Funny electrical/burning smell under the hood?

mel321

I am reaching out to anyone who has driven or has knowledge about 2006 Hyundai Tucson GL 2.0L I4. I recently(January 2015) purchased this vehicle used with 40,000 miles on it. This is my first vehicle that I actually bought having payments and did a ton of research. After test driving it, I noticed a funny sound and rubbing feeling so I told them they needed to fix what it was, and then I would buy it. It turned out that they would have to replace the sway bar end links, upper strut mounts, and pull the sub frame to have all 4 sub frame mounts replaced. Now it drives great. After my last oil change I noticed that after driving long distances and then putting it in park I could smell a sort of burnt electrical smell. There has never been any smoke or leaks, just this funny "not right" smell. When I went back for my next oil change I informed the dealer of the smell and the possible areas that I know could make that smell (alternator, belts, transmission). Having several older used vehicles has kept me knowledgeable about what makes certain smells and issues. The guy came back and told me that everything was fine, and that he could not figure out where the smell would come from. Then told me that he doesn't really have the knowledge about Hyundai to really know. I have put 6,000 miles on it since I bought it, and maybe I am just smelling parts getting more use then the previous driver put on it. I am just looking for any direction to help me understand where/why I would smell this smell before a problem stops me from driving this vehicle.

93tracker5spd

Hello! I won't pretend to know what is causing this smell without having seen the vehicle and smelling it myself. However, I do have some logical steps that might put your mind at ease about it. First, I would look closely at the battery cables, see if the insulation close to the terminals is soft after driving long distance, if not, clean and inspect all chassis and frame grounds that you can find. right after stopping from a long drive after dark raise your hood with the engine idle and look in the dark for any ark around plugs or plug wires. Using your sense of smell only in the dark try to pin point the spot where the smell is strongest. And finally could it be the new parts that were installed in the front end and sub frame? They are rubber or rubber neoprene. Good luck with this issue, and please, when you have solved it, keep us informed.

mel321

It seemed to be the battery connections. The battery was building corrosion around the connections and it did not have a date of when it was put in. So when we replaced the battery the smell seemed to disappear. Thank you for you help and thought with this problem.