Sometimes I will get out of my car (while it's still running) and I will smell a faint tinge of burning candle wax.

Another time I launched the car around a right turn in the snow, think I feathered the clutch to slow and that was the first and only time I smelled it strong and inside the cabin of the car.

A buddy said that's the smell of your clutch burning. Mechanics don't know what I'm talking about because a clutch should smell disgusting like burning brakes. This smelled nice and waxy like someone lit a candle.

No clue what it might be, I hadn't waxed the car before this because it was the middle of winter.

It's a 2005 R50, no crazy mods, just short ram intake, magnaflow cat back exhaust. I've googled it, searched on here, nothing makes sense, so any guesses, no matter how absurd, would be appreciated.

If anyone knows what burning coolant, ps fluid, or anything else that might leak and burn off and smell like wax, please chime in.

 

Polyethylene plastic would smell like candle wax, when it's melting or burning.

Dave

 

Where should I be looking for melted/burning polyethylene plastic?

I doubt there's a plastic bag stuck in my engine bay for 2 years without me noticing.

 

Just did another google search, and a yahoo answers page had someone saying that electrical wire's insulation would smell like burning wax.

So what component would pull enough power to melt a wire? And why only sometimes?

 

I'd look for an oil drip onto something hot like the exhaust system. Synthetic oil might not smell the same as conventional oil when it burns.

 

Did not know synthetic could smell good. My entire oil pan gasket is leaking. And then some.

But under heavy acceleration, like when I hit 6,000 rpm, I smell a distinct burning oil smell, not candle wax.

 

If insulation is melting burning....it would be from a short of sometype...and unless some crazy wiring has been done on the car, without a fuse, or undersized wiring...for something like driving lights or a amp, tye fuse SHOULD blow before the wire gets hot...but too thin a wire or a bad lights install without a relay, could burn up the wiringharness...folks have done it a few times...

 

I wired up my own sub and amp...
But there is an inline fuse. And if it were the insulation melting, wouldn't the smell be there all the time until something caught fire or something? Not here and there for over a year?

 

A power wire could be shorting to ground every once and a while, depending on wire movement. Maybe there is a bare spot in the wire (insulation rubbed away) where the wire can touch metal. Depending on the size of the in-line fuse the wire could get very hot before the fuse blows.

Another thought; is the amp getting hot enough to heat material underneath the amp.

 

Ok so I'm here 7 years after this post and so my info will be of no use to the op BUT hopefully it will help anyone else who Google's the smell of candle wax coming from their Mini.
I have an F56 Cooper S. It was new 3 months ago and I've only done 530 miles due to the Coronavirus lockdown.
Today I was razzing my Mini up and down the local 'unofficial' drag strip and after 6 quarter mile runs, all I could smell was a warm waxy smell which my son described as being like a burning candle.
As I had been using launch control to take off and then hammering it down the lane, the only things it could have been were brakes or clutch, hence I googled it and came across this post. I *think it will have been a burning clutch given what I was doing because apart from holding the brake with my left foot for the launch, I didn't use it again as I slowed gradually, spun around and ran back.
My F56 Cooper S has a 7 speed DCT and I have no clutch pedal. As the op said he had feathered his clutch, I'd say it was exactly that. With my car being brand new, there are no additions wired in. My car is still stock showroom condition. So anyone smelling a warm wax, I'm unsure why the clutch would give off that smell but as it was being abused, that would explain it for the OP and myself. Hope this helps someone.
Gena, UK 🇬🇧