Chemical burning smell Topic is solved

Post by **jtp** » 15 Jan 2018, 10:01

Upwind of the capitol, more in the Baltimore orbit. I am in a DC congressional district though thanks to the wonders of gerrymandering

Post by **oragex** » 15 Jan 2018, 10:05

Oh, how about the exhaust just grabbed one of those grocery plastic bags floating on the road? You know you are not lucky when it happens

Post by **scot850** » 15 Jan 2018, 10:33

As you have a 99 car have the B+ cable from the +ve battery terminal cable (it is usually about 3-4 red wired twisted together), runs under the battery tray and along the LHS plastic wire cover and up to the kidney shaped main fuse box infront of the brake booster. Then remove the top of that fuse box and check the termination of the wire. It enters the front of the box and had a bras colored nut holding it in place. If this nut and wire end are discolored or matte colored, you need to check the wire under where it mounts. The wore melts and shorts out and can set the car on fire at worst case. Mine was totally melted and could easily have shorted to the ground plate in there. It is a known problem with later P80's and seems to affect 99-00 much more than the earlier 98 and older but is not exclusive.

Neil.

Post by **jtp** » 15 Jan 2018, 10:59

scot850 wrote: ↑15 Jan 2018, 10:33 As you have a 99 car have the B+ cable from the +ve battery terminal cable (it is usually about 3-4 red wired twisted together), runs under the battery tray and along the LHS plastic wire cover and up to the kidney shaped main fuse box infront of the brake booster. Then remove the top of that fuse box and check the termination of the wire. It enters the front of the box and had a bras colored nut holding it in place. If this nut and wire end are discolored or matte colored, you need to check the wire under where it mounts. The wore melts and shorts out and can set the car on fire at worst case. Mine was totally melted and could easily have shorted to the ground plate in there. It is a known problem with later P80's and seems to affect 99-00 much more than the earlier 98 and older but is not exclusive.

Neil.

Thanks Neil, I know the wire youre talking about and just took a look at it. Its in such good shape I wouldnt be suprised if its not original to the car.

I hope this ends up being something like melting plastic on the exhaust, seems electrical the more I think about it or an intermittent pulley locking up. The smell goes away immediately when the care is turned off.

Post by **scot850** » 15 Jan 2018, 11:51

That does sound like something is touching something hot somewhere, and again hopefully it is the plastic bag thing...!

: B+ Cable fuse box end

Above is what my B+ cable was like. Initially I thought it was fine until I was able to lift it after disconnecting it at the fuse box. I'm sure you have checked it well but don't be fooled by first impressions.

Good luck finding the source.

Do also check that no wire at the back of the engine has fallen down onto the muffler or manifold.

Neil.

Post by **jtp** » 15 Jan 2018, 17:14

Ran the car in the shop for a while, no smell, everything looked good. Hopefully it was something on the exhaust that got burned off on my drive in this AM.

First time I noticed it last night was after like a 5 minute drive so it shouldn’t have been hard to duplicate if it was an ongoing issue.

We’ll see...

Post by **jtp** » 16 Jan 2018, 06:54

Stuck on the side of the highway waiting for a tow truck. Pretty sure it’s my rear left caliper.

Car start vibrating slightly at 70mph so Inslowed down and checked my tire pressure app. It does temp too. Rear left sensor was 30-40 degrees warmer than the others.

Post by **abscate** » 16 Jan 2018, 07:47

Crap on rye. At least it isnt too bad a fix, if you caught it before rotor scoring.

Think about doing both rotors with loaded calipers -might not be much more expensive than one rotor and rear brake pads.

And do flush your complete brake system with new fluid, of course.

Post by **scot850** » 16 Jan 2018, 08:19

Hopefully the rear rotors are available. 2000 are obsolete, but I think 99 used the same as regular wagons or XC's.

Neil.

Post by **jtp** » 16 Jan 2018, 08:33

abscate wrote: ↑16 Jan 2018, 07:47 Crap on rye. At least it isnt too bad a fix, if you caught it before rotor scoring.

Think about doing both rotors with loaded calipers -might not be much more expensive than one rotor and rear brake pads.

And do flush your complete brake system with new fluid, of course.

Ya definitely gonna get the rear brakes knocked out, you guys know who stocks loaded calipers?

Chemical burning smell Topic is solved

Re: Chemical burning smell