Smelly Air Con

[Will]

I had the car serviced 5K ago and they serviced the air con. For the first month no probs just a fresh clean smell. Now if I use the econ setting for any length of time the next time I use the air con I get a pretty nasty smell, or if its a damp day. Has anyone else experienced this? Also can you clean the filter or system yourself with a cleaning product.

Will

[mannyo]

I get it to, something to do with bacteria build up. I just leave it on auto all the time now though.

[devonutopia]

My local dealer had a leaflet offering an air-con service / overhaul. The cost was just over £100 all in, and I felt this was a little bit expensive. I've had no smells from my air-con yet, but I was warned by some TV programme, think it was Top Gear, that leaving your air-con off for the six months of Winter can lead to it not working when you come to want it in the Summer again. I think it dislikes being inactive for long period of time, something do to with the refridgeration unit I believe, but I'm no expert

[SkodiRS]

Mines been on auto ever since I got it but I get that musty smell. It's set at 23 and if I change to 22 I get that smell.

The pollen filter is behind the dash where?

Cheers.
Adrian.

[Will]

Glad its not just me. Vary strange that this smell only happens at 22 rather than at 23. I have also found it really chucks up if you put it on recycled air. £100 sounds crazy. Mine was half price due to the winter period an it cost £32 extra, but the nice clean airfreshner smell only lasted about a month and then it started to smell again. Can be embarrasing when freinds get in the car. Still its a Skoda onest!!

[KLB]

This site http://www.honda-oz.org.au/kuruma/k01-15.htm
has a lot of useful info on aircon.

It's not entirely accurate - the first paragraph says the evaporator's job "is to remove moisture from the air, thereby cooling it". In fact, the evaporator cools the air, and as a by-product condenses moisture out of it. Still, what can you expect, it's not a Skoda site

Smells are often the result of dampness in the evaporator.

The seal on the (refrigerator) compressor shaft needs to be lubricated by running the aircon for at least tem minutes a week. If it isn't, there is a risk of refrigerant leaking out.

[Kentish]

As has been said before this is a common problem with air con. It is due to bacteria on the evaporater (cold plate) which is accelerated by not drying the evaporater when turning off the engine. This can be done by running the fan without the air con so as to blow the evaporater dry (as much as possible).

As the evaporater is hidden deep behind the dash it is not possible to clean it like you would a fridge. This therefore means that any odours will cling to the evaporater like glue, and this includes cigarette smoke thus helping the odours grow.

Personally I wouldnt have anyone "clean " my air con system as it always seems to create a problem.

Now if someone could find a way of introducing a Milton solution spray mist onto the evaporater, that might help. This is because Milton is the only sterilising fluid that has no "after smell" of its own. ( expierience of refrigeration work and problems here)


Cheers

[Dutch4x4]

Originally posted by Kentish in this post
As has been said before this is a common problem with air con. It is due to bacteria on the evaporater (cold plate) which is accelerated by not drying the evaporater when turning off the engine. This can be done by running the fan without the air con so as to blow the evaporater dry (as much as possible).

Exactly. I've kept to this practice with my manual aircon and it works like a charm. So keeping the climate control on Auto all the time will in fact eventually work against you.

OTOH, not using the aircon during the winter months is equally not good maintenance-wise - apart from the fact that it really helps to clear the moisture from the interior, which causes damp or frozen windscreens in the first place. Best thing is to use it all year but to turn it off a couple of miles before reaching home, allowing the fan to dry out the system. In summer, this will also help you acclimatize before you step outside into what will feel like a blanket of heat...

So one of the first things I will do after receiving the Octy on Thursday is to work out how to operate the Climatronic manually.

[Dmac1969vRS]

I usually have my climatronic on ECON all the time , and the fan running on 1 bar only and set to LO unless its absolutely perishing outside , in that case i might knock it up to 19 or 20. If i want the aircon to run i generally just press the ECON button and make the word ECON dissapear off the screen , never have used the AUTO function in the almost 2 years of ownership of my car , and never had a bad smell from the aircon when it is switched on (usually only for a few mins a week on average ,unless its raining then i use the aircon more as i find that its the only way to keep the windows clear of condensation on a wet day)

[DGW]

So one of the first things I will do after receiving the Octy on Thursday is to work out how to operate the Climatronic manually.

