
one question that boggles me is - WHY DID THE SMELL STOP WHEN I TURNED ON THE AC TO COLD - AND CAME BACK AFTER I TURNED OFF THE AC?

i see from the replies that this isnt a serious problem - can the car be driven - or should i first make sure that by finding something in there ?

i didnt smell anything in the engine compartment or even under the windshields - it looks clean with a small flash light but of course i cant see well @ night under the street light

[andyman32]

Yes, I would guess the car is driveable. Unless you have a Check Engine light, some other computer code, overheating, smoke from the engine compartment, etc., it should be fine. The worst case is, you can't use your heat until you get it fixed.

[Drooby]

Yes, I would guess the car is driveable. Unless you have a Check Engine light, some other computer code, overheating, smoke from the engine compartment, etc., it should be fine. The worst case is, you can't use your heat until you get it fixed.

THANKS i'll post what i found
hopefully its just something in the filter

i looked up where the blower motor is in bently (turns out to be right under wipers in center of rear engine compartment ) i think i will also open this up and see if anything is in there)