Getting smoke from dash & vents

[Gez89SHO]

For a while now, whenever I turned on the heat I would smell something burning for a few seconds, then the smell went away. I figured this was leaves in the squirrel cage, and didn't giv it much thought.
Well this morning when I turned the heat on, I got some smoke coming out of the vents, then it came out of the dash too, it kept coming out for a little bit after I tunred the heat off. What could this be, is it the switch (I have manual climate controls), or the blower motor? How much is the motor?
Oh, BTW: I got a new heater core (plus AC evaporator) installed 2yrs ago. I'm not saying it's not that, but I doubt it.

 

[projectSHO89]

Was it smoke from something getting toasted, or just a smoke-like vapor? Is the inside of your windshield now covered with a hard-to-remove film? Maybe a coolant leak in the heater box...

If it was smoke from an electrical malfunction, it should have left a sharp, acrid odor in its wake. If something actually toasted, what doesn't work now? Does your blower motor still work on all speeds? Maybe the resistor pack for the motor...

Any smoke from under the hood? It often gets sucked into the air intake for the ventilation system.

Steve

 

[Gez89SHO]

It was a thin white smoke, it doesn't really smell at all either. Didn't hear anything crackling either (good thing). Also, I looked under the hood, no smoke there.

This morning, when I had the heat on, I couldn't tell if the fan was running, so the motor may be the culprit.

I drove it again this afternoon, I had the heat off and it still gave off the smoke. This time it came mainly from the left side of the dash, coming around left vent & in general area around the fuse box. I pulled over & turned the engine off - that stopped the smoke after a while.
I removed fuse #9, which I think is for the fan,(book doesn't really specify) and drove off. Smoke appeared again after that.
Everything electrical still seems fine,it works but I'll be able to look it over this weekend. It's parked for now. I disconnected the battery just to be safe.

 

[X-15 SHO]

I'd say it's your heater core even though you aready replaced it 2 years ago. I've seen heater cores go out in these cars like nothing, I've just replaced one and had the same exact symptoms that your having. Just something to think about and I'm not saying it's your heater core for sure.

 

[projectSHO89]

Pressure test your cooling system. Sounds like you have a coolant leak either in the core or at the connecting hoses at the firewall.

Steve

 

[SHOZ123]

If the core is leaking there is a definate sweet taste to the air coming out of the vents. It is rather unmistakable.

 

[projectSHO89]

If there's no odor or any sticky film on the inside glass, it's probably condensation from a nearly frozen evaporator core. Pretty common in warm humid weather. Don't know if it can happen in winter in the frozen Great White North..

Steve

 

[ericwick19]

mostlikely your resisitor pack for your blowermotor.