smelly Air conditioning

[mungbeanz]

It's a bit warm out, so I put on the air conditioning and it smelled like BO. I had a sniff of my pits to make sure it wasn't me. It was definitely the air con. Does this mean it's running low, or could it be something serious?

[firewatch]

sounds like it needs regassing ours smells the same lol and thats what it needs

[gingejbee]

Usually means there's moulds growing in the pipework and ducting (not internally) . You can buy special "cleaners and purifiers" from eg Halfords which you release into the closed car with a/c running for several minutes.

[Rodge2]

Mine needs re gassing and it doesn't smell, just makes funny sighing noises.

[gingejbee]

...if a/c is working ok (apart from the smell), doesn't need top-up ie regassing.

[chas2008]

there are deodorising sprays treatments on the market to combat these smells which are quite common with aircon...Halfords should be able to help, it certainly doesnt need regassing unless its not working properly.

[MantaRay]

chas2008 is correct, the aircon smell is nothing to do with the system needing regassing. The fact that the aircon is working correctly is the very reason that causes the smell in the first instance...hence the need to use a interior air treatment aerosol from time to time, and remember to set the air control to recirculated air or else it won't have any effect.

Also, I believe it helps to switch off the air conditioning 5-10 mins before the end of a journey, that way the condensation within the system will have a chance to evaporate before shutting the system down.

[gingejbee]

chas and Manta: both a bit slow, eh? Still, nice to have an answer confirmed!

[mungbeanz]

Thanks. Guess i need to treat it. It's always been a bit dodgy and rarely works at speeds over 20mph.