Strange Smell.

[Ziggy4]

Last week I noticed a strange smouldering plastic smell whilst stationary at some lights.

I drove off and the smell disappeared.

The next night on the way to work I smelt the same smell at the same place. Turned off the fan (no aircon on) and drove off and the smell dissipated. I told myself the smell must be coming from out side the car :roll:

Third occasion, I turned all ventilation off and checked under the bonnet upon arrival to see if my hooter could pick up on anything. No smell at all.

When it happened for the fourth time I began to worry, but left the fan blowing and opened the window to see if the fan was at fault.....the smell got stronger and I am sure after about 30 second or so I saw smoke come out of the drivers side of the bonnet!!!! At this point I just wanted the traffic to start so I could get some air flowing beneath the bonnet and get the car away from traffic.

I turned the fan off and stopped about 15mins later, popped the bonnet and no sign again!!!!

Where is the internal heating/aircon fan situated in the engine bay and is it belt driven? I have tried to locate it today but have been unsuccessful.

Anyone else experienced this?

 

[Redzedfour]

Had a very similar problem with my E46 coupe had the dealer have a look at it and it turned out to be a plastic bag had got caught up underneath and melted on to the exhaust, the smell eventually disappeared.
may just thought that but worth having looked at.

 

[Ziggy4]

Had a very similar problem with my E46 coupe had the dealer have a look at it and it turned out to be a plastic bag had got caught up underneath and melted on to the exhaust, the smell eventually disappeared.
may just thought that but worth having looked at.

Thanks for the quick reply :wink:

I pray for something simple with this car. I will check this out as soon as I get the balls to open my bonnet as I've just spent the last hour trying to close the bugger again. Bloody latch :x

 

[FloridaZ4]

A few things to check. Sometimes as the pressure builds, if you have a leaking seal or weak hose, oil can spill or drip onto the exhausts manifolds as you break and come to a stop. or power steering fluid can spray out of tiny cracks in hose as you turn. If it is small, by the time you open the hood or bonnet, it usually has burned off leaving you scratching your head. Clean and degrease the engine thoroughly, then look for any traces of fluid, dust and dirt that you know weren't there after the cleaning and you might catch it. Good luck.

 

[bcworkz]

Where is the internal heating/aircon fan situated in the engine bay and is it belt driven? I have tried to locate it today but have been unsuccessful.

The HVAC blower is in the passenger compartment and is electric. On non-Ms, the only belt driven devices are the alternator and the aircon compressor. The only other fan is for the engine cooling, as well as the aircon condenser. As Redzedfour and FloridaZ4 suggested, something is likely getting on the exhaust system, may be hard to find until it gets worse. A fair amount of smoke can be generated from a minuscule contaminant.

power steering fluid can spray out of tiny cracks in hose as you turn

You are of course correct in regards to pressure pushing oil through minuscule cracks, but most of us will never have leaking power steering fluid as all Z4s (except for ///M s) have electric power steering, no power steering fluid to be found anywhere.