Car air-conditioning smells
 

My wife bought herself a new car with air conditioning about 6 months ago.
It now has a nasty (sweaty feet) sort of smell when the ventilation is
switched on.

Any obvious cure, apart from taking it back to the dealer? Are we all going
to die from Legionaire's Disease?

Thanks

Geoff

Car air-conditioning smells
 

"GB" wrote in message
...
My wife bought herself a new car with air conditioning about 6 months ago.
It now has a nasty (sweaty feet) sort of smell when the ventilation is
switched on.
The smell is due to fungal growths in the damp conditions in the air ducts.
Turn the heater onto full hot (A/C off) and leave it for a few minutes
(after the car has reached operating temperature, obviously). This will dry
the air ducts and kill the smell. Best to do this every few weeks.


Are we all going to die from Legionaire's Disease?

No

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In article ,
GB wrote:
My wife bought herself a new car with air conditioning about 6 months
ago. It now has a nasty (sweaty feet) sort of smell when the ventilation
is switched on.

It's very common.

Any obvious cure, apart from taking it back to the dealer?

Yes. Halfords etc sell anti-bacterial sprays specifically for this purpose
- you switch the A/C to recirculate and spray it in the internal air
intake. Alternately, some say that Febreeze works just as well. The other
way - which I do - is to switch off the A/C but leave the system blowing a
few minutes before stopping the car as this should clear all the cold air.

Are we all going to die from Legionaire's Disease?

Heh heh - I've not heard of it being a health hazard - merely an
unpleasant smell.

--
*Bigamy is having one wife too many - monogamy is the same

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 12:56:36 +0100, "GB"
wrote:

My wife bought herself a new car with air conditioning about 6 months ago.
It now has a nasty (sweaty feet) sort of smell when the ventilation is
switched on.

Any obvious cure, apart from taking it back to the dealer? Are we all going
to die from Legionaire's Disease?

Thanks

Geoff

Suposed to be mould in the filters so they said on the Polo I used to
have. They sell a spray to spray into the air feed for the cabin.

Mark S.

Car air-conditioning smells
 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 00:49:00 +0800, "Toolmaker"
wrote:


"GB" wrote in message
...
My wife bought herself a new car with air conditioning about 6 months ago.
It now has a nasty (sweaty feet) sort of smell when the ventilation is
switched on.
The smell is due to fungal growths in the damp conditions in the air ducts.
Turn the heater onto full hot (A/C off) and leave it for a few minutes
(after the car has reached operating temperature, obviously). This will dry
the air ducts and kill the smell. Best to do this every few weeks.


Are we all going to die from Legionaire's Disease?

No


I had a friend who had this with a Vauxhall and they never cured it !!

I have always left the airconditioning on, winter and summer. It
de-humidifies as well as cooling which is helpful in winter.

The down side is you do have to learn how to use it . Invariably if a
female member of the family borrows my car, when I get it back, as
well as having no petrol, the airconditioning will have been turned
off.

I once did a winter journey with a colleague, in her car, of about 120
miles. For the first 15-20 minutes the heater was on full blast. Then
it was turned off completely and we suffered cold and condensation for
the rest of the journey.


Paul Mc Cann

Car air-conditioning smells
 

"Toolmaker" wrote in message
...

"GB" wrote in message
...
My wife bought herself a new car with air conditioning about 6 months
ago.
It now has a nasty (sweaty feet) sort of smell when the ventilation is
switched on.
The smell is due to fungal growths in the damp conditions in the air
ducts.
Turn the heater onto full hot (A/C off) and leave it for a few minutes
(after the car has reached operating temperature, obviously). This will
dry
the air ducts and kill the smell. Best to do this every few weeks.

Okay - this sounds the easiest solution, so we'll try that first. Thanks for
the advice.


Are we all going to die from Legionaire's Disease?

No


That's good

Thanks everyone for helping.

Car air-conditioning smells
 

Wanderer wrote in message . ..
On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 12:56:36 +0100, GB wrote:

My wife bought herself a new car with air conditioning about 6 months ago.
It now has a nasty (sweaty feet) sort of smell when the ventilation is
switched on.

