Smell of burning rubber when car is running??? HELP PLEASE

[unc1334]

I know this sounds odd, but hear me out please. The other day I moved my car into the garage to clean the inside or whatever cause I wanted it clean before I went out that night.

So later that evening I get in and the car wont start. The air came on and so did the radio, but it wouldn't turn over. I figured it was the battery so I had to jump it. Yesterday I take it to the shop and they test my battery and say it has plenty of energy in it so now I'm confused. The car has been running fine the past 24 hours, but today on the way to school I had the heater up to 85 and about ten minutes into the ride I smell a strong burning scent. I got out of the car and opened the hood expecting to see smoke, but everything was fine. It was a strong odor though,and my sister described it as a " burning hair" smell.

I live in Atlanta and the gets down to about 30 at night, and I do park outside. I often make short trips, and Ive heard on this site that J's hate short rides. Anyone take a guess at what it is. Is this a tell tale sign that I need a new timing belt due to the smell? Any help is appreciated.

EDIT*** After another day of driving, I noticed I only really can smell it when the car is stopped after at running time of at least 5 minutes. This is probably due to the fact that when I'm driving the air is being circulated so quick that I don't smell it, but when I come to a stop, the smell literally is identical to that of a blown out candle or match. Any ideas...?
Modified by unc1334 at 2:24 PM 2/13/2007

[Ebbtide]

If it did not turn over and the jump worked the battery was just low. Maybe you left some lights on while cleaning it and once it started the battery got recharged. If the battery runs low again that might be a different story. If everything is running fine now it sounds like you should be okay. The smell may be wire insulation, a belt, or outside air entering the cabin. Hard to tell.

It's been below zero here for the last month and I just let it warm up for no more than 2-3 minutes before I go. 30 sounds like a heat wave

Good Luck, Ebb

[unc1334]

Thanks for your reply. The smell isn't constant, but it was strong enough for me to kind of worry. I might stop by the shop tomorrow and see if maybe a fluid is low.

[driverdriver]

Did you inadvertantly run over something rubbery or plasticky and its stuck to your underside, on a part which heats up? I did that one time. I had a plastic bag stuck to my exhaust. Smelled burnt plastic wiring inside every once in awhile. Checked my underside throughly, removed the plastic bag and the smell was gone.