Weird Vent Smell

[tomshepp]

I'd be checking the sealing of the  heater air intake to the engine bay by now. The smell is oily. Does that give you a clue?

[fullthrottle]

17 minutes ago, tomshepp said:

I'd be checking the sealing of the  heater air intake to the engine bay by now. The smell is oily. Does that give you a clue?

It may be where my car smell come. Can u show me its location ? Pic of that seal is gr8

[TomsFocus]

49 minutes ago, tomshepp said:

I'd be checking the sealing of the  heater air intake to the engine bay by now. The smell is oily. Does that give you a clue?

The car in my original post is long gone...that was at least 4 cars ago... 

Sadly my current AC also smells, though that's definitely a damp/mould smell. Tried the same anti-bac trick which didn't work for second time lol...  It's a previous write off though so I suspect the dash ducting was disturbed and there's now a nice pool of dampness somewhere inaccessible breeding bacteria...  Will be selling the car soon (I've said that for the last 2 years!) so I'm past caring now.  I just drop the windows instead of using the AC.

 

[tomshepp]

Couldn't do that. It was the aircon for £250 option that closed the deal on my first Ka. My then partner had MS and melted in hot weather which would knock her out for a week. I could just fold up her wheelchair and get it in the back with the seats up, Lovely little ladybird, that Ka. Haven't been without aircon since.

[fullthrottle]

May heater tube causes the problem ? Because if i turn to higher degree the smell comes stronger

[TomsFocus]

5 hours ago, fullthrottle said:

May heater tube causes the problem ? Because if i turn to higher degree the smell comes stronger

If you leave the AC switched off for a couple of days, does it still smell?  What sort of smell is it?  Damp/wet dog or exhaust/engine smell?

I'm surprised you've got any smell at all on a 2018 car...if it's still under warranty it may be something the dealership could look into.  Pollen filter should have been changed if it's been main dealer serviced.

The cabin intake comes in under the scuttle panel beneath the wipers if you want to check that, but as long as you've got the carbon cabin filter, you shouldn't get any engine smells through that anyway.

If it is definitely an AC problem, the Wurth stuff should sort you out though.  I know it's not cheap but as long as it's used correctly, will be worth the cost. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/wurth-air-conditioning-disinfectant-antibacterial-spray-air-con-system-cleaner/184451550306

[Botus]

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2020 at 7:01 PM, tomshepp said:

I'd be checking the sealing of the  heater air intake to the engine bay by now. The smell is oily. Does that give you a clue?

the usual smell is rotting bacteria on the evaporator. 

It comes from human skin, legionella, other rotting dust, fluff and environmental debris.  A perfect cocktail resides in the heater system of pretty much any age car.  With monster growth needing time, food, moisture and warmth.

But as Tom surmises its worse when you fiddle with AC, like switching it off - the monsters stop getting cold and you warm the moisture on the evaporator.  Leaving it running like its designed to, slows / kills the speed they breed at.  The age bit comes in as the car's had longer for the dead skin cells to build up their food supply.

of course can be other smells from under the bonnet like antifreeze leaks [can also be internal at heater] or burning oil or not for long, CO from a leaking exhaust

[TomsFocus]

18 minutes ago, Botus said:

But as Tom surmises its worse when you fiddle with AC, like switching it off - the monsters stop getting cold and you warm the moisture on the condenser.  Leaving it running like its designed to slows / kills the speed they breed at.  The age bit comes in as the car's had longer for the dead skin cells to build up their food supply.

Two schools of thought on that I guess.  Without the AC on, there's no moisture on the condenser at all.  The smell on my current car disappears altogether a day or two after leaving the AC off.

[Botus]

goes away 30 mins after having the ac running....

[TomsFocus]

4 hours ago, Botus said:

goes away 30 mins after having the ac running....

The dampness leftover from AC use grows the mould and bacteria overnight in mine.  It's utterly horrific the next time I start the engine and takes a couple of days of fresh airflow and windows down to pass.  It's better just to leave it off altogether in my case.  I'm rarely in the car longer than 15 minutes anyway.

'When' I eventually get a new car, it will have climate control and I'll just leave the AC on permanently.  Hopefully that'll keep it clean...

[fullthrottle]

11 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

If you leave the AC switched off for a couple of days, does it still smell?  What sort of smell is it?  Damp/wet dog or exhaust/engine smell?

I'm surprised you've got any smell at all on a 2018 car...if it's still under warranty it may be something the dealership could look into.  Pollen filter should have been changed if it's been main dealer serviced.

The cabin intake comes in under the scuttle panel beneath the wipers if you want to check that, but as long as you've got the carbon cabin filter, you shouldn't get any engine smells through that anyway.

