Driving around yesterday (95, electronic HVAC control) got a weird smell. Nothing else really, everything on the HVAC panel working.

This morning drive to work, smell is strong, like burning leaves. I thought maybe some detritus had dropped through those screens on the cowl and was roasting somehow as I had the heat going. I don't know if that's possible, but I cleaned everything later and there was really nothing there.

I pulled over, idling, open hood and there's some smoke, grayish, coming from that cowl area on the passenger side, from under those screen covers. Get back in and there's a burst of smoke coming out of the vents. Turned around to drive back home, but then there was nothing else. The smell persisted but no other smoke.

Of course, now I have no fan at all though all the lights on the electronic HVAC work. No A/C either again, but not sure that's related.

I pulled all the fuses as described in the manual for troubleshooting, but it did not help. Took off the negative on the battery, but it didn't help either. Don't know why it would. All fuses intact.

Could something have burned up in that area in terms of the fan down in that area?

Heater/AC blower motor is gone.
About a 20 min job and around $35.00 for parts.

Joel

Which would have caused the smell, the smoke and of course, the lack of air movement? Finally, an easy cheap one? Parts available at the dealer only or parts store?

The relays on the passenger side have been known to fill the car with smoke when they go bad. I don't know if any of them are connected to the fan though.

There is this resister thingy... it's on top of the air box, with 6 really fat wires going to it.

My money is on that.

It looks like this:



It's expensive at Ecklers, but I am sure you can find it cheaper at NAPA or Superior Chevy.

Andy, I recently replaced that resistor with one from Superior Chevrolet(?), Chris(?) and it was around $105 or so?

I'll dig it back out to take a look. That will make the fan cut out?

It sure is hard to put that smoke back in where it came from once it comes out.

You could take the blower motor out and test it by hooking power and ground to it and see what it does. If it is good, test the relays, or just replace them if they are cheap enough. Save the expensive part replacements and tests for last.

I am with Dan - test everything.

But to answer your question, YES! The resistor can kill the fan. Normally, it will make it only run in high position. But if it has fried totally, it won't let anything pass...

Again, pull it out. If it's all black and charred, you have found it.

Will do and in terms of that smoke...I got most of it in a baggie!! Do I need to save it or can I get new smoke?

Is the fan removable from under the hood or inside the car?

Are the other relays in the same general area as the fan?

Once the smoke is release from an SED - Smoke Emitting Diode - it is free. It cannot be put back. Sorry.

Much like the NED - Noise Emitting Diode. It emits a loud noise once. Then its state changes and it become an SED.

Darn, oh well, I'll release the rest of the smoke.

Can I get one of those SED's for the kids???

Took out the fan. Hooked it up and nothing turning. Tried spinning it by hand and there's resistance on it. So I'm going to get another one.

On the resistor it looked ok, whew!

That resistor is sold by the dealer, but not by Ecklers, Zip or NAPA. They have something with some springs on it and different electrical connections. I have what looks like a heat sink, just like the picture Andy showed earlier. That one definitely isn't $19.95. Must be the difference between electronic and manual HVAC.

My kids are NED's by the definition above!

No, the mailman is not named Ned.