AC Smell

[CBlack]

Not sure what it is but every now and then when I turn on the AC it has a rather bad odor, similar to vinegar.



The AC in general seems to smell at first.



Anyone else have this? If so, what did you do to change it?



Also, what do people do to clean the ducts?

 

[WOT]

Yeah, mine will get to smelling like a gym locker at times. I've found that turning the vent fan on high and spraying a bunch of lysol (pick fragrance of your choice) into the vent intake it helps. I spray about 30 seconds straight and then shut the vent off. This usually lasts for a month or so. It should would be nice if there was a better way but I haven't found one yet.

 

[Motorhead]

You probably have mold growth in your A/C. To help prevent this, turn the compressor off at the A/C button but leave the fan on about a block or two to your stop. This dries out the excess moisture in the evaporator and ducts thus not "feeding" the mold growth. Did this on my 2001. 5 second gen as long as I owned it and now on my '07, 5. 9 with 60,000 mi on it. Never had a bad smell in either truck.

 

[Hoefler]

Dodge has a cleaner that is sprayed onto the evaporator to clean it. There was a TSB out on it in 06-08 I believe.

 

[rscurtis]

This is pretty obvious, but make sure your evaporator drain is clear.

 

[mwilson]

I find that the mini-vans are more likely to have the odor problem, all of them that I have owned over the years have done it.

I use the Lysol treatment mentioned above once or twice per season and that seems to take care of it.



I did notice that the Mega Cab A/C system had a slight odor this year, but came out of it all by itself after the first day that I ran it.

Or it's like having 100 cats in your house, you don't notice it after a bit. .





Seriously, we had a very rainy and wet June this year, I think that caused the issue with the Mega.



Mike.

 

[CBlack]

Thanks for the tips.

Where exactly is the vent intake to spray the lysol?

I did try turning the fan on, only, and it did help.

 

[mwilson]

Thanks for the tips.



Where exactly is the vent intake to spray the lysol?



I did try turning the fan on, only, and it did help.

I believe it is in the plastic cowl to the right of the RH windshield wiper attachment point.

Going from memory as the truck is 65 miles away right now.



Mike.

 

[Prairie Dog]

The intake is tucked up under the ledge of the firewall on the passenger side. I think it would be hard to get much in there without removing the plastic piece around the wipers. Maybe if the fan was on high. .
I had a bizarre water leak into it one time and had to spend some time digging around in there.

 

[wcjp]

In addition to turning off AC just before your arrival don't forget to pull the fan. Some trucks get leaves and needles jammed near it. Also make sure the AC is draining to the ground. I normally park my vehicles with the nose slightly down. The AC line will slightly empty after parked.