Smelly AC vents...

[Tone]

Inside condensor is what needs to be cleaned - you must drill a small hole under the glovebox into the airchamber to spray the foaming product in to eat away all the gunk that gets in there. It will also make it perform better just like the cleaning the coils on your home unit. Cowl intake cleaning does very little especially for recirc mode which is the most efficient for the AC.

[Cyrk]

Tone, is this something I can do or should I have a shop do it? Also what type of foaming/freshener should I be looking for? Does the product have a name?

[carlymac]

Dang Cyrk!,
I just noticed my '99 Ironman doing the exact same thing. I noticed a few Tech Bulletins on a fowl smell from the AC but knew better to even talk to the dealer. I'll follow this thread to see how to solve the stinkin AC.
Tone...did you say drill a hole in the condensor???
I'll let you explain in more detail, before I go punching holes in the AC unit

[Joe_Black]

Tone is correctly identifying one potential source of the problem. What turned me onto the induction box was that Cyrk mentions the smell during vent (fresh air) operation. Try cleaning the outside first as it's easier and cheaper, then if no improvement move to interior side of the system. Funk in the outside compartment and corresponding fresh-air plenum is much more common.

This is a common product for treating outside intake: Ultrashield.

Some mechanics will also suggest that you can help the situation by turning off your air-conditioner but leave the fan on for a few minutes before you turn the car off. This will help dry out the moisture in the evaporator that can cause the smell.

Some more tips on A/C odor: AutoTips Fresh Air Tips.

A good ole Yahoo/Google search will yield some useful tips from others with the same or similar problem as well, such as on this BMW forum: "Dirty Sock" Syndrome.

[Cyrk]

Thanks Joe.

I made an appointment at a local garage to see if they can take a peek tomorrow, will keep ya posted.

[SlowPro48]

Tone...did you say drill a hole in the condensor???

HaHa! That would fix an A/C odor problem alright - then you wouldn't have any refrigerant to cause that darn moisture problem on the EVAPORATOR coils. Of course you wouldn't have any A/C either...

My VX hasn't been bad as far as A/C odor is concerned. Every once in a while after it's been parked, I get a whiff of dirty socks or sometimes acetic acid depending on which bugs have taken up residence in the fins but I just park the VX in the sun for a few hours and then turn the heat on and toast the varmits. BUT - if your colony has gotten out of control - as the previous owner of a GMC Sonoma (which is notorious for this problem) I can tell you that a quick and cheap fix is to spray half a can of Lysol into the cowl vent while the A/C is running on outside air. This works for recirc air as well since recirc goes thru the evaporator just like outside air does and the evaporator is where the problem is. Go for the 18 oz can of "Spring Waterfall" or "Crisp Linen". Get close to the grill so as not to get overspray on the paint and keep it moving side to side so you don't keep any one spot on the intake grill wet for too long. Oh and check to see if you're making a puddle of water under the vehicle when the A/C is on. If not you'll need to clear the drain line. Compressed air will work but don't overdo it with the psi.

WARNING: This method has worked for me but use it at your own risk. One very important thing to keep in mind is that Lysol is flammable so no smoking. I don't know if the fan motor is brushless or not but so far no explosions! And if you leave the windows down the concentration at the ignition and interior light switches should be well below the LEL. I keep a CO2 extinguisher nearby but that's just to save the motorcycles - it won't do a darn thing to prevent your dashboard from ending up in the top of your neighbor's oak tree...