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Weird Vent Smell


TomsFocus
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Evening all,

This isn't for a Ford but I really doubt it'll be car specific lol.

It only happens when NOT using air con, so just letting fresh air in.  And it smells sort of like parrafin or even toilet cleaner.  It's not like the musty wet dog smell that usually comes from air con.  It stops within seconds when I switch the AC on, and returns within seconds when I switch it off.  Recirc seems to make difference.

I've tried spraying antibacterial AC cleaner down the vents and again it's made no difference.

Just wanted to see if anyone knows what might cause it before I spend a tenner on a new cabin filter and AC bomb.

Cheers

Tom

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Have you tried running the vents on highest heat. May kill bacteria or whatever is causing the smell 

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when was the pollen filter last replaced on the car ? many yrs ago i tried some of that air con spray down the vents(the poundshop used to sell it lol) it fills the vents up with foam. wait a while as it all goes, but the worse bit was when you put the blowers on the water/foam left in the pipes from the spray would blast out all over the seats etc.

the air con-ombs are great but don`t waste £10 on them. wilko do simonize £4.50 (or once a month they have them on offer for £2.50 so keep a lookout and get stocked up. or if you cannot wait that long eurocarparts are doing turtlewax aircon cleaners £2.67 a can.

they should solve the problem you have 😀

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42 minutes ago, andypsp said:

when was the pollen filter last replaced on the car ? many yrs ago i tried some of that air con spray down the vents(the poundshop used to sell it lol) it fills the vents up with foam. wait a while as it all goes, but the worse bit was when you put the blowers on the water/foam left in the pipes from the spray would blast out all over the seats etc.

the air con-ombs are great but don`t waste £10 on them. wilko do simonize £4.50 (or once a month they have them on offer for £2.50 so keep a lookout and get stocked up. or if you cannot wait that long eurocarparts are doing turtlewax aircon cleaners £2.67 a can.

they should solve the problem you have 😀

The pollen filter isn't all that old, maybe 6 months, but if it was that, I can't understand why the smell would stop with the AC on...the intake air is still drawn in across the filter.

Maybe I didn't use enough of the vent spray as nothing came out of the vents when I switched the blowers back on lol.  But I don't see that it can get around the system effectively compared to an AC bomb.

13 hours ago, volts said:

Have you tried running the vents on highest heat. May kill bacteria or whatever is causing the smell 

With it being so warm this week I haven't even tried the heaters, will give that a go before spending anything.

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9 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

The pollen filter isn't all that old, maybe 6 months

did it smell before the filter was replaced then ?

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7 minutes ago, andypsp said:

did it smell before the filter was replaced then ?

No idea, I've only had the car a week lol, it was serviced at the end of 2017 though...  Full heat hasn't helped either.

Have you got a link to the Turtlewax ECP bomb?  I can only find one for £7, down to about £4 with discount.  Pollen filter is £4 after discount currently, cheaper than cp4l for once!

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48 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

No idea, I've only had the car a week lol, it was serviced at the end of 2017 though...  Full heat hasn't helped either.

Have you got a link to the Turtlewax ECP bomb?  I can only find one for £7, down to about £4 with discount.  Pollen filter is £4 after discount currently, cheaper than cp4l for once!

they may not have changed the pollen filter at all then.

Turtlewax Power Out! Odor-X Whole Car Blast Kinetic New Car 100ml Product Code: PRR.TW53030

it`s on there front page matey £2.67 with the SPRING55 discount code 😀

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11 hours ago, andypsp said:

they may not have changed the pollen filter at all then.

Turtlewax Power Out! Odor-X Whole Car Blast Kinetic New Car 100ml Product Code: PRR.TW53030

it`s on there front page matey £2.67 with the SPRING55 discount code 😀

Well there's a receipt for the pollen filter in Dec '17, so unless they just binned it I would think it was changed! :biggrin:  It's a nice easy one to do tbf, not as awkward as the Focus ones.

Ah, thanks.  I wonder why it didn't come up when searching 'air con cleaner' lol. :laugh: 

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So, I changed the pollen filter yesterday.  Old one wasn't that bad tbh, it definitely wasn't the filter causing the smell.

Ran the AC bomb through the system and...it still smells just as bad, but with another, slightly nicer, smell on top lol.  

I was thinking about trying some of this directly through the recirc system (while holding my breath!) - http://www.poundland.co.uk/dettol-disinfectant-spray-crisp-linen-400ml

Does anyone know where the recirculated air comes from?  I've removed several HVAC boxes over the years but not noticed an 'internal' intake, so does it take it in through the footwell vents maybe?

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5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Does anyone know where the recirculated air comes from

it`s the same air thats inside the car that just keeps been recirculated around and around. thats why it should only been used to cool the inside of car down quick for 5 or 10mins as the air will get stale if recirculate isn`t turned off 😀

Ran the AC bomb through the system and...it still smells just as bad, but with another, slightly nicer, smell on top lol....

did you have the fans on full and recirculate on while doing the air-con bomb

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Yes the recirc air comes from inside, but how does it get back to the blower fan?  It must be sucked in from inside somewhere or you'd just get a vacuum build up between the recirc flap and blower lol.

Yeah fans and recirc were both on for the AC bomb.

