[agbenny]

Originally Posted by nitinbose

Do you park your car in the basement or in a dark place? If so, that's the answer. Fungii remain dormant in various parts of the car and A/C ducts are a lavish place for them. When you park in the dark they multiply giving the odour.

To get rid of them is a gradual process. Take your car out of the dark place and roll down all the windows. With the A/C OFF, set the blower to its maximum and you can set the temperature to 25-28 degrees. Keep it this way for about 15 minutes daily and you can get away with the problem.

This is from my personal experience.

Wow. You are correct, and I park the car under a dark place. I will certainly try this and keep this thread updated. I also see moisture due to seepage on the side-by walls, that could also be a reason.

@VW2010 I will check if I can get the foam locally and try that too. You guys have answers for every issue a car owner might face. Happy to be a part of team-bhp.

@rajeev k AC functions normally, after 5-10 mins of drive the smell isn't bothering (probably I am used to it after some running time).

Off-topic: I heard becoming a member in this forum isn't easy anymore, some of my friends tried to told me that they were not able to. Is that true friends?

[JustCause]

Turn HVAC to HOT mode and blower on full for about 15 mins with windows open. Dries out the fungus in AC ducts and kills the smell.

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by agbenny

Wow. You are correct, and I park the car under a dark place. I will certainly try this and keep this thread updated. I also see moisture due to seepage on the side-by walls, that could also be a reason.

So you definitely have to take the car out to bright light (not under direct sun) and roll down the windows, set the blower to the maximum while the temperature is at about 25-26. This should be done immediately and for about 20mins for the first time.

This should be done as a ritual everyday for the first 10 minutes.

You could also get some sprays which should be done into the ducts to kill any fungi or other microbes.

[ajay4060]

I tried car A/C foam cleaner from E Bay; but it didn't work for my car (Ertiga). Switching off the A/c 5 minutes before ending the journey works for me. Now my car is free from any kind of smell. Even the air Filter doesn't work if the smells is because of Mildew/ mold formation.

Originally Posted by debugged

I think you're referring to the mildew/mold smell when you switch on A/C, mostly during winter/rainy season, and lingers for a few minutes.

I've learnt to live with it, but that usually means some water is left out and not draining from the A/C condensor coils. People suggest to switch of the A/C compressor and have just the blower run (Not sure about the temperature setting) for last 5-10 minutes so that the water evaporates / gets cleaned from the coils. but I've never followed that. Try that for sometime.

[aspire]

Originally Posted by ajay4060

I tried car A/C foam cleaner from E Bay; but it didn't work for my car (Ertiga). Switching off the A/c 5 minutes before ending the journey works for me. Now my car is free from any kind of smell. Even the air Filter doesn't work if the smells is because of Mildew/ mold formation.

Hi,

Plagued with this ac foul smell, only happens when only the blower is on,goes away when the compressor is on, what does it mean, shouldn't the foul smell be in both blower and ac.

I park my car in my house and office basement, rarely park in the sun, today used this product again http://www.amazon.in/Abro-AC-050-Deo...pid=B00M2CTFZA , last time it was affective for some weeks, so used it today and parked in the sun.. hope it works, else need to go and get the 3m treatment.

Regards
Shailesh

[latentpotential]

Originally Posted by aspire

Hi,

Plagued with this ac foul smell, only happens when only the blower is on,goes away when the compressor is on, what does it mean, shouldn't the foul smell be in both blower and ac.

I park my car in my house and office basement, rarely park in the sun, today used this product again http://www.amazon.in/Abro-AC-050-Deo...pid=B00M2CTFZA , last time it was affective for some weeks, so used it today and parked in the sun.. hope it works, else need to go and get the 3m treatment.

Regards
Shailesh

The Abro can worked for me for a particularly nasty spell of smell in the Swift. I also changed the air filter under the glove box at the same time, so issues so far, it is now 12 months+.

Do you have any smell in the car as soon as you open it? Could be damp in the seats or the floor mats.

3m did not do much for me, instead aggravated the problem to a large extent by giving me a damp car that grew fungus everywhere. MASS cleaned it up by hand and disinfectants and dried it out with a heater blower + the Abro can post the same. I would recommend DIY or alternative over 3m's germkleen plus any day.

[aspire]

Originally Posted by latentpotential

The Abro can worked for me for a particularly nasty spell of smell in the Swift. I also changed the air filter under the glove box at the same time, so issues so far, it is now 12 months+.

Do you have any smell in the car as soon as you open it? Could be damp in the seats or the floor mats.

.

Hi,

No smell on entering the car, only when I use the blower alone, I have an elite i20, have not figured out further cleaning steps, are they DIY, I mean the air filter you are talking about.

Regards
Shailesh

[TheDesertRat]

This has started happening recently on my Ford Ecosport. My parking is in the open and not is the basement.

No foul smell present because of damp seats/mats. It only happens when the blower is on and it goes away after 10-15 mins.

Any pointers?

