Hi all, back to pick your brain again. having about 3 different problems that i think might be related..but not sure

the first is i still have a high pitched noise i cannot explain. coming from what sounds like the vents of the HVAC system..maybe?

also i am getting the smell of burning plastic out of the vents. it seems to only happen when i idle like its picking up something that is burning when the air isnt moving. it is mostly noticeable on the far left vent

3rd problem is left headlight. the motor is acting up...but very odd. so they both open normally. but when i go to close them, they both go down, and then the left light comes up, only halfway. and sits there. now when i go to turn the lights on again, the left light goes back down, then they both come up together like normal. i turn off, left side all the way down, then up halfway.

also it doesnt always happen. first thing in the morning they will both close properly. it seems to happen once the engine is warmed up? when the coolant is over 150 it seems to happen, cold it doesnt seem to happen.

also the noise seems to happen at night most, and rarely if even in the morning...maybe because i only use lights at night? same with smell...


any thoughts or ideas would be great. i want to take it to a mechanic, but i would like to have some idea what is going on when i take it in... it seems so bizarre these 3 items.

please help!!!

thank you!!!

 

Regarding the smell, I was going to ask if you ran over any plastic bags lately, but then you mentioned night time ...

I got nothing.

 

i actually thought that was the cause. my gf noticed some plastic in my main fan (that sits aft of the radiator) that might have been causing problems but i cleaned out the fan and looked at the radiator and air intake and didnt see anything that looks like plastic or that was burning.

is it possible its something in the fan? i know on my c4 the fan only kicked in at higher engine temps, are there fans on the c5 that only kick in at a certain temp? usually at night my car is hot, because it has been driven in the day and i notice its usually in the 220 range when i drive at night. but 190 range during day

thanks for the idea!

 

Well, fer grins, I Google'd "burning smell headlights," and it seems to be common across all makes and models.

The best response on cartalk suggested the headlight switch or the switch wiring.

Have fun. There were 412,000 hits.

I suspect the noise is unrelated.

 

damn! so many hits. has anyone run across this problem in the past?? is there a way to test the the switches or wiring??

any idea why it would only happen with the engine hot?

 

also its not throwing any codes...which i find odd. i feel like with all these items something should come up...

 

Is it possible that the burning plastic smell and the noise from the vents are the HVAC fan going bad?

 

There is a TSB to fix those symptoms that calls for shimming the driver's side motor. You can play with some washers until you get it right, or you can get a set from Rodney Dickman for $2.75 here.

You might need these as well (the rubber bump stops).