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I’ve got a 2018 3.5 4x4 screw. A few days ago I noticed that when I start my truck, there’s a slight burning plasticy smell coming from the HVAC. It doesn’t last long, but it worries me. I turned the truck on this morning and opened the hood to smell around. Nothing on the driver side, front, or around the battery. The smell seems to be radiating from the fuse box. I took the cover off the fuse box, and nothing feels hot but the smell did get stronger. I’m gonna try and look it over with an infrared thermometer later this afternoon if I can find one.
Let us know what you find with the IR thermometer. If there are no hot spots you can try removing fuses one at a time and see if the smell comes back. I'd remove a fuse, let the truck sit a few hours, and then start it and see if you sense the burning smell. Good luck.
What if you start the truck with the HVAC turned off? Do you still get the smell?
I can't conceive of a way for burning/melting plastic in the fuse panel to get into the HVAC vent unless it got sucked up the intake while in recirculate mode.
You could use an temp sensor but I'd suggest pulling each relay in the fuse panel and checking the terminals for arcing. There may be melting of the area where the relay plugs in.