air con - strange smell?

[hr21]

Hi all,

 

I have recently noticed that when I turn off my air con and it goes back to non-air con it smells quite bad for a period of time before returning to normal.

 

A slightly musty smell I believe.

 

I recently had the air con checked and the garage said it didn't need re-gas but instead a purification. This doesn't seem to have done much.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks.

[Rooted]

If you paid them to do a 'Purification' best go back and say it never worked.

Did they replace the Pollen Filter, or when was that done?

[RMurphy195]

You can do this yourself quite easily - its down to stuff (mould?) growing in the damp bits somewhere in the system.

 

Get a canister from Halfords or somewhere (Wynns, Carplan etc.make them), follow the instructions which as I recollect were to start the engine, get the aircon going in recirculation mode, open the canister, get out of the car and leave it it all running with doors and windows shut tight until all the gas has gone. Something like that.

[Wardy]

This is quite common. Change pollen filter as mentioned. 

 

Then run a cleaner; I've have good experiences with Bilt Hamber:

http://www.bilthamber.com/air-con-bomb-citrus

[chrisgreen]

+1 for the Bilt Hamber air con cleaner. Have used it on multiple cars with good results. 

 

Also, to the OP - why do you turn your AC off?

 

The fuel consumption hit from running air conditioning is minor on modern petrol cars, and almost undetectable on diesel ones. 

[BACUPIAN]

Once had this on a SEAT CORDOBA & it filled the car interior with a misty cloud !!!

[RMurphy195]

13 hours ago, BACUPIAN said:

Once had this on a SEAT CORDOBA & it filled the car interior with a misty cloud !!!

 

It does this in damp weather if you've had the aircon on then switch it off. Lots of condensation in the heat exchanger somewhere gets converted back to airborne moisture, blown onto the windscreen where it promptly condenses - within seconds the visibility can disappear.

 

In hot weather where there's high moisture content in the air (precisely when the aircon is used most) there's so much condensation in the system it can be seen dripping below the car!

[BACUPIAN]

Ever since that experience with the Cordoba,every car since then has NEVER had the a/c switched off & have often puzzled what the "damp patch" might be & now I know from your answer it appears an "acceptable" function from the a/c !

[KenONeill]

@RMurphy195 @BACUPIAN - The "wet patch" under the car when you park up in hot weather is the ice that formed on the a/c condenser melting.

[hr21]

Where is the pollen filter in the Skoda Rapid? I will double check if it was replaced but cannot recall if it was. Thanks.

[MickA]

I leave mine on all the time, it's just set to auto. Never smells but I'm guessing it needs the filter replacing by now.

[wolf89]

1 hour ago, hr21 said:

Where is the pollen filter in the Skoda Rapid? I will double check if it was replaced but cannot recall if it was. Thanks.

At least on the left-hand model it's under the glove box, it's easy to spot and remove - just slide the 2 plastic clips and it should just fall in your hand

[Robjon]

+1 for changing the pollen filter.

 

Eliminated all the mustiness in my Roomster.

[chrisgreen]

Just ordered a new pollen filter. The current one was allegedly changed at last service by my local main dealer according to the work sheet, but the A/C had a terrible smell this morning, very musty (and I run it all the time), so swapping out whatever is in there for a Mann activated carbon anti bacterial one. £17.22 delivered with discount code DAD35 on Euro Car Parts. Code is good for the next two days apparently.

[knfruitbat]

Just picked up 2016 Rapid SE yesterday morning and the air con didn't seem to be that great. It was 30' but thought it would be better than my 13 year old vectra.

What other peoples experiences? Should I be taking it back to the dealer?

[chrisgreen]

1 hour ago, knfruitbat said:

Just picked up 2016 Rapid SE yesterday morning and the air con didn't seem to be that great. It was 30' but thought it would be better than my 13 year old vectra.

What other peoples experiences? Should I be taking it back to the dealer?

I suspect there's nothing wrong with it. I've always found the manual A/C in the Rapid to be a bit underwhelming. But it does throw out cold air and will eventually get the car down to a bearable temperature inside. Though yesterday and today - both 30degree days - it has struggled to make an impact.  

[Guyhey]

4 hours ago, chrisgreen said:

I suspect there's nothing wrong with it. I've always found the manual A/C in the Rapid to be a bit underwhelming. But it does throw out cold air and will eventually get the car down to a bearable temperature inside. Though yesterday and today - both 30degree days - it has struggled to make an impact.  

 

 

The Climatronic in my Rapid has been doing a great job blowing out really cold air over the last couple of days but the manual A/C in the Polo hasn't been doing such a great job.  Which is pretty much what I've come to expect over the time I've owned them both.

Edited 18 June, 2017 by Guyhey

[eyegr]

Indeed, the Climatronic is very powerful. The weather can be quite hot where I live, temperatures over 35 degrees under shade are very common during the summer and if you park under the sun I really don't know how hot the cabin gets. In any case, if you select the lowest temperature the cold air is just unbearable in less than 20 minutes.