Air con smells

[marktdisport]

Since owning my A4 every time i turn my air con on for only 10-15 seconds i get a horrid smell from my air con and once its running it's fine...... pollen filter clean and free of debree, also had it regassed and a air con cleaner done aswell it's strange but my m8 got a 55 plate golf gti and once again the dead dog smell appears the same on his golf, checked the plenum chamber and that is also dry and doesnt have water in it either....
any thoughts on this much apprieciated as little lost now

 

[quattrojames]

A deodorising treatment from a sepcialist will work better than a DIY jobbie. Have you checked the evaporator drain holes aren't blocked?

 

[marktdisport]

that was done by a specialist james........ ill take another look around the pipes now

 

[sendtohim]

mine pongs iv been told to get it emptied and re gassed

 

[Mike B]

mine pongs iv been told to get it emptied and re gassed

If its working well this will be a waste of money cos the gas has no smell.Its stagnant condensation in the drains which are not clean or bunged up.Have heard that they can be cleaned and flushed from underneath

 

[quattrojames]

mine pongs iv been told to get it emptied and re gassed

This advice has always confused me too, the refrigerant is a closed circuit so it can't really contaminate anything.

 

[marktdisport]

i knew it wasnt the gas anyhows but when i brought the car i payed for a regas for piece of mind but still got the iffy smell shame really because last for 10 seconds or so........ any pics or ideas were to find these drain holes etc

 

[T0m]

Guys i read somewhere a while ago that you should never turn the system off while its blowing cold air as this creates the bad smell, so before your about to turn your engine off or the air con give the air con a blast of hot air i.e turn it up to HI or even to about 24/25 let it blow out hot air for a few minutes then turn it off...the smell will never happen then!

I though this was silly bit i did it last year and ever since and guess what noooooo bad smell at all!!!

 

[marktdisport]

tom ill give it ago if it works your a star

 

[T0m]

ok you get a difference in smells between the air con and the econ but since ive done the above ive not noticed the bad smell certainly with the air con on....mind you I didn't have the air con on much this summer anyhow but when i did i made sure i gave the system a blast of hot air before i turned it off and havent noticed that smell you mention at all.

Just to add I did suffer with that initial 'dead dog' smell as I called it but since i did the above Ive not had the problem ;-) so let us know how it goes fella....

 

[GrayT]

I think they say to just run it on normal econ for a couple of mins at the end of a journey. If the smell returns then give it a quite long blast on the hottest setting (I also took it in turns to direct the the various vents to maximise effect. This largely seems to have reduced the problem I had. They do say that to get rid of any really stubborn smells you need to use a cleaner with enzymes in (such as bio-tex) mixed into a spray solution as this is the only thing that will actually kill the bacteria which cause the smell. I've not taken it that far yet.

 

[T0m]

I agree with your comments Gray at the end of a journey when Ive used to air con on cold I always turn it off afte ra blast on HI and I cannot honestly say when the last time was I smelt the bad smell!

I find I dont like the smell of the air when it comes out on the econ mode so never really use it.

 

[marktdisport]

mines has improved now tom i was also told to put a magic tree on top of the pollen filter as this helps to start a nicer smell.... trying this tuesday when it goes in for its full service

 

[T0m]

I wouldnt want to put a magic tree in there to be fair run it on hi a couple of times more over the space of a few weeks and it will go completely fella!!!

 

[marktdisport]

it's loads better all ready tom thanks m8.....

 

[quattrojames]

any pics or ideas were to find these drain holes etc

 

[marktdisport]

thanks james this will defo help

 

[PW-Motorsport]

As above,
Try this stuff fire half the can into the aircon drain, works a treat.
Wurth Air Conditioning Disinfectant Spray 300ml | eBay