Nasty aircon

[gmjgreg7]

Hi,

The airconditioning in the motor, although still working, has started to smell a bit like a wet dog!

Has anyone else experienced this while we've been having the hot weather? Or is it now time for me to bit the bullet and get the AC canister replaced?

Cheers - Greg

 

[Forbez]

AFter using the aircon you should turn it straight off, but let the fans blow, without AC for a few minutes before turning off, because the air still in the vents will build up with bacteria, and that what causes the smell, is the build up of bacteria.
Run the blowers for a few minutes and that should clear the problem .

 

[gmjgreg7]

Hi Forbez,

Spot on, cheers for that.

All I have to do now is pass the message on to the wife so that she can ignore it and continue to moan about it being a bit stinky!

Thanks though.

-Greg

 

[chrisbond69]

they do a can of aircon cleaner at halfrauds put it in the car aircon on recirculate and let it off about 9-10 pound

 

[Forbez]

Hi Forbez,

Spot on, cheers for that.

All I have to do now is pass the message on to the wife so that she can ignore it and continue to moan about it being a bit stinky!

Thanks though.

-Greg

No probs mate, thats what we're here for!

 

[Steve_B]

they do a can of aircon cleaner at halfrauds put it in the car aircon on recirculate and let it off about 9-10 pound

Used this on my Leon and my GF's motor, leaves the car with a slightly overpowering smell of lemons but this goes away after 10 mins so not too bad, and must be better than the smell of wet dogs

 

[gmjgreg7]

I'll try Forbez' cheap and cheery method first and if it hasn't fixed it by the time I get to Hal'frau'ds (I like that) I'll grab a can of lemons, that'll surprise the missus when she sees I've fixed the motor!

Cheers fellas.

 

[RichN]

No 'wet dogs' here, just sore throats..

The s**ty stale air that comes out of the aircon is a whole lot of wrong. Running the blowers is one thing, but I think you'll find you need the Comma product from Halfords.. Mine still makes me ill, and makes my girlfriend sneeze, even after that.

What I really want to know is:

Does anybody know a way of PROPERLY cleaning the aircon. I've tried the Comma AC product for killing germs but it doesn't stop the musty smell which comes out when you turn off the AC.. is there a filter to clean, pipes to clean, or anybody got any hints for proper cleaning?

 

[BJM]

I think you'll have to go to an air con specialist to get all the old gas taken out of the system(if there's any left) get it cleaned and all the bacteria treated then re-gassed. Think it costs from £50 - £75 IIRC.

 

[Steve_B]

The bacteria can also grow on the air con cooler matrix that the air passes over before passing into the passenger cabin. If the stuff from Halfrauds doesn't kill it then perhaps there's a trade equivalent that's stronger that could kill the bacteria, otherwise you'd have to replace the cooler matrix which would likely cost £'s

 

[Fl@pper]

forte do one thats about £20 and leaves the whole car smelling of apple too

aint cheap but never fails

theres a few foam ones about to squirt in the vents but they always seem to be a bit too chemical and leave it smelling like a new hospital

 

[gmjgreg7]

Well I've given the Halfords one a bash and the wife seems very impressed... to be fair thats probably over stating things she was happier about me cleaning the windows.

But! It deffo smells a lot more pleasant now, hopefully it'll stay smelling nice for a while.

Thanks for the advice.

Cheers,

-Greg

 

[samm]

I tried that Helfrauds thing when our aircon started smelling of dead goat. It soaked the inside of the car. I never thought the bloody thing was going to stop spraying! It got rid of the smell for about a week.

 

[ttothec]

my air con stank, i just bought a new pollen filter from euro part (about £7) and has totally cleared the smell. when i took the old pollen filter out it was f**king disgusting! crap, dead insects and all sorts!!

 

[RichN]

my air con stank, i just bought a new pollen filter from euro part (about £7) and has totally cleared the smell. when i took the old pollen filter out it was f**king disgusting! crap, dead insects and all sorts!!

Where exactly is that filter on the car? Passenger side near windscreen? or am I wrong... I'd like to try that before I spend the £80 getting my aircon serviced.. which i might do anyway

 

[ttothec]

yeh, passenger side, the plastic comes off, prob have to take off the rubber trim bit that seals on the bonnet. as soon as the plastic cover is off u will see the filter

 

[Craig!]

Change the pollen filter under the scuttle panel and run the air con cleaner makes it like new!

 

[gmjgreg7]

Progress report, the air con cleaner has worked really well, I did however have the pollen filter replaced fairly recently so I think that has also played a part in the solving of the smelly a/c.

Anyway the motor smells a load better now, which is great.

Cheers for the tips all, I can confirm that the Halfords stuff works well in conjunction with changing the pollen filter.

-Greg

 

[ibiza-cupra]

we sell a forte air con decontaminant thingy it takes 20 mins to do its magic but works a treat

 

[Bogwoppit]

Getting your aircon system regassed will not stop the bad smell. Please don't go wasting £80 thinking a system regas will solve it.
The bad smell is coming from your aircon evaporator which is installed somewhere inside your dash. Basically the evaporator has got dirty and contaminated with bacteria etc this is what causes the smell.

Your car sucks in fresh air (through the pollen filter) this air then passes through the evaporator which is cold and chills your cabin. The gas inside your evaporator is completely seperate from the chilled air unless you have a refrigerant (or gas as it is wrongly called) leak. Your best bet is to clean the evaporator if you can find it and the vents leading from the evaporator to your cabin, pollen filter might help as well.
One of my friends spent £80 getting his aircon regassed, only to find his aircon was still poor. In the end his problem was solved by removing his ancient dirty pollen filter and putting a new one in for the small price of £8.

Hope this helps