[JP101]

I have a 2005 Jeep Rubicon, 6-speed manual. It has approx 46k miles on it.

Today, as I was leaving work, my cabin started to fill with a light, white smoke, and smelled as it my parking break was on and burning up. The smoke was coming from all of my vents.

I pulled over and looked around my Jeep, and there was nothing that I could see. So, I got back in after it aired out, and continued home.

About 2 miles down the road, it started again.

My coolant level is fine. Could it be my antifreeze for my a/c? My initial thought was that it was either my e-break or my clutch, but that wouldn't explain why it was coming out of my vents.

 

[havasu]

If the smoke smelled sweet, I would guess your heater core has a leak. If it smelled like burning brakes, it's possible one of your brake calipers hung up, which is common. If so, replace them both along with turning your rotors and new brake pads. Just remember, the zerk brake bleeder goes to the top. Don't ask me and several hundred others why I added this.

 

[JP101]

If it were the breaks, would it come through the vents though? And it smelled like something burning, almost like I kept the emergency break on, so I don't believe it was the heater core...

 

[havasu]

I would do a quick cursory inspection of the front rotors. Look for good movement (with engine on) of the brake pads against the rotors, and look for any scorching on the rotors or pads unusually worn down. If they seem OK, I would move under the passenger side of the dash and look for any signs of leakage from the heater core. Lastly, which I believe is probably going to be your problem, is any fried wires under the dash and engine firewall. Inspect closely and also check your fuses for a popped fuse. I believe you may have developed a short in one of the wires which would give you the smoke you are describing. Do any of your lights or instruments fail to work, if so, this would point you in the right direction.

 

[aw12345]

First question would be what does the smoke smell like? Also any noises, pulling to left or right funny handling when you hit the brakes? Could simply be that the drain in the heater box is clogged and the ac filled it with condensation water.

got to narrow it down a bit, to get an anywhere near accurate answer

 

[JP101]

My A/C was cold when I put it on closer to my home, so I don't believe it was my antifreeze. No dummy lights are on, the engine is running great. The smell, again, was as if I was driving with my emergency break on. The first time I put my A/C on is when the white smoke started to come out. I pulled over and allowed my jeep to air out. A few minutes later, with the A/C off I continued on.

Then, when I turned it back on about a mile or so down the road, it happened again.

The third time, and closer to my home, I tried the A/C one more time. No smoke, and the air was cold.

--

I will have to rip open my dashboard for a quick inspection, but I'm not exactly a mechanic. If there's a problem, I'm not sure if I'll be able to see it :-/

 

[seadog]

Check the resistor pack and wiring harness for the blower motor. It sounds like you are drawing too much current and the wiring harness is overheating. As the fan motor goes out, it draws more current.

Passenger side mounted to the firewall.

 

[JP101]

I haven't checked anything inside my Jeep, because since that day, I haven't had any problems. Very strange.