Any obvious cure, apart from taking it back to the dealer? Are we all going
to die from Legionaire's Disease?

Some dealers offer an air-con deodorising package as part of the
service. I think you'll find the pong will disappear as the weather
cools down. I've had two or three motors with air-con, and they all tend
to develop an odd smell in warm weather.

Most likely a build up of bacteria...do a web search on 'car air
conditioning smell' and you'll find lots of companies who can treat it
by killing the bugs...

Car air-conditioning smells
 

GB wrote:


My wife bought herself a new car with air conditioning about 6 months

ago.

It now has a nasty (sweaty feet) sort of smell when the ventilation is
switched on.

Any obvious cure, apart from taking it back to the dealer? Are we all

going

to die from Legionaire's Disease?


What's the car?


Saab



Don't Saabs have aircon filters?
They could be removed and washed or changed.

Roger.

Car air-conditioning smells
 

Condenser coil water drain nipple is probably plugged up. When AC is on you
should get water dripping under the front of the car. It should come from a
rubber hose with a flat nipple on the end. Squeeze the nipple till it vents.
(OOPS)

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In article ,
Colin M wrote:
My cure is a can of Neutrodol or similar. Switch on the system with the
engine idling and set to a slow blow. Make sure it is set to draw fresh
air into the cabin (ie not on recirc).

BMW recommend you use recirc and spray the stuff into the internal air
intake.

--
*If PROGRESS is for advancement, what does that make CONGRESS mean?

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In article ,
Old Fart at Play wrote:
Don't Saabs have aircon filters?
They could be removed and washed or changed.

It's bacterial growth in the heat exchanger. Micro filters are usually
just on the fresh air intake. I'm not sure where the bacteria comes from,
but it could even be the person.

--
*Heart attacks... God's revenge for eating his animal friends

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

BMW recommend you use recirc and spray the stuff into the internal air
intake

Thanks for that. My thoughts on going through the outside was that I'd pick
up an extra section of duct from the windscreen to the fresh/recirc mixer.

Colin

Car air-conditioning smells
 

"OldRedNeck" wrote in message
...
Condenser coil water drain nipple is probably plugged up. When AC is on
you
should get water dripping under the front of the car. It should come from
a
rubber hose with a flat nipple on the end. Squeeze the nipple till it
vents.
(OOPS)


Is that likely to be a problem on a car only 6 months old?

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In article ,
Colin M wrote:
BMW recommend you use recirc and spray the stuff into the internal air
intake

Thanks for that. My thoughts on going through the outside was that I'd
pick up an extra section of duct from the windscreen to the fresh/recirc
mixer.

The problem appears to be only in the A/C heat exchanger itself - the
bacteria grow on the very cold surface, rather than the surrounding
trunking.

--
*Eschew obfuscation *

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

I had a friend who had this with a Vauxhall and they never cured it !!

I have always left the airconditioning on, winter and summer. It
de-humidifies as well as cooling which is helpful in winter.

The down side is you do have to learn how to use it . Invariably if a
female member of the family borrows my car, when I get it back, as
well as having no petrol, the airconditioning will have been turned
off.

I once did a winter journey with a colleague, in her car, of about 120
miles. For the first 15-20 minutes the heater was on full blast. Then
it was turned off completely and we suffered cold and condensation for
the rest of the journey.

LOL!

I thought it was only me that had observed this from the fairer sex.
The upshot is wiping the windscreen and side window with a duster or the
palm of the hand - lovely when it dries!

Car air-conditioning smells
 

GB wrote:
"OldRedNeck" wrote in message
...
Condenser coil water drain nipple is probably plugged up. When AC is
on you should get water dripping under the front of the car. It
should come from a rubber hose with a flat nipple on the end.
Squeeze the nipple till it vents. (OOPS)


Is that likely to be a problem on a car only 6 months old?

Looking at a Focus handbook I note they say the aircon should be run for at
least 30minutes at least once per month.
Friend's new Saab with aircon does not smell at all but he keeps aircon on
all the time as company are paying for petrol :-)

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In the end, the kind people at Saab agreed to deal with it as a warranty
repair - I must say I was rather surprised. My wife took it in, but she has
no idea what they did.

