I am not sure where this post would go, but I figured here.

The car is a 1995 camaro Z28, Auto. All the options except traction control. (Sound system is the stock Bose sound.)

Now let me explain what has happened. I was putting the car away last September and on the drive home, I could smell something that was similar to a burning smell coming from the vent/headlight switch area. But the smell disappeared. I go home periodically where the car is stored and start it up and this smell continues to linger.

One time I noticed the headlight switch to be hot. But I have not seen this since (however it is -20*C some of the times when I start it). I have removed the fuse door on the side of the dash when you open your drivers door and can smell something in that area some of the times while I let the car run.

Has anyone ever experienced this? I am going to replace the headlight switch in the hopes that is the problem? Are there any wires that get hot in the dash if the car is run hard? The smell came after I was driving it at fairly high speeds (last trip in the car before I put it away). I need to solve this problem as I am moving about 1800 km, and I am going to drive out and do not want to have the car die on me.

I am also thinking about pulling that section of the dash out, and looking inside to see if I could spot a wire that has burnt or touched another wire.

Any thoughts?

 

the more I read similar threads, the more I think I may have found the solution.
I think its the heater motor on the way out. The more I think of the smell, the more I think burnt motor brushes, as I have smelt this in starters before. That makes the most sense, and the headlight switch getting hot was probably me just trying to think up all the possible reasons as I have never noticed this problem since. Or high heat from the vents that day just warmed everything up above normal temperatures...

But if anyone else has input, I would be up for looking into it, as I don't want my car to burn.

 

My headlight switch dimmer **** gets very hot, especially when the dash light are turned down dim. Maybe that's what you mean?

My Tahoe does the same thing, so it's normal. Must be a resistor in there to dim the dash lights.

Yes, the blower could do that. I didn't check the schematic, but I believe there is also a resistor pack to set the lower blower speeds. Those resistors get very hot, too. But they are not in the circuit at high blower speed. If the blower smells hot only on high speed, it's probably the motor. If it only smells on one or more of the lower speeds, maybe a bad resistor, or some debris on it. I'm to lazy to look up the location of the resistrors now, but they are generally in the duct that leads from the blower to the HVAC module in the car, and have several decent sized wires (12 ga?) going into a 4 or 5 pin connector.

Edit: I just looked for a pic online, but didn't find one. If the symptoms fit and you need to find the resistors, somebody will know where they are. Or I'll go check my car.

 

Oh yes, the resistor pack to slow the motor. I know what you mean. I have replaced them in other cars I have had (I thought they were a coil to slow down the flow of electricity). They usually burn out and you loose a particular speed, or several speeds though. But I will look at it. I am not home for another few days, but I will update.