In the continuing saga of the mysterious smell and heat (see the
clogged catalytic converter thread if you're curious):
I have a 1990 300ZX 2+2 with 176K miles --- it has always been my
car and has received fairly decent maintenance and I have all service
records. Recently, I am smelling burning plastic and feeling extreme
heat coming from just behind the center console when I park in my
garage at night.
I thought this was just coincidence, but I will mention it because I
have no clue as to what is relevant: my clock has been erratic for a
long time but seems to have conked out and the CD player became
erratic about 6 months ago --- it would never play in the morning when
the car was cold but would always play at night on the drive home from
work --- it conked out a few months ago and I just figured it was old.
All other electrical things work to my knowledge (I have had a burned
out little light in my brake light bar on the hatch for a few months
and the indicator is lighting up on the dash), including my radio and
antenna. I did get a new battery a few months ago. I can think of no
other electrically related things to mention (I did disconnect one of
the crappy rear Bose speakers a couple of years ago since it was
buzzing like mad).
We just replaced a bad O2 sensor and the car does drive much
better but I am very concerned about this heat and smell --- I really
don't want an electrical fire.
The mechanic ran a computer check and said the only thing that
came up was the bad O2 sensor. Would that check have shown any
electrical problem?
Any clues?? Thanks. Brenda.
Brenda - 22 Sep 2004 23:35 GMT
Called the mechanic today and he assures me that it is very unlikely
that I have a wiring problem -- I mentioned the plastic bag stuck to
the bottom thing and he said to bring the car by and he'd put it on a
lift and we can look. I hope that turns out to be the culprit since
the car is driving incredibly well since we replaced the bad O2 sensor
--- a Z can be sooooooo much fun to drive!! Brenda.
Steve T - 23 Sep 2004 04:56 GMT
> Called the mechanic today and he assures me that it is very unlikely
> that I have a wiring problem -- I mentioned the plastic bag stuck to
> the bottom thing and he said to bring the car by and he'd put it on a
> lift and we can look.
Also have them look at the harness going to the transmission. Seen them
"fall down" into the exhaust and do this.

Signature
Steve
http://www.atlantaracing.com
Jon Smith - 23 Sep 2004 02:27 GMT
Check to see that your converter is not plugged up. When they start to
fail they get really hot and smell. You probably have problems up
stream like a leaky injector that is causing too much gas to get to the
converter. This will make the converter too hot and cause the melting
inside of the converter and making that burning smell. I did a 240SX
and the converter got so hot it melted the carpet under the seat to the
floor. The problem was the seat had electric controls that were wired
under the carpet. The wire melted to the floor and it shorted out the
sindows and seat. Well, there was a leaky injector that I checked by
performing a leak down check on the fuel rail and after correcting that
problem I took the car to the muffler shop and had the converter
replaced. Also, I replaced the wire under the seat and that fixed the
windows and seat.
> In the continuing saga of the mysterious smell and heat (see the
> clogged catalytic converter thread if you're curious):
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> electrical problem?
> Any clues?? Thanks. Brenda.
Me - 23 Sep 2004 18:04 GMT
> In the continuing saga of the mysterious smell and heat (see the
> clogged catalytic converter thread if you're curious):
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> electrical problem?
> Any clues?? Thanks. Brenda.
You should post this in the tech section at www.twinturbo.net. Lots of knowledgeable
people there.
Dustin
Brenda - 24 Sep 2004 11:48 GMT
I see the mechanic tomorrow morning (assuming we aren't hit by another
flipping hurricane). There is tremendous heat emanating from the
engine even after just a short drive --- when I drive just 15 minutes
and then park, when I get out of the car, I can feel the heat coming
off the engine. Much much too hot.
My question: how does a Z normally dissipate engine heat? Is
there a fan that is supposed to blow the heat away? How can I know if
the fan is working?
As always, thanks. Brenda.
aperez55@bellsouth.net - 17 Oct 2004 13:54 GMT
I got a 350Z last May and the same happens. It does get warm compared to
other vehicles. Just make sure there's enough coolant there and check the
temperature gauge. It should not go above halfway.
It's a high performance engine, they tend to warm up.
>I see the mechanic tomorrow morning (assuming we aren't hit by another
> flipping hurricane). There is tremendous heat emanating from the
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> the fan is working?
> As always, thanks. Brenda.