Oh well.

Geoff

"Dave Plowman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Old Fart at Play wrote:
Don't Saabs have aircon filters?
They could be removed and washed or changed.

It's bacterial growth in the heat exchanger. Micro filters are usually
just on the fresh air intake. I'm not sure where the bacteria comes from,
but it could even be the person.

--
*Heart attacks... God's revenge for eating his animal friends

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In article ,
GB wrote:
In the end, the kind people at Saab agreed to deal with it as a warranty
repair - I must say I was rather surprised. My wife took it in, but she
has no idea what they did.

I doubt the trade price for the deodorant is much above a quid or so - so
well worth it for the goodwill.

--
*The colder the X-ray table, the more of your body is required on it *

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

GB wrote:

In the end, the kind people at Saab agreed to deal with it as a warranty
repair - I must say I was rather surprised. My wife took it in, but she has
no idea what they did.


Probably stick a bucket under the vents, and put an airline on the drain
pipe. That cleras the drain and blows all water into teh footwell.

Then inject with anti-fingal/bvactaeial/nice smell and blow it in again.

I used to have an old XJS that would dump a half pint of icy water over
the passengers leg on fast corners :-)

Took it to the dealership, where they did that. Took 5 seconds and fixed it completely.


The musty smells gradually faded out.



Oh well.

Geoff

"Dave Plowman" wrote in message
...

In article ,
Old Fart at Play wrote:

Don't Saabs have aircon filters?
They could be removed and washed or changed.

It's bacterial growth in the heat exchanger. Micro filters are usually
just on the fresh air intake. I'm not sure where the bacteria comes from,
but it could even be the person.

--
*Heart attacks... God's revenge for eating his animal friends

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 21:00:27 +0100, "BillR"
wrote:
Looking at a Focus handbook I note they say the aircon should be run for at
least 30minutes at least once per month.

Slightly OT: not to do with smells in Air con, but to do with the
above comment:
We had a Ford Galaxy, that had a similar warning in the handbook, just
before we sold it, we found out why.
Apparently, we hadn't run it enough, and the compressor seized.
Since the fan-belt drives this compressor the whole time (even when
the air-con isn't on), this was making a burning smell as the belt was
forced over a fixed pulley. Cost £1000 to fix (20% of the value of
the car). Another one from the Ministry of crap design.

Tony.

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In article ,
Tony Mudd wrote:
Slightly OT: not to do with smells in Air con, but to do with the
above comment:
We had a Ford Galaxy, that had a similar warning in the handbook, just
before we sold it, we found out why.
Apparently, we hadn't run it enough, and the compressor seized.
Since the fan-belt drives this compressor the whole time (even when
the air-con isn't on), this was making a burning smell as the belt was
forced over a fixed pulley. Cost £1000 to fix (20% of the value of
the car). Another one from the Ministry of crap design.

There's an electromagnetic clutch between the pulley and the compressor -
so the actual compressor doesn't turn when not in use. It also cycles when
in use. So whatever seized was to do with the clutch.

My old Rover has a clever idea to make sure the AC is used - it switches
it on when you go to defrost, so will get used throughout the winter.

--
*I'm not as think as you drunk I am.

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 22:08:35 UTC, Dave Plowman
wrote:

We had a Ford Galaxy, that had a similar warning in the handbook, just
before we sold it, we found out why.

There's an electromagnetic clutch between the pulley and the compressor -
so the actual compressor doesn't turn when not in use. It also cycles when
in use. So whatever seized was to do with the clutch.

My old Rover has a clever idea to make sure the AC is used - it switches
it on when you go to defrost, so will get used throughout the winter.

My (recent) Galaxy has that too...all electronically controlled...!

--
Bob Eager
rde at tavi.co.uk
PC Server 325*4; PS/2s 9585, 8595, 9595*2, 8580*3,
P70...

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In message , Dave Plowman
wrote
My old Rover has a clever idea to make sure the AC is used - it switches
it on when you go to defrost, so will get used throughout the winter.


