Air Conditioning

AZ-Z71 · July 3, 2003

Ok my a/c has a bad smell. It is not a coolant leak smell but that musty moldy odor. I called the dealer to find out if they have a can of spray to get rid of this smell. They told me no, but there is a kit which includes the spay for like 95 bucks. I've read about this kit and it has the spray to kill the mold and comes with some sort of heater that turns on I think every twenty minutes for like two hours after you shut the truck of to dry the a/c cooler. (I found the kit at I think parts direct for 75 and at the partszone but parts zone only sells it two to a package which of course doubles the price)

I'm just looking for the spray or something to get rid of the smell. I have changed the in cabin air filters and it seemed to help some but it is still there on really hot days.

Any suggestions?

kenhilton · July 3, 2003

Have you changed your cabin filters? If not take a look at them. Had the same problem, AC smelt like must or bad body odor. Changed them out with a fresh pair and smell was gone. $17.00 from GM parts direct. I think pep boys has them for around $10.00 or so. I'd try that if you haven't already done so. Might save you a few bucks

kenhilton · July 3, 2003

duh, maybe if I read the entire post, SORRY!!!!!

Wingnut · July 3, 2003

Use Febreeze in it every night before you go to bed for about a week.

I went through a gallon of it in a week when I bought a truck from a smoker.

Make sure you get every piece of the uphostery, including the headliner.

That....Or take everything out of it, including the carpet....and steam clean it.

Those would be the only other options that I can think of, other than what you have already mentioned.

dcairns · July 3, 2003

I used to get rid of that smell in my 91 S-10 by spraying Lysol into the ventalation intake, with the AC running full blast. Just don't plan on getting right back in and driving away, that stuff is kinda strong, till it evaporates, and use the unscented one, unless you like one of the scents that Lysol comes in

greyghost03 · July 3, 2003

Hang a little green tree from the rearview! J/K.

Febreeze will work as Wingnut stated and to keep it fresh you might want to try Ozium!

silverado man · July 3, 2003

I think he's talking about the musty smell coming out of the vents and not coming from the floor. I would like to find a cheap fix for this too.

lrymal · July 4, 2003

The following link explains the whole smell thang. If anyone knows the part number from GM for the Electronic Evaporator Dryer (EED) module mentioned in the article...

http://autorepair.about.com/library/weekly...y/aa071601a.htm

lrymal · July 4, 2003

Ugh, I found the solution. The cost is incredibly amazing for the entire kit. First the GM bulletin at some site I found via GOOGLE:

http://www.impalahq.com/TSB/TSB99-01-39-004A.html

Here's the company that makes the gizmo that does the magic:

http://www.airsept.com/eed.html

The article and sites will explain what all is needed. The little gizmo is all that I think is needed, honestly, but anyway here are the part numbers and cost:

12346391 Cooling Coil Coating Kit w/Extension Nozzle $267.80
12497910 Electronic Evaporator Dryer Module Kit (GIZMO) $263.29.

There's gotta be another solution that does the same thing.

tibbitts · July 4, 2003

Some of these services are covered by TSB. Dealer performed services for no charge under warranty.

Disinfect/deordorize + install blower control package.

Paul

Markeaux · July 4, 2003

Some of these services are covered by TSB. Dealer performed services for no charge under warranty.
Disinfect/deordorize + install blower control package.

So how is the smell of the coil deodarizer/treatment that goes with the blower cycler? It says it coats the coils and lasts a few seasons, so it's gotta have some kind of smell. The intermittent musty ac smell is very irritating but a constant chemical smell would, to me, be worse (we're a fragrance-free family and hate smells like Lysol, carpet fragrance, lemon scent, etc).

tibbitts · July 4, 2003

Regarding smell I am not sure exactly what product the dealer applied. However the truck already smalled kind of musty - no matter if a/c or blower used or not, so I'm not sure that is the entire problem. Given the smell we are used to I'm not sure we are good judge. Have had truck only 7mo now. It does smell different now when a/c comes on - not better but not worse. Used to smell same musty smell as rest of truck, now a/c smells different. Overall truck seems to smell less objectionable than before.

Paul

igbig · July 4, 2003

I had this same problem in my wifes 4runner. Tried everything,sprayed bleach and water solution into fresh air intake by hood,bought some bacteria killing spray from the auto parts to spray in the intake and vents, none of it worked

Finally what made it go away was i only used the a/c in "fresh air" mode for like two months(luckily this was in the spring because i live in Houston!) and the smell gradually went away. in the summer i used recirc again and it was fine, but i always use fresh air whenever possible,(night,early morning,early spring,early fall )so it doesnt come back. hope this helps!

tibbitts · July 4, 2003

We don't even use the a/c "closed" to cool it down, always been paranoid about using it. Previous owner may have. Also when we got truck at 29k cabin filter was 100% clogged with dirt.

Paul

Markeaux · July 4, 2003

Due to my lung sensitivity to hydrocarbons I have to use Recirc whenever there are exhaust/chemical fumes (ie from diesels, badly tuned carb'd engines that blow black smoke, oil burners, etc) which is 90% of the time since I live and commute in the city and busy suburbs. [i hear a Lexus model automatically switches to Recirc when fumes are detected, that would be great for me :] The fumes from a properly working gas engine and catalytic converter in closed loop does not seem to bother me much.

Since I have to use Recirc so much, a few things I have found that seem to help keep the musty smell down are:

o don't leave the the temp on coldest setting, try to leave it at a lower setting to help reduce condensation in the evaporator

o try to switch to vent, or at least out of Recirc, a few miles before leaving the vehicle for a long time

o on mornings when it is cooler try to just use the vent at a high setting to dry out the evap (really only works when humidity is low) - this is easier for me to do on weekends when I can take country cruises and avoid the fumes

I would like to hear from others who have had that GM TSB performed as my 01 Hoe has just 1 more month of warranty; but, if it adds a significant or even detectable chemical smell then I don't want to have it done (and it's pretty much impossible to reverse once done).