hi all,
I recently bought a car and when i switch the aircon on, it stinks and then goes away. Does anyone know why? Research on the internets tells me that its a sick car syndrome, but nothing to actually rectify the problem.
Thoughts? ideas?
Thanks
I think it does have a cabin filter.. And if that doesnt resolve the problem?
Try that first….
If no good then start looking at damp floor area or blocked drain channels…
Do the filter first…. might still be the one fitted at the factory???
idd it come with evidence of a RWC? the pink slip should tell you want changes or fixups they had to do to deem it sellable in Melbourne. When i bought my vcar, they had to replace the ac filter.
nah this is NSW.
I had that in my car once. It was annoying. I think it is usually due to a build up in mould because when we use the air conditioning we just turn it off when the car is turned off, but apparently that can leave water in the system which can go yucky (that's not a technical term).
It is even worse if you don't run your air-con at all during winter. You should run it once a week for about ten minutes apparently. Not that that helps you in your current situation.
There are a couple of options. The first is to find someone locally that has a high discharge (not home-made) ozone machine that can be run for about half an hour, preferably with the air con running. You can't be in the same vicinity of these things when they are going, but they are quite effective against all smells and the mould itself.
What I did was the cheaper option. I turned the car's air con on, the heat all the way up to "I can just barely stand it" and drove around for twenty minutes. You could probably achieve the same thing by just have your car idling with the heat on, but I had somewhere to go anyway. It worked like a charm. Eighteen months later not a whiff of the bad stuff on start-up. Give it a go and let us know how it went.
Leaving your car in idle with the AC cranked seems like a good way to prematurely wear out your alternator. (Ok if you don't mind spending upwards of $300 to get a new one).
Take it to a few car AC repair/re-gas places and see what they say.
Your air conditioner compressor is either on or off. Having the fan on low or high doesn't mean a compressor is working any harder, but rather, an electric blower is turning faster, powered by a battery, charged by the alternator.
If you believe having the AC "cranking" (which is quite a small blower) wears out an alternator, I better start dimming my headlights and turning off the radio while waiting at traffic lights.
Thanks Daabido.. you are a legend!!! :)
ive tried the last option as i was driving on princess highway at 110 (speed limit) with the aircon set at max with max temp and max fan and getting air from the outside. seems to have cleared out the smell big time!!! there is only a slight smell and ill give it another test today and see how it goes.
I'm trying to get to the cabin filter, but unable to remove the glovebox. Ive seen youtube videos where you spray the air extrator from the outside while the aircon is on and that also helps.
ill see how it goes
sick car syndrome is just a take on sick house syndrome. sick house syndrome occurs due to man made materials being used in a house and them giving off an "toxic" odour that can make you sick. I experience slightly in Japan when I moved in to a new house and the there was a particular smell that came from the cupboard. lighting 20 incense sticks (as used in shinto temples) in the cupboard with the door shut removed the smell - no, it didn't burn down the house.
If you car has a cabin filter i would check that