Burning smell in engine compartment
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 39
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From: Novi MI
Burning smell in engine compartment
Last Sunday I took my corvette out and after a short spirited drive (I shifted from 2nd to 3rd doing 45-50 mph) I smelled an electrical burning smell coming from the engine. I thought maybe a clutch issue. (I have never had any issues with the clutch. Typically it is not driven hard.) When I got home and lifted the hood the engine seemed hot. I let it sit for a couple hours and when I restarted I could still smell that electrical burning smell. I waited a few days and took it for a ride around the block a couple of times an I could faintly smell the same smell. Yesterday I took it to a local car show and again faintly could smell the same burning electrical smell. Here is where I am puzzled and this is where my problem may be. When I got ready to leave the show my DIC showed low coolant. It had never came on the previous days. The instrument panel gauges never shower the car overheating at any time. When I got home and lifted the hood the coolant level in the surge tank was a 1/4" below the full/cold mark. Could this be my problem or a clutch issue? I would not think being a 1/4" below the full/cold mark would cause the engine to run that hot. The car is a 98 with less than 25k. I am worried that I may have caused engine damage. Any help/suggestions would be grateful.