That's easy. Mine drops out of AUTO if I press any of the buttons controlling where the airflow is directed, or alter the fan speed (the latter shouldn't happen if you only alter the fan speed by one stage, but mine hasn't read the Owners Manual!). AUTO disappears from the display but air conditioning then operates under full manual control. OTOH if ECON is displayed then the air con is OFF.

[Dutch4x4]

That's easy alright!

Thanks, will now skip that part of the owners manual

(My remaining interest in the Climatronic will be directed to its codes. Didn't someone somewhere here publish a list and a how-to? Don't worry, I'll find it myself.)

[skomaz]

Hmmm...

Have read this and we've got the same bad smell in our Fabia. £100 sounds expensive to get it sorted... has anyone tried a DIY job to clean off the bacteria etc?

[KentStu]

Just thought I would revive this topic as my air con seems to be getting worse on the smell front. Has anyone found any way of getting rid of the smell once it has started?

[Kentish]

Stu, I started to get the smell in the Superb, but after a long journey with the climate going constantlyand keeping to the habit of turning off the air con for the last 2 miles or so of travel the smell has gone. I also apply this to the Transporter and that is smell free too.

Running the cooling system without the aircon going helps to dry the evaporater before the car stops thus restricting the bacteria growth that causes the musty smell.

I definately think though that short journeys with the aircon going and no drying cause the biggest problems as the beacteria arent "burnt" away on the evaporater properly. Well thats my take on it anyway.

Cheers

Andy

[KentStu]

Cheers Andy will give it a try - suspect my short daily commute is not doing it any good at all

[KLB]

The only time I've noticed a musty smell from the aircon is in rental cars over in Florida - and the common theme has been that they were on "recirculate". Changing to through-flow has cleared the smell.

I have the climate control on all the time - in auto mode - in my car, and I have never noticed any smell.

[Sco]

The stuff we're breathing off our evaporators will make you want to puke. http://www.brimaservices.com/dwd2.html

It is good advice to run the AC at least once a week, year-round. It not only keeps the evaporator more clean, but keeps the AC compressor seals in top shape for longer life. Atrophy hurts cars too!

The US $99 DWD2 stuff being sold up above is getting some competition from Einszett. I got a complimentary can of their (US $10) Klima-Cleaner just last week and have been poring over the ETKA and Bentley manual looking for the best path to gain access to the evaporator. I'm fairly certain my best choice is to remove the fresh-air filter and inject the foam adjacent to the blower fan... but the English label on the can is not specific and the German text seems to indicate three uses from one can. I'm waiting for clarification on that point before I waste the whole can on one shot.

I promised Einszett and ClubB5 a testimonial of my experience. I'll be happy to crosspost it here for your consumption as well.

[skodaw]

£100 for an "Aircon" service - that's daylight robbery,we charge £70 - that includes replacement of pollen filter,cleaning of pollen filter housing - electrical system check(fault diagnosis) evacuation of remaining gas - vac check to check for leaks,adding of UV dye - to check for leaks and Regas.This would also include application of "Forte" Aircon system treatment,this is an anti-bacterial spray -- you set aircon on LOW & RECIRC plaice can in footwell and set it off -- takes about 15 Mins to run through - you can see it recirc around the car -- once it's done - smell all gone GUARANTEED FOR SIX MONTHS -- this product is fantastic and for once really works -- the only down side is that the smell whilst pleasant can be quite strong at first -- but it does last well - you also have to wipe dash afterwoods as it leaves a residue dust -- but overall great product.

[mellowyellow]

Dave , have also heard from a customer that the Forte aircon system treatment is excellent .

[skodaw]

It's not dear either -- Forte Treatment on it's own approx £20