Cheers,
Saurabh

[Poloprasad]

Originally Posted by aspire

Hi,

No smell on entering the car, only when I use the blower alone, I have an elite i20, have not figured out further cleaning steps, are they DIY, I mean the air filter you are talking about.

Regards
Shailesh

Originally Posted by TheDesertRat

This has started happening recently on my Ford Ecosport. My parking is in the open and not is the basement.

No foul smell present because of damp seats/mats. It only happens when the blower is on and it goes away after 10-15 mins.

Any pointers?

Cheers,
Saurabh

BHPians,
1.At any instant do you drive with AC compressor OFF & with Blower fan ON - If yes please avoid this since I had the same problem even with my swift and it disappeared when I switched on/off both AC compressor & Blower at same time.

2.Also what mode do you prefer to drive (fresh air or recirculating mode). It matters & try switching modes as the foul smell come either from inside or outside the cabin neither one would solve the issue.

Please give me your suggestion or any useful information regarding the same.

[techiecal]

The smell is coming from the evaporator because it was wet when the car was switched off and mould has set in. Two ways to avoid this:

1. 5 Mins. before reaching destination switch of AC and keep blower on full speed till the air is not cool anymore.
2. You can do this in 3 mins. but you will have to move the thermostat to hot position.

Option 1 is easier as you don't have to swelter and you also get accustomed to the outside temperature before stepping out of the car.

For those of you who cannot do either, don't worry too much. The smell dissipates within minutes as soon as you start the AC, although not very healthy for those with allergies.

[shady_lawyer]

Originally Posted by aspire

Plagued with this ac foul smell, only happens when only the blower is on,goes away when the compressor is on, what does it mean, shouldn't the foul smell be in both blower and ac.

Originally Posted by TheDesertRat

No foul smell present because of damp seats/mats. It only happens when the blower is on and it goes away after 10-15 mins.

I'm no air-conditioning expert or even a technical whiz so I'll just put my thoughts and hope they help. I might also be completely wrong, so would people with more knowledge please correct me.

The foul smell generally occurs when you switch the a/c off and immediately turn off the engine as well. What happens next I'm not so sure, but there is accumulation of moisture/water in some parts of the cooling system which causes the smell as it produces ideal conditions for mold or mildew to grow.

When the blower is on there is no dehumidification taking place which leads to smell, moment the compressor kicks in it dries the air so the smell vanishes.

The best way to avoid the smell is just before you reach your destination, say a minute or so before turn the a/c off and let the blower run, it will still give out cool air so you won't fry instantly even if its super hot. This helps the accumulated water to dry out completely.

I've been religiously following this practice and i've never had the smell problem, this trick was told to me by my FNG many years ago when i'd just purchased my car.

If you are stuck with a really stinky blower then clean your cabin air filter (if present), the evaporator and its drain to ensure that water flows away properly as also the core/fins of the condenser. After cleaning, run the unit on "heat" for a good 5 mins. Hopefully you're sorted.

[aspire]

Originally Posted by shady_lawyer

The best way to avoid the smell is just before you reach your destination, say a minute or so before turn the a/c off and let the blower run, it will still give out cool air so you won't fry instantly even if its super hot. This helps the accumulated water to dry out completely.

After cleaning, run the unit on "heat" for a good 5 mins. Hopefully you're sorted.

Hi Shady Lawyer,

I don't use the ac much, my travel time is hardly 20 minutes in the morning and 30 mins in the evening in Bangalore, as the Bangalore weather is awesome most of the time, don't really use the ac, so naturally before reaching home the ac is off and the blower in recirculation mode is on, still the problem.

I tried keeping the heater on for around 10 minutes wit the blower in full, after having treated it earlier with the air condition cleaners. Will keep you posted.

Regards
Shailesh

[MrIncredible]

I had my A/C system completely overhauled. Then it stopped.

[aviat18]

Have faced similar problem of foul smell coming when the blower is on and the compressor is switched off (only in recirculation mode). After going through the thread, it seems there is some fungal growth that is causing the problem. Will use the suggested method of blowing hot air for 10 mins for a few days and check if the problem persists.

I have noticed another issue of late:
Without the compressor switched ON and air mode set to fresh, the blower ends up throwing hot air after a while. This is strange since morning air has been pleasant in Mumbai off late. When I roll down the window, I can feel cool air outside, but the blower keeps throwing hot air. Haven't encountered this issue at night though. Any idea why is this happening?

[Neugal]

Dear All,

I have Polo TDI and recently I faced a issue related to HVAC. It was a ticking sound coming from the left front side below the glove box. So I took the vehicle to the VW autorised workshop in Gurgaon. After inspecting they told me that the Heater Blower Flap Motor V3267002 is not working and because of that the outside air is coming into the car. It simply means that the innner circulation of air was not working. So I had to get it replaced and it cost me around 8K for this small part. You could check the same for your cars if you are facing similar problem. However I must admit that VW cars are great until you have to visit the workshop.

Rgds