light smoke from dash 91 lesabre

[jeffrich12]

As wife was driving home from work today, she said a light white smoke was coming from the dash! I got in and didn't smell any "electrical burn" smell (but she smokes). We took the car around the block and sure enough, a light white smoke was occasionally "floating" up from somewhere above the ac/heat control panel and below the speedometer. And I COULD smell electrical burn at that point. It wasn't a heavy smell. Just light, like the smoke itself. I couldn't even pin point the exact location of the smoke.

Wife is now scared to drive the car. Also, she said the defroster heats up just fine, but when switching to floor, it blows but the air isn't warm.

Any help from anyone? I've searched the forums and haven't found anything even close to this!

Thanks!!!

[LeSabre97mint]

Jeff

Is every thing stock in your car? Factory radio? Remote starter? If you smell electrical smoke I wouldn't drive the car until you find the problem! My broither has a parts car that (around 91) that had a fire under the dash.

I would either pull the dash apart and see where the smoke is coming from or have it TOWED to the repair shop. I would also pull the NEG battery cable.

Regards
Dan

[jeffrich12]

Yes, everything is stock. No mods whatsoever.

Now, how hard is it to pull the dash??? Any help here.

Btw, thanks for the quick response!!

[LeSabre97mint]

Jeff

When I pull a dash apart I take a look at what screws hold what. Pull the screws out that I think I need to pull, try to remove the item, check for other fasteners and go from there.

If you've never pulled a dash apart it can be difficult. I'd check a book out from the lib.

Regards

Dan

[jeffrich12]

Will try to pull the dash ASAP. But anyone have any kind of similar problem? Diagnosis?? Thanks again!!

[gbeeley]

A small capacitor in the radio in my '91 went bad a while back, and it was on the power amp side (left side of the radio, next to the A/C controls). It didn't smoke, but it sure made a mess on the circuit board, and I know capacitors can release a little bit of smoke if they go bad. Main symptom in my case though was some static-like noise from the speakers. But that would not explain your heater problem.

Does yours have fancy electronic A/C controls in it? (not sure if they made those for that particular year). If so maybe a malfunction there would explain the heater problem...

BTW, if your '91 has the same trim inside as mine, a quick tip on radio/AC trim removal - the black rectangular trim around the A/C controls comes off first (pry it off *gently*), revealing four screws. Remove those and the larger trim piece around the radio and A/C controls will come off easily. It is really easy to break tabs and things pulling the trim pieces off...

[jeffrich12]

UPDATE:
I bought the "online" manual from alldata.com ($25 bucks per vehicle). Very good info though. Had a diagram of how to remove the dash. Which I did. There was a little burn residue on the top of the A/C Heater controls when I pulled it out. Reconnected the battery. Started the car and sure enough, smoke from the control unit. Called the local Buick dealer, he said the part was discontinued but we found one online. I ordered it. But just got an email saying they didn't have it and couldn't get it. So I guess I'm gonna have to try the junkyards around here. The online manual was VERY helpful though. Has all the wiring diagrams, repair procedure and technical bulletins for the vehicle. LeSabre97mint - is your brother's parts car a 89-91? And is the A.C. Heater control module intact? If so, I may need to talk to him!

[jeffrich12]

FINAL UPDATE: Found one in a junkyard here. No problem replacing it. Worked fine when I installed it. Hardest part was getting the "dash cover" to refit. About 2 hours to pull apart. Less than 10 minutes to diagnose. 20 minutes to find and pull the part from junkyard. 35 minutes to install and put everything back. In hindsight, I didn't need to pull the dash. Heat/A.C. Control is replacable without doing that. But wanted to be sure I was finding the correct source of the smoke. Now workin on diagnosing the heater problem. Hot air to defrost, but when switched to Heat setting, still blows hot and fast from defrost vents, but not floor vents. I think it's a vacuum problem. Thanks for all the help!