Why Does My Car Heater Smell Burnt? 4 Best Reasons!

Do you know why does my car heater smell burnt? Well, if not yet, then you come to the right place because we’re here to help you out. Worn-out fuse, damaged AC compressor, stuck brakes, a broken belt, and leaking fuel are the common reasons for this problem.

However, there are some other plausible causes, and it’s critical to figure out what was going on as quickly and efficiently as possible so that you can correct the problem. 

why does my car heater smell burnt

And that is why we created this article to guide you over the most likely reasons for a burning odor in your automobile. Since one fact is certain; if your car emits a burning stench, you have to find out what’s causing it and address it as soon as possible. If you want to learn more, keep reading at the end; let’s get started!

 

Why Does Your Car Heater Smell Burnt? 

We know that you’re curious about learning why does my car heater smell burnt. Tit’s very important to find out all the possible causes of this problem; we have listed below all these causes, it could be something you’ll have to figure out what’s wrong and save you some money at the repair.

 

#1. Electrical parts & fuse burning

It’s probably burning electronic parts if your car stinks like it’s burning.  One of the prevalent reasons for a burning odor in your car’s cabin is a malfunctioning air conditioning system. Electricity gives off heat, but most of that heat is trapped in the cabling and other parts. However, whenever a short occurs in the design, all heat is trapped in one location. Electrical shorts can chew away plastics and other parts within your vehicle, causing a burning odor. It’s also possible that it’ll be incredibly harmful. If a more combustible part comes into contact with the short, this will burn, and the short would reheat, potentially damaging the adjacent wire.

 

#2. Faulty AC compressor

When you switch on the air conditioning, does your car smell like it was on ignition? If that’s the case, a defective A/C compressor is likely to be the source of the issue. The A/C compressor in a car is belt-driven, but if you notice difficulties inside, it could cause a burning odor in two ways. To begin with, the whole A/C compressor might become jammed. As a result, whenever it contacts, it has the potential to grasp the belt, leading it to flare up and tear down. This would not only quickly deteriorate over time your drive belt, but it would also emit a burning odor.

The usual issue is that the A/C compressor can turn even with an internal fault. The compressor will turn on, the belt will turn, and the broken parts within the compressor will begin to spin. This causes a lot of friction, which causes heat to build up, and it begins to burn. Here are the 6 signs AC compressor is faulty.

 

#3. Stuck & broken belt

A damaged or blocked serpentine or auxiliary belt is yet another typical fault that generates a burning smell within your automobile. This would have a strong odor of burning rubber, and it’ll be a significant issue. A jammed pulley or attachment, as well as a tangled or broken belt, can all cause this difficulty. Furthermore, if your car’s belt is fully damaged, there will probably be a burning odor. Since your car’s cooling system relies on a water pump, which is belt-driven, this is the case. The engine will overheat if the serpentine belt isn’t operating correctly!

 

#4.  Improper driving technique & stuck brakes

Your car’s brakes could be smoking for various reasons, but none are significant. Let us just begin with the engine malfunction, a set of jammed brakes. This might be service brakes or the parking brake if they’re not discharging correctly, causing a lot of friction and overheating. The brakes can burst into flames if exposed to plenty of heat, resulting in a loss of acceleration and braking! 

However, only because the brakes are smoking doesn’t necessarily indicate a technical issue. You may have kept the parking brake activated unintentionally, or you may be driving in an unsafe manner. This can occur in one of two ways. You may be driving having your feet on the brake, for starters. Many inexperienced drivers do something like this; however, they can rapidly burn if you constantly ride your brakes, they can rapidly burn.

The next issue arises when driving through particularly hilly slopes. Many drivers may ride the brake when descending a steep hill, leading them to burn. Although this is much more typical in bigger cars – which is why high steep hills have breakaway ramps for trucks – any car may overheat its brakes if it brakes hard and long sufficiently down any incline!

 

It’s A Wrap!

We hope that reading this article is just fun for you and after reading it, you all will understand why does my car heater smell burnt. Above, we have discussed the most common reasons for this issue; by fixing them, you can get rid of this burning odor. Thank you, friends, for being with us at the end!

You may want to read related articles; know how to fix heater in car and why does my car heater not work.

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