Question Sweet odor from laptop fans & vent

[smellysneed201]

I own a Legion 5 gaming laptop and for a long time there's been a sweetish smell at the fans and vents. I've often opened it up and it didn't come from the battery but instead only from the fans and of course the vents. Maybe at the keyboard too. Using it on the couch or bed (with one of those tiny laptop desks) leaves the same unpleasant sweet odor everywhere. Only clue I have is a constant crackling near the power button, or the motherboard. Gets louder while playing, so might be coil whine, but isn't high-pitched.

I've RMA'd it 3x and they haven't fixed it. Last time around they replaced the thermal paste, fans, heatsink and the lower case. Once I received it back the smell was gone, but after only 1 week of usage it's reappeared.

I'm just curious about the cause. Can anyone here take a guess?

 

[BooTheFearless]

I've never heard of something like this before; very interesting. You're sure there's nothing in your home that could've gotten into the vents and is causing the smell? That's the only thing I can think of, especially considering that it smelled fine when it returned from the manufacturer.

 

[smellysneed201]

I've never heard of something like this before; very interesting. You're sure there's nothing in your home that could've gotten into the vents and is causing the smell? That's the only thing I can think of, especially considering that it smelled fine when it returned from the manufacturer.

Nothing really comes to mind. I tried using it in different locations around the home, and it's the same. The smell seems to come from the system, don't know how to explain it.
Could this crackling near the charging port/power button (overall at the mobo) have anything to do with it? It's my best guess