I have a 2003 explorer and it has hada foul smell for a couple months I took it back to the dealer and they made sure the drain line was open, it was and sprayed a ton of frigi fresh in to kill anything. Well three weeks later it is back. I am assuming there is a lot of mold present otherwise it would not keep smelling everytime we turn it on. It is giving us headaches etc and we just had we have small children so I won't let them ride in it until we decide something.

Any advice, I have tried 2 cans of lysol on the intake and that didn't help. Has anyone every had the dash removed to get to the pan and actually see what it is like. Is this a defect? I have read hundreds if not 1000s of people having the same problem, Is there a chemical that can be applied to the box that would prevent mold from growing. Is there anyway to 100 remove it and t never coming back ? Please help!

thanks

 

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My 1996 Bronco is starting so have some dank smell from the ac, I would also like to find a way to cure this problem.

 

Take it back to them, their work has a 12 month/12 thousand mile warranty.

 

Well I think I might have found a solution. I pulled the Blower fan from under the dash to gain access to the box which contains the evaporator core. I debated on whether or not to pay 1000 and have the core replaced and the box cleaned but after talking to a friend who works at ford he told me to give this a try. I used a solution of quat 44 and water 2oz per gallon, it is and industrial strength antimicrobial mold killing virus killing solution. I got a pump strayer and showed it as far back into the housing as I could and sprayed the crap out of it. Let it set 15 minutes then sprayed a water solution to rinse the prior solution off. Before i rinsed it off I reinstalled the fan and ran the AC for about 30 minutes to circulate everything. then uninstalled the fan and rinsed everything, reinstalledit and ran the heater to dry everything. It has been a few days and the smell is completely gone I am going o give it another week and might do one more treatment just to make sure but I had a lot more success than ford.

 

Sounds like you're on the right track.

Do you run the AC in recirculate mode very often? I've read that can cause mold buildup.

 

No not very often , and it has been garage kept so not sure what really caused it but most mechanics either wouldn't work on it or wanted a ton of money to replace the evaporator core and never really would say anything about the box. That is obviously the place the mold was growing. Some models you can't pull the blower motor since it is built in with the dash and that would have been bad news but I am keeping my fingers crossed. If this does solve the problem, I will run the fan to dry the box out almost every time I run the AC so that no moisture is left. This has been a big pain to deal with

 

Yeah, this does sound like it's been a real pain in the neck.

When my wifes 95 Taurus started to develop a smelly AC I gave it a shot of Lysol & told her to shut the AC off & run the blower on high for the last mile of her drive home each evening. Havent had a problem since she started doing this, and i've always done the same with my 87 Ranger.

I've read that some GM vehicles run the blower on a timer after engine is shut off to dry the evaporator.

Hopefully your problem is solved, good luck with it.

 

I tried this stuff called FRIGIFRESH and its made to kill the mildew, fungas and odor from AC systems, works great its made by BG products and for $8.00 you can't go wrong.

Good luck!

 

The best product I've ever used is by ClipLight called EvapClean. BG also has a similar product called Frigiclean...

 

Mildew is a persistent problem in warm, humid climates and in many parts of the country where the humidity level is high during summer months. Mildew can also be a problem during the winter months when conditions are just right. To prevent mildew and eliminate it after it has formed, an understanding of what mildew is, what causes it to develop, and how it can be stopped and kept from returning is necessary.

For Further Info :
Value Dry Expert