Smoke coming out of my vents, burnt up fan?

Hey all, it's been a really long time since posting here, but I've recently had an issue with what I think is my fan motor for the heating/cooling system. During the course of a day, my fan blew less and less air out of the vents until I started to notice a burning smell. I thought it was coming from the outside, so I hit the button for recycling the cabin air, and that's when I noticed the smell get stronger and saw thin smoke coming out of my vents. After shutting the fan off, and opening the windows, the smell dissipated, but a week later I can still smell hints of it. Once the smoke came out and I shut the fan off, it obviously won't turn back on.

I can tell my heat still works, but not sure if my AC still works since the fan won't run. What do you guys suggest I do to make sure it's just the fan? Where is the fan located so I can pull it out and check it? Has anyone else had this issue or have any idea of the cost for a replacement fan/motor?

Thanks!

hmmm... that's a tricky one.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to working on cars. I can change oil, headlights, and refill the washer fluid. Anything else and I need help.

No I'm serious, I have no idea what's making this happen...

Maybe start from the top, have you done anything to your car lately?

Run your car unitil it smokes (not advised). But when it does pull over and pop your hood to see if u can spot where the smoke is coming from. Even though u close the vents it is possible for smoke to get in. I've only had smoke come through my vents a few times. Happens when I spin the tires excessivley. And once when I popped my motor. If ever smoke comes through your vents. Pull over and pop your hood to check if you can see anything.

Finaldo said:

I noticed the smell get stronger and saw thin smoke coming out of my vents.

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Ugh.

Most likely either the fan itself or the fan resistor. The fan resistor is easiest to check as it is underneath the glove box. Remove the glovebox ( just open it, squeeze in at the top, and tilt it out.) Near where the passenger's feet go there is a little door, remove that. Behind it you will find an electrical cable plugged into something about the size of a pack of cards sideways. Unplug the cable, remove the thing it was plugged into, that's the resistor pack. If it was smoking, it will probably look burned. The resistor part is flat and sticks out into the air flow, I think so the circulation will cool it. As long as you have it out look around in the space it used to occupy for other signs of ignition.

pasadena_commut said:

Most likely either the fan itself or the fan resistor.

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Where is the fan located at? If it turns out that it's not the resistor, it'd be nice to know where to look next.

I had been hearing a rattling from my vents for a while, long enough that I don't know when it started, but I wonder if something happened to a bearing in the fan and it eventually bound up and smoked...

I haven't done any recent mods to the car, it's basically a daily driver with Kartboy shifter bushings and an AEM cold air intake, but those were installed about 2 years ago. Probably just normal wear and tear on the fan, since I have it running the AC or heat almost all the time -- I rarely have my windows down.

Finaldo said:

Where is the fan located at?

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Look in the "3rd Gen Workshop Manual" sticky in this forum, it has a link to the repair manual.