Bad Smell w/ AC
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Instructor
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 103
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From: Ft. Irwin CA
Bad Smell w/ AC
Check it out............the A/C has been pushing out a funny smell the last few days, it smell sort of like cat p*ss. It is not anything in the car--no spills/stains and the carpet smell fine....I checked the intake and there are no dead animals stuck in there. And the smell is exclusive with the A/C...it doesn't occur with the heater or just the fan and fresh air. Also, the smell comes and goes.....I took the car in for a good wash/interior detail and the smell dissappeared for about a week......but now its back again....WTF! It wouldn't really bother me but its 105 degrees out here in the Mojave.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 3,604
Likes: 395
From: Austin, TX
Re: Bad Smell w/ AC (Mr. Wales)
If you use the AC a lot its probably the same problem I have :banghead: (although it doesn't go away by itself as you have described) as well as many others. Basically the evaporator coils stay wet after you turn the car off and *$#@ starts to grow on it...thus causing the smell. The climate has a lot to do with it. Here in Austin it is fairly humid. You may want to try this: Mix up some bleach 50/50 with water, put it into a spray bottle, turn on the AC, hi fan, set to re-circulate, open the hood and spray a fine mist into the air intake on the driver side near the wiper blades. The car will smell like bleach for a while but it tends to kill the *$#@ growing in your AC. GM sells a dryer kit that runs the fan for a while after you turn off the car that supposedly works as well but is kinda pricy. Hope this helps.... :cheers:
[Modified by PewterC5, 5:20 PM 6/8/2003]
[Modified by PewterC5, 5:20 PM 6/8/2003]
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Re: Bad Smell w/ AC (Mr. Wales)
Wales
Make sure that the drains that let the water drain from the well where the fan intake is and the one that lets your evaporator box drain, are clear and able to drain. I found my evaporator box drain stuck shut with some sort of slimey stuff. I cleaned it last summer and about a 1/2 cup of water came out. Now I check it when ever I change the oil.
I didnt know to check the other drains, i.e. Wiper Motor and HVAC air intake drain and paid the price this week. The three drains under the wiper motor plugged up solid and flooded the wiper moror out. Thank God I was able to dry it out and get it working again. There are three utters under the wiper motor and one big one behind the battery. (You have to remove the battery or jack up the car and reach up under the wheel well area to get to it.
If the water builds up in the intake area it will promote the fungus to grow on the evap coil. The bleach trick works well! :iagree:
I had a mouse get trapped and die behind the dash of my 85 vette. Whooooooooooo Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, what a horid smell that was!! :cuss
Good luck with your problem!
Bill C
Make sure that the drains that let the water drain from the well where the fan intake is and the one that lets your evaporator box drain, are clear and able to drain. I found my evaporator box drain stuck shut with some sort of slimey stuff. I cleaned it last summer and about a 1/2 cup of water came out. Now I check it when ever I change the oil.
I didnt know to check the other drains, i.e. Wiper Motor and HVAC air intake drain and paid the price this week. The three drains under the wiper motor plugged up solid and flooded the wiper moror out. Thank God I was able to dry it out and get it working again. There are three utters under the wiper motor and one big one behind the battery. (You have to remove the battery or jack up the car and reach up under the wheel well area to get to it.
If the water builds up in the intake area it will promote the fungus to grow on the evap coil. The bleach trick works well! :iagree:
I had a mouse get trapped and die behind the dash of my 85 vette. Whooooooooooo Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, what a horid smell that was!! :cuss
Good luck with your problem!
Bill C