If it is definitely an AC problem, the Wurth stuff should sort you out though.  I know it's not cheap but as long as it's used correctly, will be worth the cost. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/wurth-air-conditioning-disinfectant-antibacterial-spray-air-con-system-cleaner/184451550306

it's kind of dust smell when i switch the AC off , only fan blowing.

for cleaning air recirculation vents maybe i have to remove the glove box and access the inside/outside air door, am i right ? can not see this door if not removing glovebox.

and if i want to use Wurth product to clean the condensate then could anyone show me where to find this drain hose ?

• "Insert the spray probe into the condensate drain"

 

 

[WireyWhenWet]

Just to chip in, on older cars double check the drain holes by the scuttle panel aren't blocked up or filled with stagnant stuffs. That smell gets drawn in very easily anyway being close to the air intake but also can lead to nasties working in through seals and carpet ends in the footwear. Possible option if its more there when just 'Outside air is used!

[TomsFocus]

10 hours ago, fullthrottle said:

it's kind of dust smell when i switch the AC off , only fan blowing.

for cleaning air recirculation vents maybe i have to remove the glove box and access the inside/outside air door, am i right ? can not see this door if not removing glovebox.

and if i want to use Wurth product to clean the condensate then could anyone show me where to find this drain hose ?

• "Insert the spray probe into the condensate drain"

 

 

The AC drain is behind the kick panel on the drivers side.  Pull out the white plug and spray it through the the black hole into the heater box.  The Wurth stuff foams up like shaving foam, there's no need to remove anything as it comes with that long tube that you can put down the vents, as well into the drain hole and from pollen filter hole as well if you want.

[Botus]

22 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

The dampness leftover from AC use grows the mould and bacteria overnight in mine.  It's utterly horrific the next time I start the engine and takes a couple of days of fresh airflow and windows down to pass.  It's better just to leave it off altogether in my case.  I'm rarely in the car longer than 15 minutes anyway.

'When' I eventually get a new car, it will have climate control and I'll just leave the AC on permanently.  Hopefully that'll keep it clean...

you can buy or go to a place that uses some stuff to kill the monsters....  it should be done regularly by competent dealerships / proper maintenance of the vehicle

short journeys are the issue,  if you have the AC on they should die within an hour on most cars, yep if they got lively and you only drive every two weeks they'll come back when you keep doing short trips and or you play space invaders on the AC button, then it will get out of control

[Botus]

Legionnaires' disease (LD) is a major cause of severe community-acquired pneumonia but the source and mode of transmission are not always apparent, especially in sporadic cases. We hypothesized that LD can be acquired from the air-conditioning systems of motor cars. Swabs were taken from the evaporator compartments of the air-conditioning system of scrapped cars. Healthy subjects who were mainly employees of regional transportation companies were tested for antibody to Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1-6; they also completed a questionnaire.

Legionella species were detected in 11/22 scrapped cars by the loop-mediated isothermal amplification method. The prevalence of microplate agglutination titres > or =1:32 was significantly higher in subjects who sometimes used car air-conditioning systems. Although we did not prove a direct link between Legionella spp. in the car evaporator and LD, our findings point to a potential risk of car air-conditioning systems in LD, which needs further investigation.

[Botus]

RAC

A survey has revealed that 73 per cent of motorists think their air conditioning system – neglected through a winter of zero use – is the part of their cars that require the most attention after a long winter’s motoring.

That’s right. Not engines, or tyres, or brakes – items all subject to a corrosive combination of rain and road salt – but air conditioning.

The results, from a poll by the Good Garage Scheme, showed that the vast proportion of people surveyed are most worried about whether they will stay cool in the car now the spring weather is here.

Just 11 per cent were most worried about the state of their car’s engine, with six per cent worried about what a harsh winter could do to tyres, five per cent concerned about tired windscreen wipers and four per cent bothered about the key safety aspect of any vehicle, its brakes.

Of course, repairing air conditioning problems are not cheap, and can have a big impact on how pleasant the car is to drive.

If you’ve ever smelt that musty “green” aroma that a worn-out air conditioning system can produce, you wont be surprised to hear that poorly maintained and rarely used air-con can cause the build-up of mould and bacteria that has been linked to medical ailments such as influenza.

Medical professionals have even linked the harmful microorganisms in a neglected air conditioning system’s output to Legionnaires’ disease – a potentially deadly condition.

Water droplets distributed over a wide area – such as those found in air conditioning systems – spread Legionella bacteria, the root cause of the disease.

So, maybe the 73 per cent of car owners are right – we should be worrying about our air-con after a winter of disuse, if for nothing other than the preservation of our health.

Still, it remains worrying that just four per cent of car drivers believe their brakes are the item of their cars most in need of some TLC after a hard winter on the roads….

[fullthrottle]

17 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

The AC drain is behind the kick panel on the drivers side.  Pull out the white plug and spray it through the the black hole into the heater box.  The Wurth stuff foams up like shaving foam, there's no need to remove anything as it comes with that long tube that you can put down the vents, as well into the drain hole and from pollen filter hole as well if you want.

great info. TKs Tom.