Electrical Burning Smell

[andy15star]

Did a silly thing tonight, had the radio up loud, pulled away on a slight incline in second gear and just about caught the engine screaming around 6000 RPM, immediately put clutch in and carried on as normal. Could smell a burning smell through the vents for a minute or so, put it in my garage and could smell it quite a lot when the car was at rest.

Let the engine cool down for half an hour and drove it a mile, no smells through the vents this time, but could still smell the burning smell when i lifted the bonnet up around the left side of the engine (right side as you look at the engine), although the smell didn't seem to be as strong this time.

Car drives fine, no warning lights came on at any time, no smoke from anywhere, and the scangauge i have fitted comes up with "no faults" to report.

Is it likely that the car should be okay as long as i don't ever repeat that ?, i'm presuming that the smell is just lingering a bit with the engine still being warm (as those electrical smells seem to do for a while!) ?

Best Regards,
Andy

 

[Elliot29]

Burnt clutch?

 

[andy15star]

Burnt clutch?

Could be right mate!, i did kind of "ride" the clutch a couple of seconds (not usually like me !)....... it's working as it should at the moment, so do u reckon i've just been lucky this time and should be okay?

Regards,
Andy

 

[Spurt]

sounds like the clutch was slipping. its not a nice smell and really strong. smells of **** i think lol. shouldnt have done to much damage to the clutch itself so dont worry too much, probs just shaved a couple of 100miles off it.

 

[andy15star]

lol cheers for the info Spurt!, yeah i thought the smell would have cleared after an hour but i think smells like those take a while to get rid of when it's parked up in an enclosed garage !.

I shall keep an eye on my driving in future instead of concentrating too hard on my tunes lol !!!!

Andy

 

[jc_boc]

Yeah, burnt clutches do stink like crazy. I would almost guarentee that is the case.

 

[andy15star]

And does that kinda tie up with it being on the right hand side of the engine ?, is the clutch bit down there on the right (as you look at the engine from the front) ? ...........(complete novice, excuse me being thick !)

Andy

 

[R22 JGB]

It sounds like you cooked the clutch, same smell as overheating the brakes. Once cooled it should be back to normal, but you will have shortened the life of the fiction plate and potentially may have caused damage to the pressure plate.
Don't be a Chav!!! drop the volume on the radio and only start in second gear if you are going downhill!!!

 

[Seatmann]

The clutch is on the passenger side right on the end of the engine inside the bell housing (big round bit) which sits between the engine and gearbox. Deffinitely sounds like a smelly crutch burn I mean clutch burn. Put the car into 5th gear at slow speed (20-30mph) and give it full throttle, if the revs suddenly go racing up without much speed increase then you're probably looking at a new clutch otherwise I wouldn't worry about it unless it happens again.

 

[andy15star]

Cheers guys, will give it a test as i'm on my way to work and let you know!. Did seem to drive normal last night.

Andy

 

[andy15star]

Just out of curiosity (and probably being WAY ahead of myself here) would the clutch be covered by the 3 year Seat warranty?, if not, how much would i have to pay if it ever did go? (there MUST be worse drivers than me who slip the clutch regularly, so they must be built to withstand a little abuse surely!)..... think i've been lucky this time (lesson learnt!), but just curious!

All the best,
Andy

 

[andy15star]

Right. Just drove the car to work. Couldn't smell anything in the garage before starting, started the car and drove off. No smell through the air vents or anything. No warnings on the dials. Drove at 25mph in fifth gear then floored the accelerator, revs didn't shoot up and car slowly increased speed as usual. All seems fine up to then.......

Got to work (2 miles drive), lifted the bonnet up and had a sniff around, i could still smell the burning (although not as bad).

So, question is, is it just the smell off last night lingering on a bit (bearing in mind the clutch operation was normal on the drive to work) ?

Fingers crossed it should be fine if i make sure i don't ride the clutch again !!


Andy

 

[FR_POWER]

Lol dont need worry about it. I did it to my old car before was all fine.

I think won't be cover under warranty, it's "wear and tear". Part + labour = expensive.

 

[nightflight]

I hope it'll be fine, should be though. i've burnt my clutch several times, usually trying to reverse out of a space at work up hill between a sodding passat (who can't judge the distance between their bonnet and the wall) and a wall.

Smells nasty as owt, though wierdly reminds me of sugarbeet picking season.

 

[andy15star]

Cheers guys!, hopefully shall be fine. Lesson learnt, don't pull away on a hill in second with ya radio up to 40 lol !

Andy

 

[nightflight]

Thought i'd reuse this thread as my cars developed a smelling habit of late.
Smells just like a burning clutch but it can't be?

When sitting on a hill, engine running, out of gear, handbrake on, feet well away from the pedals for any length of time a clutch burning smell seems to appear in the car and persist for some time.
I made sure this morning that the clutch pedal was fully up but still it smelt.

Any idea's what it might be?

 

[Rob-TSI]

I had a burning smell then I had a fault emmisons light on came back as damaged wire so I recon it burned on the exhaust

 

[R22 JGB]

Is it doing a DPF regeneration?

When my Ibiza Sport 1.6TDi CR does a regen, tickover rises to 1000RPM, it runs rough and smells very hot!

 

[nightflight]

I don't believe so, it's done many a regen and never smelt or only had a mild whiff of a slightly plasticy smell, this is full on burnt clutch.

Not sure if it's related or not but when doing the same thing once the engine is warmed up (does clutch smell when cold) the engine warning light (glow coil) flashes intermittantly, but only when facing uphill. once the car points downhill or level it stops.

Most peculiar, wandered if that might be a low oil warning? if the sensor was at the front of the sump, when uphill the oil level would appear to drop and trip the warning?
Though, it's never done it until recently and when i checked the other day (after it did it the first time) the oil level appeared full.

Got it booked in for the 10th November for now, provided it doesn't blow up between now and then!

 

[illustrious]

When I thrashed my K1 I've smelt a toxic stink when I've deposited back on the drive, despite ticking over for the obligatory moment or two to let the turbot cool down. Vile smell. Always felt sorry for her & looked back shamefully down the drive over my shoulder as if to say "I'm sorry." Then remembered how much fun it was! Heehee.