air conditionig bad smell !!!

V8HUNTER

Hi, all I changed recently air filter cabin in S40 2000 2lt Auto clean up with vacum around filter area was dirty full of leafs etc. Soon as I turn on Air Con. it`s a bad smell for about 3mins then is a bit better but still no perfect as it should be I guess. Can I buy some can spray cleaner to spray inside vans or something else please for advice Thanks .....

Philia_Bear

1. Get a charcol activated filter, they do make a noticeable difference
2. You want a self degrading enzyme cleaner, im not sure where you get them in Australia but do know that they exist here, it will remove all the smell

nickm

The enzyme stuff from the pet store?

Ex850R

Mmmmm. Need this for my vents tubes. What do central heating g and cooling dudes clean ducts with?

bigal

U gotta gas leak from AC system perhaps? Maybe so slight that after a few min of air flow she isn't detectible. And maybe when sitting a pool of gas floats around the air tubes and cavities. Just a random thinking outside the box suggestion and most likely wrong.

Try taking the filter out and see if it stinks without it installed as a troubleshooting step.

Keep us posted.

Vee_Que

They sell air con interior cleaner from wurth.

Do you use the car with re circulation on at all times by chance?

V8HUNTER

I try it`s still smells

V8HUNTER

I use both

bigal

I googled for you and found the most likely issue:

"This is a common problem for all air conditioners (in a car or not), and is caused by mildew growth. In cars it often happens when people run their A/C on the recirculation all of the time, or the drain gets clogged. The system doesn't dry out completely and mildew starts to grow."

http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/116/why-does-my-a-c-blow-foul-smelling-air-when-it-first-turns-on

Give that a read and there's tips on how to solve.

bigal

Now this remimds me of the issue we had with our big daikin system at home.. terrible smell. Had to get a pro in and he found the issue was a blocked drain pipe going under the house from the daikin.. a high pressure chemical blast through the pipe for a couple of min sorted it.

Ex850R

Where is the drain on the S40?

bigal

Run the ac for a while and then turn the car off.. then look under car for the drips to come out of a hole somewhere. That's my bush mechanics advice. Someone more up to speed with your car's design cold tell u where the drainpipe starts. I suspect you would be best to blast the pipe from the top down.. could just ask a car ac place to do it for u. I'm sure they would know what to do. Prop be able to access the drain pipe from up behind the glove box I suspect.

Ex850R

Berry Motors or Voldat can do it.
Better a Volvo workshop who know where to look.
Or look up MVS Matthews Volvo Site, Mucho repair advice on there.

bigal

Could be the same fix as this:

"
There is no need for compressed air.
Pull the front section of carpet up from the center console (passenger side) You will see a black rubber hose going from the box to the tunnel, passing through the tunnel via a white plastic 90* elbow. The elbow tends to become clogged with debris from leaves etc. that get past the cabin filter. remove and clean the 90* elbow. Also check the heat sheild while the elbow is out. There have been issues with some of the P1 cars where the exhaust heat shield/insulation is too close to the drain opening and tends to collect the moisture and swell up, when this happens it blocks the opening and clogs the drain from the outside.
If you are noticing moisture in you carpet it is guaranteed that the foam under the carpet in the rear and right front are full of water. I would pull the right front carpet and the rear carpet and hang them in the sun or a warm dry area with a fan blowing on them to allow them to dry thoroughly.
Also make sure you have had your cabin filter changed recently. Volvo updated the filter design a while ago to prevent debris from getting around the filter.
"

http://volvoforums.com/forum/general-volvo-chat-5/v50-c-drain-clogged-33723/

VolvoDeger

I would be surprised if drain blocked as you would otherwise have wet carpet so most likely build up of mildew in box, so I would take filter out and run heater on high for a period of time in recirc mode with windows open also spraying some mildew remover I use from wurth. See how that goes.....................................

V8HUNTER

ok thanks guys

Spac

The drain is above the tunnel, slightly to the left hand (passenger's) side.

Spraying lots of Glen20 into the interior air intake is surprisingly effective at killing off mold.

egads (she/her)

Nice sticky oil in glen20 so kills the mold by coating and isolating from oxygen.

V8HUNTER

Seems the bad smell went off it`s alright actually now

robv

Glen 20 works if it's not to bad, but it's a bacteria. The wurth stuff veeque talks about works well but u have to get it up into the Evap. You want the one that forms a foam. I use a Forsch product which is a wurth copy.