Smell coming from vents

[please_pimp_my_rde]

Maybe its me, but every time I turn my A/C on, for the first few mins, it has a really bad smell to it, and it's geting worse. Does anyone have any kind of idea where the smell could be coming from? Better yet, how to get rid of it?
99 GASE 2.4

[Degtr]

If it's a musty smell, you may need to clean your evaporator drain. When you run the A/C, do you notice whether water drips from under the car--it should drip on the passenger side under the firewall. In very humid weather, a lot of water condenses on the evaporator and in the vents. It's not unusual to get a smell when first turning on the A/C, but if it's lasting more than a minute, I would check that out.

[please_pimp_my_rde]

Originally Posted by Degtr

If it's a musty smell, you may need to clean your evaporator drain. When you run the A/C, do you notice whether water drips from under the car--it should drip on the passenger side under the firewall. In very humid weather, a lot of water condenses on the evaporator and in the vents. It's not unusual to get a smell when first turning on the A/C, but if it's lasting more than a minute, I would check that out.

Yeah, water does drip from the car when the a/c is on. Where is the evaporator drain located?

[please_pimp_my_rde]

[tommy00gt1]

I found a product called Ozium; that stuff works fantastic. It's in a tall, thin spray can, like a can of Glade air freshener but smaller and thinner.
You can try spraying the hell outta your car; preferably at nighttime when you're locking it up for the night. Spray the Ozium liberally, and just close the windows up tight and let it do its' thing. In the morning, that smell will be greatly diminished; possibly even eliminated. Oh, also.... when you spray that Ozium, make sure your car is running and your air conditioner is running too. The reason being is that you want some of that spray to get into the ductwork / vents.

Ya' know how good that Ozium works???? Years ago somebody puked in my beloved Trans Am... I almost cried. After cleaning up all that damn mess, I used about a half-can of that Ozium, and I also hung up one of those christmas tree fresheners. Next morning, the smell was all gone; and the Ozium even eliminated the scent from that christmas tree freshener!!! That's how good that stuff works at removing odors and scents.
I buy mine at Walmart in the automotive section, but any auto parts store should have it. That spray is used in hospitals and libraries and places like that too. Oh, it comes in different scents... I buy the "new car smell" one.

Hope this helps you out a bit....

[xeroinfinity]

most of the time its a mildew smell from the evap in the ac.
Ozium does work good.
That is only a temp fix.

Most part stores and dealers sell the santizer/disinfectant you need to get rid of the smelly fungus for good. IT is not cheap, but well worth it.

The drain for this is on the passengerside firewall (under the hood) should see a black rubber tube , down toward the bottom. Turn on the AC for a few and then you'll see where the H2O is coming from.

The blower resister needs removed for this proceedure. The spray needs to be sprayed into the hole to the left toward the evaporator core .
The blower should be on HIGH in recirculate mode while doing this, and try to spray up and down to cover the evaporator core .

keeping that drain clear will eliminate this in the future.
Hope this helpd!

[tommy00gt1]

Hi xero... That's darn good advice; I gotta remember that. Although I don't have any smell problem, I'll have to remember where that black hose is just in case.
Thanks..

[dtl379]

Just a quick question, would the a/c smell 'cause of a bad heater core? Just wondering-I just replaced my heater core after smelling radiator fluid, then changed to a smell like an old wet towel left in a bag. It took care of the smell, now I am just tring to find the service port to recharge my a/c. I want to make sure that horrid smell wont come back to haunt me (and xeroinfinity, you have never steered me wrong on anything), so if anyone knows please let me know. And does anyone know where the service port is to recharge my a/c?? Thanks in advance.

[xeroinfinity]

when a heater core leaks it'll smell sweet(from the coolant(I hav even seen it smoke out the vents ) the core it's self might not smell but any coolant that leaked out could be soaked up by the insalation around the core housing(if it had one).

The evaporator just builds condinsation and if the drain is plug even a little it'll keep water in there and it molds.
I've heard some poeple cough and sneeze really bad from the fungus that grows inside thier, mostly allergy related though.

That disinfectant they sell to get rid of this only,
it kills the bacteria/fungus , but it wont fix the drain

The ac line is the LOW pressure marked with an "L".
it is located on the passengerside, behind the motor kinda.
Should see a red and blu cap.
When you fill this its reall tight in there , If you hook up the refill refrigerant before you start the car its much easier to hook up.
You'll hav to let it run for a few minutes with the ac on, just follow the directions on the can .