My AC smells like piss...

[EnticivEclipse]

When climate control is set to cold sometimes it smells like piss....

what could it be?

do you guys think the freeon needs to be recharged or something

2g eclipse 97gst

would the coolant have something to do with it...

 

[icedearth15]

Your evaporator line might be clogged. Sometimes that makes your ac smell like that. Check it out. It is the line that leaks the water out when you park with your AC on.

 

[Defiant]

Drain line is what iced meant. The evaporator line is what feeds refrigerant from the condensor to the evaporator. But it's the right principle.

If there's a clog, and it gets cold, you could freeze that line up. A bit of weed whacker line is best for cleaning it out.

The other possibility is that someone took a whiz in your vent. Parked in anyone else's spot, lately?

It WON'T be needing Freon, your car uses 134a instead. But the refrigerant level going low won't make a stink like that. Neither would the coolant.

You may try getting some Ozium air freshener -usually from a large drug store- opening the windows, turning the ventilation fan on high, setting the air control to "outside" and give a few sprays onto a rag that you then put on the outside vent intake at the base of the windshield so that it sucks the fumes through the AC system. Do it also with the heat valve open. Other sprays such as Lysol may help, but Ozium tends to be the most "neutral" of those I've tried. It doesn't wind up smelling like a mental ward nor a whorehouse.

 

[EnticivEclipse]

defiant thanks a whole lot for your post. When i get time to this ill post my results

thanks again


and thanks to icedearth15 too for posting

 

[BISHILVR]

so that was YOUR car the other night? aw man, well i really had to go... i have been known to do that once or twice!!! aka don't make me mad....better to be pissed off than pissed on...but anyway yeah i think gm has a product called "frigi fresh" or sumthin like that, it's just for that reason....you prob have mildew building up in the evap. core from a drainage problem...

 

[Doug99RS]

Freon is a brand-name used by DuPont. R-12 is the older refrigerant and R-134 is the newer stuff. The refrigerant itself is odorless but the oil used in conjuction with the refrigerant is what people will normally smell when their evap core starts leaking.

There's normally three or four things that will cause an odor in the HVAC housing. Fluid leaks/deposits are the main source of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) housing odors. Most of these fluids will deposit in the styrofoam or adhesive foam used to seal and insulate the HVAC components such as mode/blend doors, heater and evaporator cores, blower motor, and the HVAC housing itself.

The first is a refrigerant leak at the evaporator core.
When it starts leaking out refrigerant it also leaks out the oil that lubes the a/c compressor. This oil does not smell very good and a trained technician can differentiate quickly between an a/c related odor vs an antifreeze odor.

The second cause is by moisture build up in the box. Moisture can build in to standing water which frequently leaks out on to the floorboard of the car. After the water drains or evaporates the box still has a film of mildew on it. After time this film can become thick enough, and nasty enough, to start stinking much like the liner for a shower or bathroom walls. A clogged, improperly installed or missing HVAC housing drain can also cause water to pond up or blow back in to the housing. On most vehicles the HVAC housing has a nipple that sticks through the firewall for drainage. If it gets clogged then it won't drain. If the nipple does not have a drain tube on it or is not at the right angle then it can allow air to blow back in to it forcing the water back in to the box. On some vehicles it can even cause the water to drain on to the accessory drive belts causing them to slip or throw the belts.

Another cause for an odor is a leaking heater core. Both the EVAP core and heater core are housed in the same box, just different sides of it. Much like the a/c side, if the heater core starts leaking coolant then it will evaporate and give off an offensive odor.

The last cause that less frequent yet still happens every now and again. Critters. The entire of a car has tons of hiding spots for animals to make a home. Alot of times though they either can't get out or they decide to make your car the last thing they see before they die. Obviously a dead animal won't smell like fresh daisies.

Oh... and urinating in someone's vent in front of thier windshield would fall under the "moisture" description.

BG, not GM, makes the product friggie fresh (sp?). If you can find a place that sells syncroshift or other BG products then they can also get the a/c kit. There's a couple different ways to take care of the odor if it's not from a blown out heater or a/c core. The BG kit has a couple different parts to it that are used in different manors. The quick and easiest is to spray one part in to the air inlet at the wiper cowl. This is done with the blower motor on full blast and the slider moved to fresh air (not recirculate). This is some pretty rank smelling stuff but it not only "freshens" the air but it also has anti-bacterial agents in it that will kill the grime in your box. The other part, that makes even trained technicians cringe, is a part that is spray directly in to the HVAC housing and on to the core itself. This is done by drilling a hole in to the box itself in the air path right before the air passes through the evap core. Now the part that scares me and most others is that drilling a hole in the box, if not at the right spot, could lead one to drill right in to a perfectly good evap core. Which would be very counterproductive.

I recomend the stuff through the vent outside for anyone to do. But as for drilling a hole in the box... leave that for the professionals (i.e. the one's who would have to eat the expense if they screwed up). This is one I even try to avoid at all costs.
Doug

 

[EnticivEclipse]

doug

thanks for that big write up