With it heating up here in Dallas, I have been running the AC more and more.

Over the last several years I notice that after I have had it running...then park it...then start it up again and turn the AC on, I get a musty smell for a little while...

maybe the car is old? And no I have not left any locker room "stuff" sitting in my car!!!

Is there any place in the drainage system for the AC that water could pool or sock something?

 

I get the same thing when it's humid and sticky out. It quits after a few moments as soon as it starts cooling. I think it is just stale air trapped in the vents until the blower gets going.

 

When I had this when I first got my car I did some research and found several fool proof ways to clean out the AC ducting.

First, you can replace the filter Never done that on an FD so don't ask.

Second thing to do is put some bleach into a spray bottle. Keep the AC on recirculate on the highest fan setting, and spray the bleach in every intake hole. Should be some in the foot wells of the passenger and driver side. Do that for a bit, then get out of the car and let is circulate for a bit. You'll have bleech smell for a few days, but after I performed that on my car, the mildew smell never came back.

 

Damon,

it does go away after awhile but was just trying to figure it out...

daedelGT,
that is an interesting fix....I'll search the parts manual to see if the FD has a filter somewhere...I wonder what it would be called or where it would be located....if not Chlorax here I come!!!

 

Lexus's have a big problem with this as they put a big condeser in the car. The trick is to get the mildew out...

Here are a bunch of links that with recommendations..

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/sear...der=descending

 

theres stuff that they sell at pep boys. dont know if its any good but its made specifically for that.

 

The musty smell comes from mold. That bleach thing is a great idea, I just hope that it doesn't go from a musty smell to bleach smell.

 

You AC isnt draining completely and is growing mold.

1) Check the drain for plugging and/or a kink in the hose. If you are feeling industrious take the covers areound the evaporator off and really clean things up.

2) Some auto parts stores, dealers and hardware stores sell a product called 'Frigi-fresh' and it kills the mold and acts like a deodorant too.

3) Be careful with the bleach idea. I used it in my home AC, but Clorox is acidic and can rot plastic and rubber.

 

I do HVAC for living. The smell you get is coming from your cooling coil. When you shut off the A/C the coil automatically goes to heat mode. Now if you live in a dusty area (just everywhere) or smoke in the car, all the impurities "sticks" to the coil and when condensation occurs, you are smelling impurities being moistened. The only way to reduce the offensive odor is to clean your cooling coil "in the car" which, by the way, pain in the ***. This problem is not limited to older cars, my brand new Suburban does it, too.

 

thanks Black rocket....

do you know the location of the cooling coil in the FD??? How impossible is it to get to?

 

BR, thars a greats response for a HOME AC unit, but car uses separate coils for heating and cooling. The problem is caused by condensation not draining.


BTW, I forgot a lot of people with this problem have cured it by running the system on 'vent' or 'heat' the last few minutes before they turn the car off. The helps dry out the AC coil with fan airflow before stopping the car. Just make sure you run the system in a mode which has the AC compressor shut off and the interior fan going strong

 

I don't own 3rd gen. but, its normally located way behind the center console. You have to remove your stereo and get to A/C & heater control...but, I highly suggest not doing it because of the fact that cleaning your coil is only a temporary elimination of ordor. Meaning, I guarantee the smell will come back the same manner which it accumulated shortly after. But, when you work in the area make sure that evaporator drain hose to be connected and draining properly. If you need further PM me.

 

Correction Mr. Watson I mean tmiked. I never stated anything about drain hose. I didn't fully itemize and explain, as you probably know, both units are in the heater box. now when you shut the A/C the UNIT will automatically shift, sort to speak, in a heater mode, meaning in HVAC there's no such thing as cold we use the term lack of heat (it's kinda funny) but, what it does is when that happens ac coil began to condensate (like glass of cold water in hot area) when it does. the particle which the coil accumulated will start to smell.

Maybe I expected one to automatically figure that out. If I said anything about draining hose, I would automatically asked if they hear slushing sound in the car.

There's a distinctive smell between mold and moistened debris. I don't recall he was referring to moldy smell.

Oh, by the way most domestic A/C systems uses similar methods as auto. There's heater and condenser outside. and most cases has A frame coil in the unit.

Unless you are talking about dual system which requires chiller/boiler system utilizing valves to regulate temp. If you have that at you home your sqft should be 10,000+ to balance out expenses and operational cost.

Shoot me with another #$%^& statement. Tk u and have a nice day

 

well, I bought that stuff from the auto parts place to spray into the intake system for the ac.

I give it at D-!!!

Firstly, you are suppose to spray it into the interior intake with the car's vent system in recirc mode....ok but hell if I can find the intake vent. i took a piece of paper like they said and the intake seems to be in the passenger footwell to the right...but the intake seems tucked waaaaaaaaaayy up high...hell if I could find it....so I skipped that step and turned off the recirc and sprayed it into the external intake....

the spray is like a foam....after I did it, it produced a sickly sweet smell....I think the only thing it does is cover up the smell...oh well....

 

Since they sold you the crappy cleaner stuff, you may want to try unscented Lysol spray. You can spray through the cowl vents with the AC in 'fresh air' mode instead of recirculate.

Dont forget about turning off the AC button and running vent or heat a few min b4 you shut down

Good Luck

 

What tmiked said. Lysol is a good idea. All you need is something that will kill the bacterias growing on the dust in the recirc-path.

 

Believe it or not, this recomendation came from the Honda dealer when my wife had an Accord and this musty smell showed up on the new car.
Run the heater full blast for a good 30 to 45 minutes for a couple of days and that is it.
I know is uncomfortable, but go out for a night ride with the windows rolled down.
I practice this on all my cars and it works for me.
The heat kills the mold growing in the evaporator.
FYI, the cooling coil (evaporator) is under the dash on the passenger side on the 3 gen.

 

any pics on which vents you're suppose to spray the lysol into ?
the smell is horrible for my fd expecially when it just has these sudden burst of heat... i thought it was just stinking heated air from my engine bay but i guess if it's cureable then i'll try some lysol and also blasting my heater when i go for a drive

 

are the cowl vents the ones inside (windshield defrost vents) or the ones outside (right below the wiper blades) ?

 

outside...

if you turn your vent on and fans on high and take a piece of paper you can see it getting sucked towards the appropriate vents

 

ok thanks

 

That heater thing doesnt work.. my FD does it too....
it was cold here in miami.. and i usally Blast the heater in my Car for a couple hours..

did this for 2 weeks.. Still no luck on that.. Still when i Turn the AC unit on.. i get that Mold / Water Damage Smell from the AC .... it goes away after a minute or two... but still it stinks the Car pretty bad.

 

I forgot to mention it does not work in Florida.
Don't ask why (maybe Bermuda triangle and/or humidity all year round, go figure).
I live in the same area as 7racer (Dallas) and..... "IT WORKS FOR MY CARS" (total of 4)
OK??????
Try it, what can you loose???
A couple of pounds of weight due to sweat???
It's free and healthy.
Tip- Do not use outside air when doing the heater treatment, as it will be not too hot, so recirculate the hot air.
Nimor, what do you call Cold in Miami???
75 degrees F.

 

Bringing this thread from the dead.

I found some helpful information that will be useful for future reference.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...ns/07_001.HTML