Just remember that your climate will have a huge effect on your A/C's moldy, mildewy condition. For instance an Arizona climate will be less susceptible to promoting the growth as opposed to WA state especially in the Seattle area. Others will not be willing to turn off the system to avoid the smell on the next start up, in fact this will not eliminate the problem as the little buggers must be destroyed.
There are many products which will effectively do the job providing the proper technique is followed. Pick one, give it a shot (pun intended).

 

I am having the same problem with my 2001 Corvette. Run the AC and when you drive it again and turn on the AC it smells like mildew.

Today, it was 101 in the garage and I pulled the battery out, battery heat shield, and removed and checked the HVAC evaporation drain hose. Nothing, it was clean and no moisture in it at all and I drove it all morning with the AC on.

Heck if I know what is going on. My other two cars the water just runs from them when using the AC. Not the Vette, it blows real cold air but nothing is draining and it smells for the first couple minutes of running the AC.

Any other idea's or hints?

Thanks,

Rick
Lawrence, KS

 

that makes sense, I want to buy some of this stuff. where is the best place? DC is very humid and my car sits in a pretty hot garage. I've shot it with lysol, but it's not getting to the root of the problem and not enough of it gets into the evap.

thanks for all the advice!

 

http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-te...porator-2.html

this looks interesting and much cheaper. come to think of it, I haven't seen much water draining under the car with the ac on. lines are probably clogged which is strange, car only has 20k miles.

need to get it up on the lift on look for the drains. might give this a try!! sounds like a good way to go.

 

Any help on this topic?

 

The problem is no one is using the mold killer properly, you need to turn you AC on recirculate on high.
Then find the 2 air intakes inside the car one is on the drivers side next to the console it's small and can be over looked it's a small plastic rectangle facing the driver.
On the passenger side it's just a open end further forward facing the right side of the car, this is where you want to spray your mold and fungus cleaner into while the AC is running on high rec. With the engine off.
Once you have emptied the can shut down the system and close up the car for overnight.
The cleaners can be purchased at almost any auto parts store for around $10.00
You can also have your BCM programmed to run the blower for a few minutes after you shut the car off to prevent the regrowth of the mold and fungus.

 

I'm not seeing any water under the car when I run the AC

how do I clean out the ac drains??? where are they locating and what is the best way to verify that they are flowing. my bet is that this is the source of the problem

 

By any chance does anyone have pictures of the intakes? I have this problem in mine, and was wondering. Not a big deal, but the smell is kind of annoying. Also, if I had to drill a hole in the evaporator case (which I really would not want to do), where is an optimum place to do that?).


Thanks,
Tim Glover

 

Please see my earlier post.

I cannot tell you exactly where the drain tube is, but it seems you have the same problem I had. The odour is from stagnent water sitting in the HVAC system. I think the tube drains down near the battery. It would be best to find it from under the car. DON'T run your air conditioning til you get it fixed. The BCM may short out and then you are into big $.

Dave

 

To get to the HVAC drain tube you have to remove your battery and battery heat shield. Then the HVAC tube is to the right of that.

I checked my HVAC and it was not plugged up so I have no idea what is going on. There is no water getting inside the vette on the carpete. This one has me stumped.

 

good news is that I have a z06 so the battery is already in the back.

I messed up my shoulder pretty bad so I won't be working on the vette anytime soon!

I'll look for the drain tube, my bet is that it's clogged up, I haven't ever seen any water coming out running the AC and I've been running it on "recycle" air alot because it's been humid and 100 deg

thanks for any tips. may have to break down and take this one in as I need the car (it's been coverted to an auto, it's a twin turbo!)

 

Here's an idea of what's going on. The main solution is no water, no smell. Water and heat in closed area = higher humidity and mold or wet smell. Get rid of the water and no mold or smell in hot or humid conditions.

If the hose or the outlet is pluged and the water doesn't evaporate and the hotter it gets the more wet smell or mold you get. If you get rid of the accumulated water in the A/C drip pan,etc. you should have no smell. Water getting back into a material or mold will activate the smell again. Therefore, othere than cleaning the unit out completely, if you have this problem, as someone said running the heater may dry everything out and you will have no more smell.

A dehumidifier is a household appliance that reduces the level of humidity in air, usually for health reasons, as humid air can cause mold and mildew to grow inside homes, which has various health risks. Very high humidity levels are also unpleasant for human beings, can cause condensation and can make it hard to dry laundry or sleep.

Mechanical/refrigerative dehumidifiers, the most common type, usually work by drawing moist air over a refrigerated coil with a small fan. Since the saturation vapor pressure of water decreases with decreasing temperature, the water in the air condenses, and drips into a collecting bucket. The air is then reheated by the warmer side of the refrigeration coil. This process works most effectively with higher ambient temperatures with a high dew point temperature. In cold climates, the process is less effective.[1] They are most effective at over 45% relative humidity, higher if the air is cold. [2]

Air conditioners
Air conditioners automatically act as dehumidifiers when they chill the air and thus need to handle the accumulated water as well. Newer window units use the condensing coil and fan to evaporate the accumulated water into the outdoor air, while older units simply allow the water to drip outside. Central air conditioning units need to be connected to a drain.

 

guys,

I have a 2003 z06. I looked up on the firewall towards the back of the engine from underneath and I'm not seeing the AC drain tube.

I do have a twin turbo setup which makes it tougher to see.

please let me know if there are tips for finding the drain.

I did treat the system with some of the spray and it helped quite a bit, but I want to make sure the drain isn't clogged up and treat the ac condensor more directly through the drain hose.

thanks!

 

anybody have pics of the drain tube or pointers on finding it on the z06

I have a TTiX twin turbo which makes seeing it harder.

thanks for any help!

 

 

I bought BG Frigi-fresh from a local GMC dealer. Friend of mine work parts and he asked the techs what to do. They said take our and clean the evaporator with no guarantee or use this. It says to shoot it in hood vent for 4 to 6 seconds. Right, 15 to 20 seconds sounded good. It does work, but the problem comes back a few months later. I would like to track the cause and stop the temporary fix. Will go after the drain tube as well. I recommend the BG product as I can't stand that smell even if for only a few seconds! (no I don't work for Frigi-fresh)

 

yes, the frigi fresh does work pretty well, but I'm not seeing any water under the car when I run the ac so I'm thinking the drain is clogged up.

thanks for the tip! anyone know where that *&^% drain for the ac is on the Z06, time to break out the service manual I guess. I had the car up on a lift and the turbo plumbing makes it a bit hard to get to and see!

 

help a z06 owner out, anyone have pics or tips on locating the drain host from the evap?

want to make sure it's clear and shoot some frigi fresh up from the bottom

thanks!

 

You can see the drain elbow from underneath. it's only an elbow on firewall and has no hose. Mine drips on the exh. pipe. Its behind right side of motor .