I went out and bought myself a new car on Wednesday - absolutely great, except for one item that I am fairly concerned about; I have noticed that when using the air conditioning it serves its purpose well but on odd intervals a weird odour comes through the system (only for a second or two every ten minutes or so) which has given both two of my friends and I (on two different occasions) fairly bad headaches. When the A/C is switched off, this problem is non-existant hence it now being a new rule of the car not to use it!
I am having the system inspected by the Mazda distributor I bought from on Monday, but does anybody have any idea what may be happening here?
If it means anything to anybody, the manual states that this car uses the refrigerant 'R 134a' which supposedly doesn't harm the ozone layer... what about me!?
In all seriousness though, before getting a result from Mazda on Monday, should I allow my family and friends in the car at all; could it be a serious problem/hazardous to the health for them? Would be interested to hear if anybody else has experienced similar happenings.
All the best,
Jack.
Last edited by Halfbaked_Boy : 29th December 2006 at 02:36.
I'm not sure if this would apply to your car but one of the signs that something was wrong with my car aircon was as occasional bad smell (really offensive) when the aircon was running. When the unit failed it turned out to be the evaporator (installed behind the dashboard) that was the problem and the bad smell was apparently diagnostic of that.
Since your car is new that's unlikely to be the problem but if you have had the system of "recirculate" it will take in any smell from the interior of the car including vapours from anything that was used to clean it prior to delivery. Anyone who has ever smelled the air from the car aircon used by a smoker will know how well these things take in smells. Si it could be simply that ... vapour from cleaning materials. It will take a little while to dissipate but it will eventually go.
Quote:
... it's nicer and it'll save on fuel.
it's not nicer at all, it's hot, sweaty and sticky and the drag on the car caused by having the windows open will send your fuel costs soaring. A car with the windows closed is more aerodynamically efficient, one with the windows open is not.
Yes, in most countries on most days, this is true. However in some countries, on alot of days it is invaluable.
On summer day in Sydney, I took out the bike and headed north to Palm Beach on the coast road. Bloody hot day and the wind itself was hot. (On a bike so better than all windows down). It was near unbearable even at speed. I sped up - the wind got hotter. I was in shorts and by the end of the day I had blisters on the front of my legs. Sunburn times ten. Would have been an excellent day for the Monaro with a/c.
BlueDiamond - sorry, when referring to the term 'new' I was applying it as meaning a new car for me as opposed to the absolute age of the vehicle! The car in question is in fact a 1998 Mazda 323F and the problems I am experiencing do sound familiar in that the smell is unrecognisable, very offensive and I am at a loss to find another odour to compare it with.
As I say, we have been getting a whiff every ten minutes or so and only for a split second! I also tend not to use the re-circulate function unless I want to take emergency heating action of some form!
RE Use of Air Conditioning: I use it often in the Winter in combination with mildly warm air to help with de-humidifying which in turn helps in preventing the windows steaming up.
Thank you for the replies, very interesting reading.
Had a similar experience with car air conditioning. A bit of odor and then headaches. I was told it was due to "mold" (could that be "mould?) in the unit. The mechanic flushed out the system and we've had no problems. An easy and inexpensive fix.
When I were a lad, all cars had "440 air conditioning" - 4 windows down, 40mph. Yeah, an old chestnut...
HalfBaked, you might save some time (and money) with the dealer by trying to pin it down a bit:
- Park car on driveway, run a/c for 10 minutes (or however long it takes for smell to appear)
- Now put a/c on recirculate, see if same happens
If smell appears on both settings, you know it's towards the 'downstream' end of the a/c. If it appears in one or t'other, you've zoomed-in on another part of the system. If it doesn't appear on your driveway... then maybe you've been driving past the HP Sauce factory in Aston...
Refrigerant shouldn't smell as offensive as you describe; sounds more like something 'organic' where it shouldn't be. Hope it works out well - keep us posted.
There are filters in the Airco which need cleaning/replacing during scheduled service. Possibly this was neglected.
Some years ago the airco on my Peugeot 406 Coupe started to stink, Investigation showed an ex-pigeon deposited,by a pine martin under the bonnet. Took a while running with airco on and windows open to get rid of the smell
The a/c should have a condensate drain for the water to drain - if that gets clogged up then mold can form - however if it is a new car then unlikely I would have thought.
I have had to recharge the a/c on my car a couple of times in the last few years so I have smelt R134a while discharging the hoses on the manifold gauges - definitely has a distinctly odd smell and could possibly cause a headache but it's not toxic as I understand it.
However, if there is a leak the a/c will stop cooling at some point.
A strange odour and simultaneous headaches are not a good combination!
I would imagine that the AC charge of R-134 should have been quickly depleted had it been the cause of the symptoms - but stand to be corrected.
Please have the cause confirmed and insist on driving another of the same type around for a few days if the service department finds no fault with your car.
Gaseous emissions from a modern auto interior are well documented and will be amplified by the climate control system. Glue, dyes, textiles and treatments among other sources will add to interior air pollution.
One obvious cause of nausea would be COx emissions into the cabin - this should be taken very seriously. Current engine tech outputs a cleaner exhaust stream than past motor cars where such a leak would have been more obvious to the vehicle's inhabitants.
Said another way - engine exhaust leaks into the passenger cabin can be 'quietly deadly'.
Last edited by vapilot2004 : 29th December 2006 at 11:23.
Allan, to be honest I'm the one who needs the aspirin after the amount of moaning I receive at our local 'reservoir'... and that's in the negative way!
Jack.
p.s. Car being serviced as we speak, nowt to do with the A/C, just that it's due for one. A/C to be inspected on Monday! For now I am not using it.
When I bought my first car with aircon, I was advised to run the a/c for 10 mins per week, regardless of ambient temperature, to avoid the mould build-up. Not much use in your current predicament, but if it proves to be the root cause, it might prevent a recurrence.
However, in your shoes, I'd certainly want to discount CO2 before handing over the hard-earned.
Allan, to be honest I'm the one who needs the aspirin after the amount of moaning I receive at our local 'reservoir'... and that's in the negative way!
It sounds like something quietly growing and spawning in the A/C system. One of my cars, years ago, would do that if the A/C hadn't been used for a while.
You could always tip in some disinfectant and some Eau de Cologne
When a mouldy air-con unit is used, millions of mould spores are dispersed into the air. If you detect a musty or stale smell in the circulated air when you first switch on your air-con, there could be mould growing in the unit. Clean the air-con filter and cooling coil regularly. Spraying a mould inhibitor on these parts can prevent mould growth. In addition, an air purifier can remove any airborne spores
You've not pissed off any of your mates recently, have you?
Just curious. Brother-in-law decided to get a mate of his back after he played a pretty low prank on him at a party.
B-I-L sifted all the nuggets of sh1te out of the cat litter tray, removed the air vent covers in matey-boy's work van, deposited the catsh1t & replaced the covers.
Being winter in the UK, matey-boy drove his van around with the heating full on. The smell sure gave him a headache
He's never been the sharpest tool in the shed & it took him days to work it out. Took them a lot longer to kiss & make up.
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