AC stink...

[CrowMagnumMan]

Did a search and found this...

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/f...ad.php?t=39984

I am not sure what is wrong. First let me start by saying my AC works GREAT. Very cold air. Love it. The flow of air is terrific too. However, upon start up, I get a musty smell for several minutes before it clears up. I just changed my cabin air filter. Still does it.

Any ideas? Anything I can use/do? Or, should I live with it and don't let anyone touch what is working well (except a temporary stink)? Is it the drain hose/plug? Should I try Frigi-Fresh?

As always, thanks in advance!

[RustyH]

Originally Posted by CrowMagnumMan

Did a search and found this...

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/f...ad.php?t=39984

I am not sure what is wrong. First let me start by saying my AC works GREAT. Very cold air. Love it. The flow of air is terrific too. However, upon start up, I get a musty smell for several minutes before it clears up. I just changed my cabin air filter. Still does it.

Any ideas? Anything I can use/do? Or, should I live with it and don't let anyone touch what is working well (except a temporary stink)? Is it the drain hose/plug? Should I try Frigi-Fresh?

As always, thanks in advance!

It sounds like you may have a little bit of a mold issue. I think whay you need to do is pour some boiling hot water through the fresh air intake located under the hood, just above the firewall. Maybe add a little bleach and/or pinesol into the water before you pour. Or you can try spraying lysol directly into the fresh air intake vents.

[ridge_rider]

Check to make sure the water is draining from evaporator box. If it isn't, the moisture will permit mold to grow. Once you have confirmed it is draining ok I would turn the A/C on and put the fan to high. Roll the windows down and liberally spray Lysol into the fresh air vents. This should help to reduce or eliminate the smell.

[zroger73]

Remove the smell with a product such as this...

http://www.airsept.com/index.php?loadmod=cleanevap

Prevent the smell from coming back with an electronic evaporator dryer (aka "afterblow module") such as this... (Many GM models manufactured in the last decade either provide this feature from the factory or it can be enabled with the GM scan tool.)

http://www.airsept.com/index.php?loadmod=eed

Smelly air conditioning seems to vary greatly by vehicle, ambient conditions (i.e. temperature, humidity, pollution levels), and usage habits. Personally, I've never had a problem with smelly A/C on either of my Ridgelines.

Some tips to keep in mind:

1) Change your cabin air filter frequently. A clean filter can't remove or prevents odors originating in the evaporator or plenum (which is where they almost always are) - particularly since it is upstream from these components, but a dirty filter is more apt to bypass particles that can contribute to odors.

2) Minimize use of recirculation mode.

3) For the last few minutes of each trip, manually turn the A/C off and set the blower speed to high to help dry excess moisture from the evaporator so that it doesn't soak in its own condensation for hours (or days) at a time.