Ford F150 - odd smell comming from vents when A/C is on

rly_stupid

i've noticed the past few days that there is just an odd smell and even sometimes like a steam/smoke comming from my vents when the A/C is on. it's very hard to discribe what it smells like, sry. could this be a problem or a hazard to my health?? thx
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JMG0527 · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 6:39 pm Post subject: A/C Odor

The mist coming from your vents is most likely just from condensation. One of the primary jobs of an a/c system is to remove moisture from the air before that air comes into the cabin of the vehicle. However, in more humid conditions, sometimes the a/c system cannot remove all of the moisture and when that happens, that moisture gets cooled down just as the air does. When that happens, it will come through the vents as a mist or a fog. It is nothing to be concerned about. It does not hurt the a/c system and it does not mean that there is anything wrong with the a/c system. As far as the smell coming from the a/c system, if it is a mildew smell, then it is from mildew building up in the a/c evaporator case. That will occur if moisture stays in the evaporator case too long before draining out through the drain tube that comes out under the right side of the vehicle. There are several ways to get rid of it. You can have a technician remove the evaporator and clean it thoroughly, but that costs money. A cheaper way that will, in many cases, get rid of the odor is the following: 1) Park the vehicle outside with all of the windows open. 2) Run the engine with the a/c on and on the fresh air setting (setting where outside air comes into the vehicle). 3) Turn the temperature control all the way to hot. With the a/c on, it will force air through the a/c evaporator but with it being hot air, it will help to dry out the inside of the a/c evaporator. When you do this, you can also spray a small amount of Lysol into the air intake just in front of the windshield. That will also help to kill the mildew inside the evaporator case. Normally, you would need to run the engine and a/c for about 2 hours to reduce the smell. If it is a sweet type smell, then you may have a heater core leaking and if that were to be the case, the only repair would be to replace the heater core, which, depending on the year and model of your truck can be a little tough and you may want to have a professional technican replace it for you.

4600cc · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 6:40 pm Post subject:

If it smells like a chemical your AC is going, take it to an air conditioning shop. I had the same thing happen to me, it smelled funny and made me high enough to affect my driving and judgement. Make sure you take it to a shop that specializes in air conditioning (like AAA Air Conditioning or something like that).

FF7 · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 6:52 pm Post subject:

im cheap so i dont use my AC, i just keep the windows down so I would do that and get some air freshners, the new car smell are my favorite and i sling them on my 4wd shifter

PTF-150 · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:21 pm Post subject:

rly_stupid · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:44 pm Post subject:

thx alot for the great replies!! i'll turn my nose up a little to see if i can judge this smell a little better(mildew, sweet, chemical) and act appropriately. again thx!!

ksutter3 · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:52 pm Post subject:

Not sure how the heater cores are made in later models, but I had the exact same symptoms in my '84 Bronco. Come to find out, I had a leak in the heater core, and the fumes coming through the vents was actually anti-freeze. Made the entire truck smell like crap and at times you could see it coming out the vents. I'm guessing you would only notice this if you were using the heater?
I just disconnected hoses from the core and bypassed it all together. Only works if you don't plan on using the heater.

rly_stupid · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:57 pm Post subject:

ok while driving home i noticed it was a very sweet smell, almost exactly like maple serup. my friend who is a little more savy says he thinks something got in my vents b/c if it was the heater core busted he said i'd have a leak from the bottom of my truck and where i park it there is nothing on the ground hinting at a leak, i think he said freeon or anti-freeze(forgot but i think it was one of those two) would be leaking. thx

Teggerdine · Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2004 10:34 am Post subject:

If you dont use it most of the time and it smells only when you use it once in a while it could be a number of things. The wierdest thing I have ever found was a dead mouse in my car vent. It had an amonia/bleach smell to it.

FF7 · Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2004 11:18 am Post subject:

rly_stupid · Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2004 12:35 pm Post subject:

well w/ the hurricane passing by us air drops downwards causing HEAT like in the high 90's!! so i've used it for about a week straight and it has happened every day

cjputer · Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:39 am Post subject:

I was an HVAC tech for years and I would agree with JMG0527 on this. Refrigerant (Freon) is colorless and oderless. There is only two ways that I am aware of that can cause harm. A massive whole in the evaporator and the oxygen level would deplete. If this was to happen then your A/C wouldn't work anymore because their would have to be an instantaneous huge leak. Big leak, no gas, no A/C. The second would be if a big leak was to instantly happen and the refrigerant passed thru an open flame. Not a cigarette either. You would have to have a campfire in the cab with a huge leak in the A/C. Both are highly unlikely.

The only thing that causes oders with the A/C leak is oil. The refrigerant oil travels in the tubing with the refrigerant and an oil smell can sometimes be detected but not refrigerant. Again big leak that would disable the A/C from cooling anymore.

If your A/C still cools I would say it is a natural occurance because of the amount of moisture in the air and the evaporator temp. That was explained earlier and very well I might add. Or a heater core leaking. The smell would be mold or antifreeze.

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mrtxredfish · Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:21 pm Post subject:

cjputer i have the same thing happening to me in my wifes car. but hers smells more like when somebody is a smoker and then it gets into the seats. do you think this is the same thing?

cjputer · Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 10:37 am Post subject:

4dfide · Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:35 pm Post subject:

If it was a freon leak the compressor will stop cycling.I take that back it should cycle i believe off and on but if there is a leak that you would smell its not freon.Doesn't take long for a small leak in the ac for it to not cool anymore.rly do you have any friends that like to pull some brutal jokes ? I've seen plenty of things dropped down in the defroster vents to stink up the joint.Shrimp,sardines,fruit you name it i've seen it.Working in the business that i do we see quite a bit.