This actually isn't about a Corvette, but I figured it seems like it could be a very generic questions and someone might have an answer anyway.

On a '99 Jetta, when the A/C is first turned on, a really foul smell comes in through the vents.

Any ideas what it could be?
Thanks!

My wife use to drive a Plymouth Grand Voyager and the AC smelled terrible. I ask the service desk at our local dealership and they said that it was mildew in the system. It is caused by condensation build-up in the duct work while running the AC. The service manager suggested shutting off the AC before getting to your destination and let the outsdie our dry up the condensation. He said that the best way is to turn the heat up a little and that would help dry the moisture quicker. Sounded like bologna to me! We don't have the van anymore.

The dealership said that they can clean the AC dusts to get rid of that smell, but if I remember right it was fairly expensive. Give your dealership a call and see what they have to say.

Good luck!!

Adam
The problem is probably related to mildew or a fungus being present in tne system. check the drain tube at the firewall usually passenger side.easy way is to run the a/c and look for water to drip down. might not be possible in cold weather. You can also check with a blue oval person for remedies as this problem has plagued the other guys for quite some time. Seems to me in the late 80,s early 90's they conjured up a solution of household cleaners that worked well for rinsing out the evaporator air box where the problem seemed to stem from.
casual T
76 vete

Our 2000 Dodge Dakota gets this every time we use the A/C.
Even from just a couple of days after purchase.
Dodge says "yes, it's mildew.", and then they spray some crap in there that kills it for about 2 weeks.
I don't know why this is such a problem. The drain line works fine. We live in Arizona, and our A/C unit does not put out much water, as there is not much water in the air to be causing problems.
As far as letting the system dry out.... you would think by parking the truck in 117 degree heat for a couple days with the windows rolled up that it would kill ANY mildew.

Nope -- always stinks. We have tried running hot air (which in the summer can be just the outsided air) through the lines and that doesn't even bother the little fungus ......

Just something we live with. That and a bottle of Fabreeze. Spray that in the incomming air vent, or set the air to recycle and spray in the intake, helps quite a bit.

Seems to me, if you could get a little bit of bleach and water mixture in the A/C vent system, it would kill off the fungus. The bleach would only smell bad for a short time, but would kill the fungus...

Hi Adam, Talk about Good Karma, I saw a product on the news this evening. It is called DWD2. They tested it on a grungy evaporator and according to their test, if I understood correctly, reduced the amount of crud blowing into the car by about 80%. It is a foam that you can inject directly into the evaporator section of the air ducting.
Have you checked to see that you have a clear drain tube for water coming off the evaporator. You should have a little puddle under the car after you park it for a while. If not, you have a perfect breeding area for bacteria, mold, Ebola, Smallpox....well, you get the picture.
Look it up at WWW.DWD2.com. According to the "Does it really work" news item, it worked. Maybe it will work for you. Best Regards, Mike.

|UPDATED|6/5/2002 1:41:44 AM|/UPDATED|

Yep Adam it is definately mildew in the vents. best thing to do is to trun off the air a little while before turning off the car and putting it on "vent" that blows out the cold air for a while and strts to heat up evrything, which will help the smell problem