Modern Ford cars switch on the AC automatically in similar circumstances
- to remove moisture from the interior when de-misting the windows..
--
Alan

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Land roiver are great on image, graet on engines, gearboxes and
transmission, but haven't a clue on coponent quality. In particular they
are still using parst out of te Marina parsts box on defenders :-( The
aircon is pretty crap on mine, and probably not much better onm teh
freelander.

I read the revised Freelander just out finally gets rid of all trace of
Leyland trim parts.

I'm surprised the A/C isn't good - the set on my SD1 is much more powerful
than my new(ish) BMW. And you certainly know when it cuts in - the car
about stands on its nose.

--
*We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart?

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 05:59:43 UTC, "Colin"
wrote:

My (recent) Galaxy has that too...all electronically controlled...!

Me too. Just waiting for it to all go wrong...

Still haven't found a way to change the default temperature for the climate
control to be 20 degrees rather than 22.

Set it once and press Auto. I've set my default to 19...

(by default, I take it that you mean the setting then the car is
started)

--
Bob Eager
rde at tavi.co.uk
PC Server 325*4; PS/2s 9585, 8595, 9595*2, 8580*3,
P70...

Car air-conditioning smells
 

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 14:15:22 +0100, "Colin"
wrote:

Set it once and press Auto. I've set my default to 19...

Doesn't it reset back to 22 degrees after the engine has been off for a
couple of hours?

Wouldn't this be like your central heating reverting to some factory default
whenever you went away for a bit ? (In other words, a bloody stupid thing
to do.) I have good old knobs for my climate control.

--
John
Mail john rather than nospam...

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In article ,
John Laird wrote:
Set it once and press Auto. I've set my default to 19...

Doesn't it reset back to 22 degrees after the engine has been off for a
couple of hours?

Wouldn't this be like your central heating reverting to some factory
default whenever you went away for a bit ? (In other words, a bloody
stupid thing to do.) I have good old knobs for my climate control.

It would certainly be strange if it always re-set to the same figure,
unless you'd disconnected the battery.

Mine (BMW) remembers everything, but if you switch the entire system off
totally by running the fan down past minimum, it will come on at minimum
fan speed after the next switch on. Can't say this matters to me as I
never switch it off anyway.

--
*A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it uses up a thousand times more memory.

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 13:15:22 UTC, "Colin"
wrote:


Set it once and press Auto. I've set my default to 19...

Doesn't it reset back to 22 degrees after the engine has been off for a
couple of hours?

Not on mine, it doesn't! Try it....remember to press Auto after setting
the desired default. Let me know...

--
Bob Eager
rde at tavi.co.uk
PC Server 325*4; PS/2s 9585, 8595, 9595*2, 8580*3,
P70...

Car air-conditioning smells
 

Not on mine, it doesn't! Try it....remember to press Auto after setting
the desired default. Let me know...

No... tried that last night... Set the temperature to 19 pressed AUTO. This
morning the setting has returned to 22 degrees.
I am pretty sure that this has always been the behaviour (last 5 years).

Colin

Car air-conditioning smells
 

In article ,
Colin wrote:
Not on mine, it doesn't! Try it....remember to press Auto after
setting the desired default. Let me know...

No... tried that last night... Set the temperature to 19 pressed AUTO.
This morning the setting has returned to 22 degrees. I am pretty sure
that this has always been the behaviour (last 5 years).

Wonder if you've got a faulty memory backup battery? Might be worth doing
a search on the subject - there are plenty of sites that tell you how to
replace BMW ones.

--
*Re-elect nobody

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Car air-conditioning smells
 

On Tue, 23 Sep 2003 10:35:35 UTC, "Colin"
wrote:

Not on mine, it doesn't! Try it....remember to press Auto after setting
the desired default. Let me know...

No... tried that last night... Set the temperature to 19 pressed AUTO. This
morning the setting has returned to 22 degrees.
I am pretty sure that this has always been the behaviour (last 5 years).

Perhaps mine has later firmware! It's just over 2 years old...

--
Bob Eager
rde at tavi.co.uk
PC Server 325*4; PS/2s 9585, 8595, 9595*2, 8580*3,
P70...