Whenever I first turn on my A/C it always smells so awful. I was wondering if anyone else has this problem. Any suggestions, I do not believe that this smell is normal. It has been there for about a year or so.
Thanks


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2001 Dodge Viper RT/10 Sapphire Blue / Cognac

2000 F150 XL V6

2001 Honda Accord EX Coupe

 

take it to your dearler they have a special deodorizier for this problem

 

Turn your selector to A/c (not Max A/C), ignition to "on", w/ truck not running. roll the windows & spray Lysol disinfectant into the A/C vent on the outside

 

You can also spray some Lysol by the interior A/C
intake(for MAX setting) It is located at the top of the carpet on the passenger side. It's right in the middle,and looks like a vacuum cleaner nozzle(a little )Good luck getting rid of the smellys,,,,98

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98 F-150 4.6 Litre XLT2wd Ext. cab
Yokahama AVS/ST's,,too noisy
prarie tan/tan int.
K/N gen.II fipk
custom dual exh/gibson rectangle tips/rear exiting.
color matched snuglid
Superchip!!!
Clear front corners
Speedglo gauges w/carbon fiber overlay,might paint it black
Stillen Quad light air dam,with Pilot PL-240 driving lights
Euro taillights
Cobra 75WXST cb w/weather alert
Kenwood cd w/Radio Shack speakers,and Soundstream P203e amplifier//Single 10" sub
Viper alarm
On the waywheels,tires,Proglass shaker hood,new leather seat
Come see my new pictures@ www.my-f150.com

officialtomwaits.com
reverendhortonheat.com

WOW,what a cool site!

FENDER GUITARS ROCK!!!

I just "wish" it was lowered

 

The lysol trick will work, and is as effective as the Ford product. If this is a "moldy" smell, its pretty common with AC systems, and will recur.

To keep the smell from coming back too often, run the AC on its warmest setting for a couple of minutes before you turn off the truck (while you're on the way home, the truck can be moving). This will help by reducing the moisture left in the system. (Speaking of which -- check the drainplugs to be sure they are not clogged. I don't know where they are, sorry.)

 

Same problem in my SCrew. Mine smells like there's some sort of coolant leak entering my AC/Heat system somewhere. Ford did the deodorizer trick after telling me they couldn't find a leak, yadayada.
My drain is located right over/near the cat. I can tell because I can hear the drips hissing like spit on a griddle when I shut off.
This might be helpful:
http://www.airsept.com/

 

Try parking with the switch in the vent position to allow the cab to breath. Going from air con to shut down traps moisture in the system and causes an odor.

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Mine:2001 1/2 F150 Super Crew, Lariat, Oxford white w/silver lower accent and Med. Gray Leather Captain Chairs,4x4 ORP, 5.4L, 3.55LS, 17" Chrome wheels w/GY AT/S LT265/70/17, auto, 6 CD,Towing package, alarm, Westin Chrome nerf bars, Seat Savers and Husky mats for hunting, bed liner, white tail light lens covers.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Album...1294&a=3025874
Wife: 1999 Explorer Limited,pearl white/tan leather,4.0L,4:10LS,CD,sunroof,towing pkg.,alarm. Bought new Sept. 1999

Previous: '65 Mustang 289 HiPo, '70 Chevelle SS 396, '70 Vette Conv. 350/350, 72 Datsun PU,'74 Vette TTop, '79 Blazer, '81 F150, '83 Bonneville, '84 Gran Marquis '89 TBird Super Coupe 3.8L SuperCharged, '93 Explorer 4.0L, '97 F150 SC XLT, 4x4 ORP

 

I have sprayed Lysol into the four inside A/c ducts at the end of the day and let the truck sit overnight. Oh, engine not running and heat/a/c off.

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97 F-150, 2WD, Reg Cab,Flareside,Dk Toreador Red, Windsor 4.6, Magnecor 8.5mm wires, Bosch Plat +4s, 3.55 LS, EGR Bug Deflector, ******* Bed Cover, Bed Liner, XL Full Length Running Boards, Air Aid Kit, Gibson Single Out Cat Back, Superchips, TransGo Shift Kit, Hellwig Rear Sway Bar, Hellwig 2500# Overload Springs,Energy Suspension Polyurethane Front Sway Bar Bushings, 265 70 16 tires, Rancho RS9000 shocks,Expedition Center Console

 

You might have a dead mouse or chipmunk in your ventilation fan. See if you can get in there and check.


Sometimes they get in there and make nests, then when your turn the fan on they get chopped up and decompose, which smells awful.

 

He does make a good point. I actually had a neighbor who had a squirel (spelling) to build a nest in the dust work on a Geo Metro. You could actually hear the nuts and sticks move when you went around a curve in the car. They had to wind up taking the car to a dealer and pulling all of the dash and duct work out to remove this mess. Not fun, just funny.

 

My neighbor has an '01 SCrew and his pet monkey made a dookie in the intake in front of the windshield. It smells worse than mold though.

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2000 Extended Cab F-150
4X4 Offroad
Flairside Oxford White
AirRaid FIPK
2001 L Tails
2001 L 3rd Brake Light
2001 L Corners
Pioneer DEH8000
12 Disc Changer
Custom Amp Rack
Rockford Fosgate Punch 160
Rockford Fosgate 10" SUB
Keypad Mod
Polar Bear Brushguard
2 160 Watt K.C.'s, Duraliner Bed Liner
AVS hood deflector
AVS Vent Visors

 

do what bwingate said. that is the only way i have found to prevent the smell in my truck. it dries out all the moister that causes mildew. just role the windows down, turn it on high, vent, hot.

 

Just follow the procedures in your owner's manual.

The manual for my '99 says at the bottom of page 58:

"Under normal conditions, your vehicle's climate control system should be left in any position other than MAX A/C or OFF when the vehicle is parked. This allows the vehicle to "breathe" through the outside air inlet duct."

I live in a hot and humid area and usually run the a/c on MAX A/C. So long as I flip the selector to A/C when I park, musty odor is not a problem.

 

Denis is on the right track! I switch mine to PANEL so fresh outside air can get in. I had more of this problem in my Expy than my S-Crew. Now it's just a habit when I get out. It's never good to leave the selector in the A/C mode when starting anyway. A Ford service advisor suggested that I try to avoid starting the engine with the selector set to A/C. Less the motor has to work when starting the better!

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1999 Expedition XLT, 5.4, Oxford White, LLS
2001 SuperCrew XLT, 5.4, Metalic Silver, Gen III (Loaded - Even has Rear Ent. Sys!)
1999 30' Wilderness Travel Trailer

 

You wanna know a funny story about nests in cars? My friend's 98 Rav-4 was always parked outside under some big oak trees...they never figured that it would be a problem...then they start smellin some sort of burning in the front of the car, but they can't figure it out...a year passes, and on a day where the temp. shot up really fast this year we went drivin around for about 2 hours...the engine had never heated up enough to ignite the birds nest that was under the hood...the combination of the warm weather and lots of driving caused the engine to literally smoke like crazy and cause a fire...smoke goes into the interior, warps and deforms everything....everything is trashed, they have to total the car...all becuase of a stupid little nest....so be carefull!!!