Air Con Smelling

[mike_f]

Hi,

I've had some bother with my air con smelling for months now. I've tried 2 of the canisters from Halfords to flush it through however the underlying smell is still present. Its a musty smell and seems worse when the ac compressor is on.

The car does seem to have a lot of condensation on a cold morning but no dampness I can find i the car in the foot wells etc..

Any thoughts? The smell is driving me mad..

VW had a look when still under warranty and they couldn't find anything but its out of warranty now.

I've done the basics like remove the pollen filter but that seems clear enough.

Thanks

Mike
 

[GTD1414]

Run the a/c on constantly whilst driving until (it should) it goes away.

The smell may be stagnant water thats been sitting in the evaporator drain pan if you dont use the a/c over winter. Running the a/c will cause condensation on the evaporator, eventually flushing the stale water out of the pan if that makes sense?

[mike_f]

I never turn the air con off - you mean run it on full blast until the smell goes away?

It tends to settle after driving for a bit - its worse about 5 mins into a journey and if you turn the air con on...

But doesn't seem to get rid of the smell permanently... Agree it seems to be a stale water smell..

[GTD1414]

You said you never turn the a/c then said you turn it on after 5mins?
Are you talking about the climate control in general when you say you dont switch it off (ie pressing the 'off' button so temperature displays would be off) or just the a/c button with the orange light on the bottom right?

[Fabio Bignose]

Mine was doing exactly the same although it would only happen spradically.

I described it as a dusty/ musty smell.

Whilst it was in having a new clutch fitted Frank Keane VW used something called an 'air-con bomb' or something like that.
Touch wood its been fine since.

[mike_f]

You said you never turn the a/c then said you turn it on after 5mins?
Are you talking about the climate control in general when you say you dont switch it off (ie pressing the 'off' button so temperature displays would be off) or just the a/c button with the orange light on the bottom right?

I never turn off the ac that runs in the background as part of the climate control.

When you say run the ac constantly do you mean constantly on "max A/C" or just as part of climate control as I normally do?

Cheers

Mike

[tictap]

You need an air con cleaner, just spray into vents and run ac for a short while, it makes a massive difference.

[GTD1414]

You said you never turn the a/c then said you turn it on after 5mins?
Are you talking about the climate control in general when you say you dont switch it off (ie pressing the 'off' button so temperature displays would be off) or just the a/c button with the orange light on the bottom right?

I never turn off the ac that runs in the background as part of the climate control.

When you say run the ac constantly do you mean constantly on "max A/C" or just as part of climate control as I normally do?

Cheers

Mike

Hi Mike, no just the standard a/c button I mean. I think all the max a/c does is put it into 'low' temp and highest fan speed.

In that case I would guess you need your evaporator + drain pan cleaning by hand if that's possible? All the air cleaners and bombs do is just mask over the problem.

[vidman2]

Have you changed the internal air filter? - located behind the glove box  This should be done before you use an cleaner aerosol, costs around £12 for a basic filter but you can get more expensive carbon impregnated ones which are supposed to keep the air cleaner and germ free.

[Eccie]

I have to remember to run the aircon from time to time, having a sunroof you forget & it isn't used a great deal.