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Air Condtioning Smells!!!?!?

blwnchevy

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blwnchevy Enthusiast

blwnchevy

Posted
Posted

Does anybody know why my A/C reeks when I turn it on? :fume: It is just the intial turn on and in a few minutes it does not smell. I have an 02 Chevy with a 4.8.

 

Does anybody have any idea why it smells? Does it have anything to do with my cabin air filter (if there is one) Any solutions, other than spraying air fresheners in my vents.

jhm Senior Enthusiast

jhm

Posted
Posted
Does anybody know why my A/C reeks when I turn it on?  :fume: It is just the intial turn on and in a few minutes it does not smell.  I have an 02 Chevy with a 4.8. 

 

Does anybody have any idea why it smells?  Does it have anything to do with my cabin air filter (if there is one)  Any solutions, other than spraying air fresheners in my vents.

 

 

 

When driving with AC on, before you park for the day/night, turn AC off and let fresh air run thru the vent with the fan on for a few minutes. This will dry it out and reduce or eliminate the musty smell. I usually shut of the AC and let the fresh air flow thru for a mile or so.

bigdogxx Enthusiast

bigdogxx

Posted
Posted

You prob have mold building up in your hvac system.They do make sprays that can iliminate odors in vent systems that you spray in thru the outside vent while your blowing out the a/c on max setting.Or some people even use lysol disinfectint but i hate the way lysol smells, the stuff made for hvac systems are a little more friendly on the nose lol.

rjirvine Enthusiast

rjirvine

Posted
Posted

I'd start of by replacing the passenger compartment air filters. If your's were like mine they are filthy. The set of two costs about 20-35 bucks depending on where you get them. I saw on a acdelco part site that there are charcoal impregnated filters available now too. I will probably get those next time I buy the filters.

 

The haynes manual shows how to disenfect the system, but I've never looked for the materials at an auto parts store.

bob1527 Enthusiast

bob1527

Posted
Posted

my old s10's a/c started to wreek one day out of nowhere. i sprayed about a half can of oust down around the intake under the dash on the passenger side. it smelled a little "disenfectily" for a day or two but after it smelled decent. i'd give that a try.

maybe remove the filters before you do it so you dont soak them and then replace them. last time i replaced my cabin air filters i found a butterfly in one of them haha

firefighteremt3100 Enthusiast

firefighteremt3100

Posted
Posted

This isnt exactly a solution, but my girlfriends 96 monte carlo smells like WD40. I was told its possibly a plugged evaporator? Make sense to anyone? And if so, how does one unplug it? :fume:

jchitwo Enthusiast

jchitwo

Posted
Posted

I used bleach in a spray bottle, cut with some water, I know it gives it that just cleaned smell for a couple of day's but to me it's better than breating in nasty moldy dirty air from my ac.....But then at least it's not the dead rat I found nested in my buddies honda last nite....little sucker ate half his wiring harness output!

dewfpo Senior Enthusiast

dewfpo

Posted
Posted

I turn the A/C off about a mile from home and leave the blower on so the evaporator/compartment dry out.

 

DEWFPO

99-2door Senior Enthusiast

99-2door

Posted
Posted

Let me guess, you use the RECIRC/MAX function on the AC most of the time.

 

After you get it cleaned out, make it a habit to turn the AC to normal mode a minute or 2 before you will be shutting down. Its not necessary to turn the AC off and vent only, it just needs to be pulling in fresh air instead of recirculating it.

budhayes3 Senior Enthusiast

budhayes3

Posted
Posted

Check an make sure that the evaporator drain hose isn't clogged either...this will not allow water from condensation to escape, and mold will grow very quickly. (Usually a wet r/f rug is an indication of a clogged drain) I've always cleaned them with compressed air...stick a nozzle in the hose, blow, then get out of the way of the stream of water.

 

If your vehicle doesn't have cabin filters, you can still disinfect the evaporator with some Frigi-Fresh. If you remove the lower panel under the center of the dash, you should be able to access the evaporator (there may be an access panel like the vehicles w/ the filters have), with the panel off, spray the frigi-fresh at the evaporator, and it will disinfect the microbes and emit a pleasant odor through the vents when the fan is in operation.

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