Air fan bad smell

kiddums

Hi all,

I don't have A/C, I'm talking about the normal blower for air into the car.
There is a bit of a bad smell when this is set to full.

I know that the vent under the windscreen (Sorry I don't know its proper name) is where the air comes in. Could there be dirt or rotten leaven or something in here?

How do I clean it so I can see if that solves it?

I've already replaced the pollen filter and it was rotten but the smell is there still there.

Atlantic Dawn

You can buy a spray or chemical you add to the system that will disinfect it, your local motor factors should have them.

MugMugs

To take on an After Hours approach, have you blasted the inside of your car with






Febreeze ??

perhaps, keep the fan running on recycle and pump a load in ?

kiddums

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

You can buy a spray or chemical you add to the system that will disinfect it, your local motor factors should have them.

Just something I spray into that vent outside the windscreen?

MugMugs wrote: »

To take on an After Hours approach, have you blasted the inside of your car with






Febreeze ??

perhaps, keep the fan running on recycle and pump a load in ?

I'll look and see if I have something I can use and try this tonight.

jayok

kiddums wrote: »

Just something I spray into that vent outside the windscreen?

Nope. Basically bacteria builds up within the A/C condenser and this is the smell you are experiencing.To resolve this you'll need a can of A/C cleaner.

The process is to start the car, set the A/C to on, airflow to re-circulate, close all windows. Then open the can and close the door - with you outside. The vapours from the can will be sucked though the A/C and they will kill the bacteria.

Give it about 5-7 min and open all doors and windows and let the vapour out.

kiddums

jayok wrote: »

Nope. Basically bacteria builds up within the A/C condenser and this is the smell you are experiencing.To resolve this you'll need a can of A/C cleaner.

The process is to start the car, set the A/C to on, airflow to re-circulate, close all windows. Then open the can and close the door - with you outside. The vapours from the can will be sucked though the A/C and they will kill the bacteria.

Give it about 5-7 min and open all doors and windows and let the vapour out.

But I don't have A/C. I just have the normal blowers as stated in the OP.

jayok

Speed reading again...

If it smells like rotten eggs (i.e. sulphur) then it's still bacteria. No harm using the cleaner to kill any bacteria around the blowers.

However, if the smell persists then you'd need to check the entire air path - intakes, heat exchanger, etc.

kirving

What car is it? The switch overheated on my dads Focus, resulting in bad smell.when the fan was on.

kiddums

jayok wrote: »

Speed reading again...

If it smells like rotten eggs (i.e. sulphur) then it's still bacteria. No harm using the cleaner to kill any bacteria around the blowers.

However, if the smell persists then you'd need to check the entire air path - intakes, heat exchanger, etc.

I wouldn't describe it as that, more of a stale/damp smell, but its quite faint.

I suspect its the intake, which I understand to be just under the windscreen. How do I check/clear/clean this?

Kevin Irving wrote: »

What car is it? The switch overheated on my dads Focus, resulting in bad smell.when the fan was on.

Its a 98 corolla. It doesn't matter if the heater is hot or cold, its when the fan is set to full speed and drawing air in from outside.

biko

Lift bonnet up and you should be able to access intake vents.
Lift grills up and remove any debris inside. Wipe all surfaces with kitchen detergent (kills 99% germs type stuff).
You can spray a lot of detergent further in and let it sit before starting car.