Aircon Problem

MadCow809

MadCow809

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Feb 23, 2006
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This afternoon when i switched the aircon in my subaru, it gave off a rotten smell and i have absolutely no idea why its doing this. The car it self is fairly new, only 9000km on the clock and its less than a year old, can anyone tell me why the aircon is doing this???
 
did the smell go away after a while?

do you usually run it on max/re-circulate?

has it been exceptionally humid?

if it went away, i wouldnt worry too much, if it is still smelling, it is probably mildew built up somewhere from the presence of too much moisture. a dead animal is also a possibility if the smell is still there, but it should dissipate in a few days, whereas mildew will probably never leave until it is treated.


edit: the moisture build up is usually in the evaporator, and running the fan w/o the ac on for a few minutes before you shut the car off can usually dry it out.

one more thing, if it smells like rotten eggs (sulfur) and not musty, it may be the catalytic converter gone bad...
 
Our Passat's AC smelled like rotten eggs after a winter and it was because of the coolant stuff in the system went bad, changed it and it was like new. ;)
 
You can also get these spray cans for about ?10 that you leave on in the car with the aircon on, and it kills the bacteria and such that builds up in the system. Cheaper than getting it sorted by a mechanic, if it isn't serious.
 
It's probably moisture that has built up on the cooling unit of the AC. Before you arrive at your destination, switch off the AC but leave the fan running, this will help warm up the cooling unit and prevent condensation which causes the nasty smell.
 
haven't been playing with frogs have you?


(high octane (iirc), where they dropped the frog in the car, and it crawled into the aircon, to get killed by the fan, resulting in a nice rattling sound :lmao:)
 
A mechanic once said the quickest/cheapest fix which actually worked perfect was to get a can of Glen 20 (a surface spray disinfectant), turn the a/c on (car running) and the fan full on fresh air mode, spray HEAPS of glen 20 in the front air grill at bottom of windscreen and then as quickly as you can, turn the fan OFF and set it to recycle mode to keep the glen 20 in the system with no air movement or atleast 30 mins. Do more than once if needed.

The Glen 20 kills all germs and mould that builds up in the wet damp cooling core. He said thats all that the dealers do when they say they are going to clean your a/c vent system and charge you $150 for it.
 
Magnet said:
A mechanic once said the quickest/cheapest fix which actually worked perfect was to get a can of Glen 20 (a surface spray disinfectant), turn the a/c on (car running) and the fan full on fresh air mode, spray HEAPS of glen 20 in the front air grill at bottom of windscreen and then as quickly as you can, turn the fan OFF and set it to recycle mode to keep the glen 20 in the system with no air movement or atleast 30 mins. Do more than once if needed.

The Glen 20 kills all germs and mould that builds up in the wet damp cooling core. He said thats all that the dealers do when they say they are going to clean your a/c vent system and charge you $150 for it.
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That's what the CarPlan stop odour stuff i was talking about does, except the can sprays itself for about 10 minutes in the car. You just leave the aircon on recirculate with the doors/windows shut.

Cost me about ?10 for a can.
 
sandor_ said:
did the smell go away after a while?

do you usually run it on max/re-circulate?

has it been exceptionally humid?

if it went away, i wouldnt worry too much, if it is still smelling, it is probably mildew built up somewhere from the presence of too much moisture. a dead animal is also a possibility if the smell is still there, but it should dissipate in a few days, whereas mildew will probably never leave until it is treated.


edit: the moisture build up is usually in the evaporator, and running the fan w/o the ac on for a few minutes before you shut the car off can usually dry it out.

one more thing, if it smells like rotten eggs (sulfur) and not musty, it may be the catalytic converter gone bad...
Click to expand...

1) the smell didnt go away

2) i never run it on max, but i always leave the aircon on circulate

3) not really, its winter for us now, and its kind of dry
 
Dark_Templer_102 said:
Well if u have a subaru like mine (new is it?)

I could be a cat failure..
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yes, i bought it in 2005, and yeah... im suspecting that the cat conv is broken
 
MadCow809 said:
Dark_Templer_102 said:
Well if u have a subaru like mine (new is it?)

I could be a cat failure..
Click to expand...

yes, i bought it in 2005, and yeah... im suspecting that the cat conv is broken
Click to expand...

if it was/is the cat, you should smell it with the air con off, but fan still on...
 
most subarus all smell like rotten egg anyway... especially when u redline it
 
Sounds like a dodgy cat to me, although the cat in my Subaru was a bit smelly for the first ~10,000kms and then seemed to get better (or maybe I got used to it).
 
3 of my mates all own or have owned subarus before, but they said that although the subaru's cat conv gives off a rotten smell, the smell issue never got serious, or at least not to the point where im having trouble now, the interior..

so now im desperately trying to find out what the problem is.. the stink is so bad that i cant even have my aircon on, and Spring is just around the corner for us, if i dont sort the problem out, im gonna have to drive around in the bloody heat : (
 
looks like it is time for a trip to the dealer.

i'd definitely go to the dealer in case of warranty issues, etc. if there is something drastically wrong after only 9000 km, it should all be under warranty.
 
sandor_ said:
looks like it is time for a trip to the dealer.

i'd definitely go to the dealer in case of warranty issues, etc. if there is something drastically wrong after only 9000 km, it should all be under warranty.
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tis under the motorplan, but ive learnt my lesson the hard way, SUBARU SA'S SERVICE IS SHIT! last time i ask them to align the wheels, they did such a poor job that when i got my car back, it was pulling to the left whenever i accelerate. :x :x
 
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