Overheating/Cooling Fans/Rubber Smell

segallis

I have had an intermittent problem the past few months. Occasionally I smell something like a faint burning rubber (no, it's not something on my exhaust). When this happens, I notice my water temp rises, and radiator fans remain off.

Normally the water temp is somewhere around 188F. When this issue occurs - usually while stopped at a light - the temp will rise pretty quickly to around 195F (it never normally runs that hot, even in traffic). BTW, this is measured via the OBDII port - the idiot light bar never budges (it sits at the 2nd LED below middle).

If I switch on the A/C, the radiator fans kick on and the temp quickly drops back down to around 188F, even while stopped. The smell also seems to fade.

While 195F may not be too hot, I haven't tried to see how high it will go, or if the fans would eventually kick on. I have run the self-test, and fan control operates as expected.

The smell is what has me curious. While 195F is not exceptionally high, it smells like there is a hose somewhere that is much hotter.

My thinking is that it is not a thermostat or water pump issue, since the forcing the fans on with the A/C quickly gets the temp back down to normal, so it seems like water is flowing through the radiator properly. Btw, instead of running the A/C to kick on the radiator fans, running the heater also will drop the temp.

Ideas?

Thanks,
-Greg