[alex2112]

Hey all, I just made a service appointment for this but since I can't help but speculate I thought I'd post to get some input.

It started yesterday afternoon when I got into my car for the first time that day. The car had not been run since the night before and there has never been any smell before then. I started up the car as usual, and the initial burst of air from the vents smelled like something electrical was burning, like a fried circuit. It was pretty strong for about 5 seconds then it quickly dissipated. Within a minute of the car running it was gone (vent settings were on auto-recirculate). I drove for about 25 minutes to my place of work without ever smelling it again. I even sat stopped in traffic for awhile and I was playing with the vent settings (re-circ, outside air) to see if I would get a whiff of it again, no dice. After I got out of work last night, I got in the car, started it up and sure enough the first blast of air from the vents smelled like something was burnt. Again, it went away after less than a minute and did not return for the whole drive home. When I got home, I shut off the car, popped the hood and started to sniff around the engine bay to see if I could smell it, but nothing even close. After a few minutes in the engine bay, I thought that I should try to start the car and see if it came back. Still, there was no smell from the vents. Very bizarre.

So, from what I can gather so far is that it only occurs when the car is first started cold, as I have started the car after a few minutes after a drive and the smell is nowhere to be found. It also does not occur while driving, even while sitting in traffic idling. The smell seems to go away very quickly after starting the car cold. When the vents first start to blow air, it smells like a fried circuit, then it dissipates within a minute and never comes back until the car is started cold again. Also, I am not sure, but it seems to smell regardless of which re-cirulation setting is selected. I started the car last night and it was on auto and it smelled, then I hit re-circ and it still smelled but went away very fast as usual. So.... any ideas?

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I have no mods other than a K&N drop-in filter and a Remus muffler. Both have been on my car for quite a while and they do not smell. I also have a hardwired V1 detector that gets power from the fusebox. I installed it myself back the fall of 2007 following a DIY on this forum and I have had no issues. I did check the fusebox behind the glove compartment and there was no smell in there.

[WagonSquad]

I'm having that same problem but worse.. i leave my car sitting for a few days.. start it up.. and i get that burning smell.. and its strong like u notice it right away...at first i thought maybe my chip is finally acting up but no check engine lights or anything like that..and even when i start to drive it the smell is still there.. then after a while it goes away... and i go whereever i need to go and come back out and start it up..theres no smell.. so it only happens when i leave the car sitting for a few days... i'm about to uninstall my chip and take it in.. btw i've had my chip installed for more then a year now and never had that issue before.. it only recently started last month..

[alex2112]

Finally, someone else that experienced the same thing!

Since my original post, I've taken the car into the dealer for some scheduled maintenance and I mentioned the smell. I explained everything to the SA but I got the car back with them saying that they checked the engine bay and undercarriage as well as the HVAC system and they found nothing that could be causing the smell. Interestingly enough though, the smell has all but gone away now. Only once in a very great while do I get the smell when I start the car and it doesn't happen often enough to bother me anymore so I've just left it at that.

[akkando]

I seem to have this issue on cold start only like OP on my e90 m3. Blower motor and positive battery cable recall done. Any suggestions.