Air Con

[diddy boy]

hi guys, my vectra 1.8sri has a really horrible smell after the air con is turned off, it works fine its just when it stops, ive been told the outlet pipe is blocked and its stagnent water, had it up the ramps today and couldnt find a drain pipe anywhere, does anybody know where and how to drain the system to stop this horrible smell, many thanks

[parapaul]

Fairly sure this is just a feature of air conditioning systems - although I will happily be corrected. In every car I've ever been in, for a few seconds after switching air con on or off, that mouldy smell appears.

I've changed the pollen filter and used one of those air con bombs in mine, but no different. Will probably get the air con regassed before summer, wonder if that will help...

[diddy boy]

All i know is the air con stinks and im not touching it as its under alot of preasure, a job for experts i thinks. il try one of them air con cleaners but if that dont sort it its going to vauxhall, cheers

[John35]

You can take the pollen filter and spray Dettol anti-bacterial spray into the vents. This kills then nasty bacteria and the smeel goes. This is all the dealers would do.

Apparently there are also drain holes under the filter these can get clogged and can cause a smell as well. Have a look as you don't need to touch the air-con system itself......its a lot cheaper.

see below

http://forum.vectra-c.com/showthread.php?t=15090

[diddy boy]

cheers mate il give it a go when it stops chucking it down with snow and see what happens

[Nigel Ash]

The smell is caused by stagnant condensate water mixed with other substancies that collect on the evaporator coil when the air con is in use. This after smell can be worse if people smoke in the car and also if the recirc is left on, rather than bringing in fresh air.
The refrigerant charge in the system has nothing to do with the smell, in fact, the smell you get is as a result of the ac working properly. If the ac wasn't working to its best then you wouldn't get condensate, and thus you wouldn't get the smell you are experiencing.
If the condensate drains were blocked, you'd know about that too because on humid days, you would have water dripping into the cabin and soaking your carpets.
Ideally, a biocide needs to be sprayed onto the evaporator coil but this isn't so easy to get at. In commercial air conditioning, i.e buildings offices etc, maintenance which should be carried out includes a biocide spray of the coil at least every 12 months. This doesn't get done on cars due to the inaccessibility issue.
This is what you can try to cure the smell issue.Remove the pollen filter and run your ac with the fan on full speed. Spray antibacterial solution, like dettol or equivalent into where the air is being drawn in (the orifice the pollen filter was covering up. Give it a few good squirts of the solution and the fans will draw the fluid spray onto the coil where it will settle. Do this regularly and the smell which is coming from the stagnant water (bacteria) will not have a chance to build and become a problem.

[diddy boy]

thanks very much nigel, i will give it go and see what happens

[Steel]

Bacteria growing on air conditioning systems can smell awful. There are several treatments available, one I have used myself is made by Comma and is in an aerosol can. The way to use it to best effect apparently is to put it behind the passenger seat in the rear footwell and then set it off. The top of the can locks off and provides a steady stream of the antibacterial agent which gets sucked through the system cleaning as it goes. Put the air con on recirculate and just leave it to it, it does work as I had exactly the same thing and it cured it.

A tip though is to put it on a plastic bag, when it gets to the end of the can it starts spitting a bit and you would end up with a soaked carpet.

[diddy boy]

ta very much