Car air-con/climate-control

[Smilie]

Hi

my car is giving out a strange smell when i turn on the air-con/climate-control
any1 had this before??
do i need to get the car into a garage (which might cost alot)

or would those aircon cleaner product that places like halford sell
do the job??

seems like halford does these air-con recharge/cleaning services (using those products)
are they anygood??

any advice?

[Graham M]

Only advice i can give on this is pop to Halfords and see what they reckon

[Kymmy]

What sort of smell is it?

If it's like a fridge smell then you've got a slight refridgerant leakage, if it's a sweet smell then more likely to be a slight coolant leakage from the heater matrix (bot the aircon and heater uses the same channels)

Either way not normally something that Halfords could fix (they normally can just change the gas or coolant) and more upto a proper garage

[j52c]

It may be because it hasn't been used for some time and not nescesarily a leakage.

When I bought my car from new I was told to run the air con at least once a month for a few minutes to prevent it from smelling. I think there is a filter of some type that has to be changed.

After 4 years I have had no smell from the unit.

[AndyCambs]

1 - make sure you run the car with the aircon on for a while
2 - change the water in your windscreen washer reservoir.

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by AndyCambs

2 - change the water in your windscreen washer reservoir.

Just don't do what I did a few months ago trying to clear out a blockage on my rear washers when I sucked intead of blowing (OI you lot less of the dirty thoughts!!!!!) and ended up swallowing some which gave me outgoings from both ends for a day or two gawd was that 'orrible!!!!!

[Smilie]

well i dont usually use the air-con much
as i dont usually drive long distance 45min drive at most
and i like to open the window for fresh air
so it could be that i haven't used it much

i did try turing the air-con on full and after a min or so the smell seems to be gone
but the smell came back after i stop the car for 10mins

well i will turn the air-con on the next few days and see if i still get the smell after a week or so

the smell is like damp smell (like after washing your clothes and forgot to dry them :P ) and
also like a fridge smell

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by Smilie

Hi

my car is giving out a strange smell when i turn on the air-con/climate-control
any1 had this before??

It's probably bacteria. the cleaning stuff you can try is just a can that you let off in the car with the aircon running.
your pollen filter probably needs changing too. you're supposed to use air con about once week all year through otherwise the seals can dry out.[/quote]

Originally Posted by Smilie

well i dont usually use the air-con much
as i dont usually drive long distance 45min drive at most
and i like to open the window for fresh air
so it could be that i haven't used it much

i did try turing the air-con on full and after a min or so the smell seems to be gone
but the smell came back after i stop the car for 10mins

well i will turn the air-con on the next few days and see if i still get the smell after a week or so

the smell is like damp smell (like after washing your clothes and forgot to dry them :P ) and
also like a fridge smell

Keep the air con running for a good 10 minutes and get the gases working, the smell will be from the coolant oil inside the air con pipes, it pays to have your air con system serviced every 2 years. You'll see these signs saying air con refill £40, they get you in then tell you that you need new seals and new fluids, it will end up costing you over £80.

[banjo]

It is caused by bacteria growing on the air con condenser in the car, you need to shut all the windows set the air con to circulate inside the car only then set off the bacteria cleaner cannister, set to full output for about ten minutes and then open the doors and windows to get rid of the chemicals.

This is the sort of thing but there are many makes.