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have you tried driveing around with windows down for a while with fans/blowers running full blast to see if it still smells bad after 30mins of driveing

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The windows have to be down with the AC off as the smell is so bad I'm worried about catching some form of medieval disease. :laugh:  It never clears but does get a bit weaker, though tbf I might just be getting used to it as the next time I get it smells just as bad.

I think the AC bomb just wasn't 'big' enough to be effective, will try some of that Dettol spray as it's a lot cheaper than the AC bombs and is much larger...and being Dettol should be properly antibacterial where the bombs are potentially much less so.

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Sounds like it’s something in the fresh air intake rather than the vents - surely if it was the vents or blower you’d still have the smell when running ac?

Could something have dropped into the intake from the outside?

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On 6/3/2018 at 11:19 AM, Simon_K said:

Sounds like it’s something in the fresh air intake rather than the vents - surely if it was the vents or blower you’d still have the smell when running ac?

Could something have dropped into the intake from the outside?

There are different sections in the heater box, one for heat, one for AC and one that bypasses both for no heat or AC.  The 'growth' has to be in the last section I think.

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On 6/3/2018 at 11:19 AM, Simon_K said:

Sounds like it’s something in the fresh air intake rather than the vents - surely if it was the vents or blower you’d still have the smell when running ac?

Could something have dropped into the intake from the outside?

Taking all bets. 

Leaf matter 3:2

Dead mouse or similar rodent 4:1

Dead bird 8:1

Previous owner sabotage (decomposing fish etc) 15:1

Dead cat/dog or similar sized mammal 45:1

 

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16 hours ago, Phil21185 said:

Taking all bets. 

Leaf matter 3:2

Dead mouse or similar rodent 4:1

Dead bird 8:1

Previous owner sabotage (decomposing fish etc) 15:1

Dead cat/dog or similar sized mammal 45:1

 

Think we can rule that out due to the number of expensive (tub style) air fresheners left in the car when I got it! :laugh: 

Anyway, I tried the Dettol this morning, so far it seems to have worked but will have to see after a longer drive if it comes back.

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1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Think we can rule that out due to the number of expensive (tub style) air fresheners left in the car when I got it! :laugh: 

Anyway, I tried the Dettol this morning, so far it seems to have worked but will have to see after a longer drive if it comes back.

Ahh so previous owner sought to cover up the smell instead of sorting it then??!

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1 hour ago, Phil21185 said:

Ahh so previous owner sought to cover up the smell instead of sorting it then??!

Yeah lol, tbf that's what most people do though, they don't know what actually causes the smell.

It seems to be solved now anyway! :biggrin: Either the AC bomb didn't contain disinfectant so just masks the smell, or they just aren't big enough to be effective.  The cans of Dettol are around £2 in most places and much more effective, plus will get several uses from it.

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  • 2 years later...

Hi TomsFocus, could you please share what steps u took with Dettol ? Im gonna use Lysol for solve such same thing.

My focus has the same problem with yours, smell while AC is off.

Tks.

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1 hour ago, fullthrottle said:

Hi TomsFocus, could you please share what steps u took with Dettol ? Im gonna use Lysol for solve such same thing.

My focus has the same problem with yours, smell while AC is off.

Tks.

I just set the climate system to recirculate and sprayed aerosol Dettol through the cabin intake in the footwell.  Ran it both with and without AC to try and fill the whole system.

It didn't work though!  You're better off getting a can of Wurth disinfectant foam with the long tube.  Not cheap but much more effective. 

Worth changing the pollen filter if it hasn't had a new one recently.

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5 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I just set the climate system to recirculate and sprayed aerosol Dettol through the cabin intake in the footwell.  Ran it both with and without AC to try and fill the whole system.

It didn't work though!  You're better off getting a can of Wurth disinfectant foam with the long tube.  Not cheap but much more effective. 

Worth changing the pollen filter if it hasn't had a new one recently.

Tks Tom for quick response,

The steps are below, am i right ?

1.remove pollen filter

2.set max fan with AC and spray into the intake location in front passenger seat.

3.set max fan without AC and do the same.

4.change new pollen filter.

But i am wondering this : It seems the intake hole does not suck air into it, I use a very slight tissue paper piece and put it near that hole but it did not get sucked into.

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1 hour ago, fullthrottle said:

Tks Tom for quick response,

The steps are below, am i right ?

1.remove pollen filter

2.set max fan with AC and spray into the intake location in front passenger seat.

3.set max fan without AC and do the same.

4.change new pollen filter.

But i am wondering this : It seems the intake hole does not suck air into it, I use a very slight tissue paper piece and put it near that hole but it did not get sucked into.

Have you got the right hole?  Sounds like you might have the foot vent instead of the recirculate intake?  Alternatively, don't use recirculate and just spray into the empty space where the pollen filter was if you're removing it anyway.

You want the fan on the minimum speed so it's got a chance to settle on the internal surafces, at full speed it'll just blow straight through and out of the vents without touching the sides.

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1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Have you got the right hole? 

Now there's a question.

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4 hours ago, Guy Heaton said:

Now there's a question.

Haha, i dont know exactly 100%, its the flare hole next to the left of the red light under the glovebox, i will try one more time to the pullen filter space. I can touch the condenser grid / panel already. Will take a pic of that hole later

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