Electrical burning smell in 2004 Pontiac Sunfire

[Mark62]

Hi everyone,

My son's 2004 Sunfire has an electrical burning smell while driving.
The car behaves normally however the odor smells like burning insulation or electrical components overheating. The smell seems focused near a large aluminum heat sink mounted near the passenger side firewall under the hood. I can see two (2) larger electrical wiring harnesses plugged into this same assembly. If anyone can help troubleshoot please reply.

Thanks so much,
Mark62

 

[melsg5]

Pictures would help but wouldn't the best thing to do before something catches fire be to take it to a shop?

 

[Mark62]

That is the plan.
The car is parked till it travels to a shop.
What I see online is this vehicle had an unusually high number of odd/weird electrical problems.
Nothing yet exactly like we're seeing but still odd things that seldom have happened with all of the cars we've owned through the years.

 

[melsg5]

I had a 2003 and kept it till 2008 and never ran into an electrical issue. Only thing not related to normal maintenance was replacement of a camshaft actuator solenoid, about a 15 minute job. Good luck with the car.