AC stink
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Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 10,562
Likes: 4
From: South Jersey
AC stink
Not sure if this will help anyone else but I thought I would post it. Last year I got the smelly AC thing pretty bad, you know the smell when you first turn it on. Well I played around spraying stuff in it and doing different things before I turned it off. By the time I thought I got rid of it the fall had gotten here and I wasn't sure if I had cured it. Since it has finally stopped raining here in NJ and it has gotten hot the problem started again so I went back to doing the same thing I was doing at the end of last summer and it seems to be working (knock on wood). What I do is about 30 seconds before I get to my destination I turn the temperature setting to the middle and let the fan blow air through the heater core. It doesn't seem to matter if I leave the AC on until I stop. Hope this helps someone and if you have any ideas on a cure please post them.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 665
Likes: 0
From: Kingsland, GA
AC stink
I have heard that a can of regular lysol will clear up a set of stinky ducts... the smell is actually caused by mold growing in the vents, and lysol will kill it. Just run the fan through all the positions with the door open while you power dump a can in through the climate control intake.
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 237
Likes: 0
From: FL
AC stink
what i do is with doors an back slidin window open fan on hi out side air vent open spray lysol into intake just right of passenger side windshield wiper can feel air being drawn in. then close vent with max ac on fan on hi spray lysol into air intake right floor side run few min. 2 or 3 more shots lysol then close doors/ windows run few min. open doors let air out then spray cab with vinalla or whatever air spray (smell good stuff) let that circulate lysol will really stink but is killin mold in ducts (smell good stuff) will cancel bad smell. moister in ducts make mold just before get home put out side air on helps some long read guys it does work for me i park my tk. around citrus trees
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,205
Likes: 1
From: Vancouver WA
AC stink
I wonder if maybe the dryer in your A/C system isn't working up to snuff. Could be that by running on vent with a little extra warmth, you are drying out the moisture left in the vents by the A/C. Just a guess.
Cargo Master
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,759
Likes: 71
From: Elk River, MN
AC stink
This may sound dumb, but it has worked for me. I never shut down the vehicle with the selector switch in off or max a/c. Leaving the a/c in off or max will prevent fresh air from getting into the plumbing and allowing the moisture to dry out. I think it is moisture trapped inside that forms into the mold and smell. I got this tip from the owners guide and have used it for many years without any mold/smell problems.
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Senior User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 237
Likes: 0
From: FL
AC stink
i also leave vent open for o/s air and it does help also if mold is allowed to build up during summer then heat is used in winter will dry out mold an flake it into air stream is not good to breath it
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Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,417
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From: Durham, NC
AC stink
Originally posted by mrwizard
I wonder if maybe the dryer in your A/C system isn't working up to snuff. Could be that by running on vent with a little extra warmth, you are drying out the moisture left in the vents by the A/C. Just a guess.
I wonder if maybe the dryer in your A/C system isn't working up to snuff. Could be that by running on vent with a little extra warmth, you are drying out the moisture left in the vents by the A/C. Just a guess.
dryer....It has a desiccant in it for removing any moisture that
might get into the system. They normally are used as an accumulator also..
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Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 10,562
Likes: 4
From: South Jersey
AC stink
I forgot to put this in my original post but right before I turn the engine off I turn the selector from max AC to off.
Since I'm running max AC I don't have any hot coolant in the heater core so the core is not hot, so based on this maybe some moisture is building up on the heater core/blend door and by allowing some air to pass through it the mold is being prevented. All theory/guess work but it doesn't smell.
I agree with Bob, the drier is not for drying the air, it keeps the internal AC system dry.
Since I'm running max AC I don't have any hot coolant in the heater core so the core is not hot, so based on this maybe some moisture is building up on the heater core/blend door and by allowing some air to pass through it the mold is being prevented. All theory/guess work but it doesn't smell.
I agree with Bob, the drier is not for drying the air, it keeps the internal AC system dry.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 134
Likes: 0
From: NJ USA
AC stink
Since I'm running max AC I don't have any hot coolant in the heater core so the core is not hot..
Ken, it was always my understanding that Max A/C is nothing more than recirculated cabin air, meaning you could add some heat to it if you desired. Are you saying the system in question operates differently than what I had always thought?
Ken, it was always my understanding that Max A/C is nothing more than recirculated cabin air, meaning you could add some heat to it if you desired. Are you saying the system in question operates differently than what I had always thought?
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,205
Likes: 1
From: Vancouver WA
AC stink
Just thinking about this some more. If the A/C system doesn't dry the air, why is the A/C compressor on in defrost mode? I thought everyone said it was to dry the air so it helped defog the windows. Not trying to argue or anything, just popped into my head driving around this morning.
Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,417
Likes: 3
From: Durham, NC
AC stink
Originally posted by mrwizard
I wonder if maybe the dryer in your A/C system isn't working up to snuff.
I wonder if maybe the dryer in your A/C system isn't working up to snuff.
post, it sounded like you were talking about part of the system
called the "dryer". It isn't the "dryer" that dehumidifies the air,
it's the evaporator.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 10,562
Likes: 4
From: South Jersey
AC stink
MickeyP, you are mostly correct but when in the max AC position the valve on the heater hose is closed and you don't have any coolant flow through the heater core to make the core hot. I would bet that the core is warm just from the coolant since the heat will travel through the coolant even when the coolant is not flowing.
The reason the AC dehumidifies the air is because of the temperature drop of the air as it passes through the evaporator. As the air temperature drops it can hold less moisture and the moisture falls out of the air as condensation. This is the same thing you get in the real world when a cold front comes through and pushes a hot air mass out in the summer, you get rain.
Sorry about the confusion mrwizard, we were not talking about the same thing I guess.
The reason the AC dehumidifies the air is because of the temperature drop of the air as it passes through the evaporator. As the air temperature drops it can hold less moisture and the moisture falls out of the air as condensation. This is the same thing you get in the real world when a cold front comes through and pushes a hot air mass out in the summer, you get rain.
Sorry about the confusion mrwizard, we were not talking about the same thing I guess.