Why does my car's air conditioning smell bad? How do I get rid of it?
I will answer each question separately.First, this is a common problem. Many people describe the smell as a musty smell, "wet" smell, dirty socks smell etc. The smell may be accompanied by slight suffocation feeling and headaches.For your questions:Why does my car's air conditioning smell bad?The common case: moisture in your car A/C coils, drip pans or other components of your car A/C. The moisture promotes the growth of mold and bacteria and those smell bad.How do I get rid of it?There are few ways. I will try not to repeat what already has been told in other answers.1. Leave the fan running for 5-10 minutes. This will hopefully dry the access moisture. It is basically the manual version of the X-FAN mode in other A/Cs.2. Make sure water is dripping underneath your car when A/C running in COOL mode. It may take few minutes.If water is not dripping, the drain line may be clogged (dust + water = mud) which cause water pooling and smell. I recommend you let a professional fix that.3. Use evaporator coils cleaning spray. Mentioned in other comments.4. Clean/replace A/C filters. Dirty filters reduce airflow and help moisture remain inside the unit. You should replace A/C filters as recommended by the manufacturer of your car.5. Check if the smell is there when the A/C is running in HEAT mode. Usually, it should not be noticeable. Let the fan work for a while, the HOT air may dry some of the unit (It may not work since COOL and HOT air work separately in a car).This answer is based on a home A/C solutions. Here is more information: 5 great cleaning tips for a musty smelling air conditioner.There is also a YouTube video offering more solutions for home A/C. They might inspire other creative solutions.
A/C Compressor Booster Kits - are they worth the price?
The compressor on your 20 year old condensing unit is near the end of its life. The booster kit is not the answer. Compressors in modern a/c systems are psc motors. A psc motor uses a run capacitor to split the phase and provide the necessary torque to start the motor and keep it turning at a constant speed. A booster kit is nothing more than a start capacitor with a built in potential relay to drop the start capacitor out of the sircuit after the rotor has come up to speed. They are typically used on older compressors that are having more difficulty starting in the first place. The high amp draw of the compressor does not cause high pressures in the system. The high pressure is a direct result of how well the unit's coil is rejecting heat to the air. Your old unit should be reducing the high temperature, high pressure gases leaving the compressor to a condensing point approximately 30 degrees above the temperature of the ambient air. If the coil is dirty or damaged, the airflow across the coil will be reduced and the pressure goes up. Since you have an older system, I will assume it uses R-22. On a 95 degree F day, the high pressure should be approximately 278 psig and the R-22 should be condensing at 125 degrees F. The liquid should then be subcooled by about 15 to 20 degrees F. If the pressures are higher and the condensing point is higher, there is a problem with heat transfer process. The booster kit is a waste of money on a 20 year old system. Better to go ahead and put that $300.00 toward a replacement unit. You will realize better efficiency of operation and less operating costs. A 4 ton 13 seer unit installed for $4800 with warranty is a good deal. See about another bid or two, but know that what you're looking at is a competitive bid worth considering.
What does it cost to have a home a/c unit, compressor replaced ,4 ton carrier?
Most newer a/c condensers have a 10 year warranty on the compressor. You would have to pay for freon filters and labor to change the bad compressor. This should not be more that 500-750 dollars. Now if the compressor is out of warranty that you might be better off with a new condenser Goodman condenser 13 seer new installed $1814.00 Trane condenser new 13 seer installed $2300.00 Rheem condenser new 13 seer $2100.00
What causes a fluctuating high head pressure on an A/C unit? (See details)?
I'm servicing an older system (12-15 yrs) The system isn't cooling properly When I put the gauges on it, the suction Pressure is pretty constant at 80 but the head Pressure changes wildly Between 225 - 375, the liquid line is Ambient to the touch, and the suction Line is cold and sweating, the outside temp is 80° F. I have a feeling the rings Of the compressor pistons may be failing, For any ideas I would be greatly thankful.
Is it ok to run A/C without a filter (temporarily)??
It's ok to run the unit without a filter for a short time, but I wouldn't go more than a couple of days. What I used to do if I couldn't get to a store right away to get a new filter is I would tap the filter outside and try and get as much dirt off of it as possible, then, spray the face of the filter with furniture polish. It stays moist for quite awhile and actually increases the efficiency of the filter. While you have the filter off though, be sure that the evaporator coil is clean. Also be sure that there is no frost on the coils. If you see frost, turn the thermostat down to where you hear the compressor kick out. Let it run like that until all the frost and/or ice blockage melts away. The frost may have been caused by the dirty filter. If the coil is clean when you start the unit up and it starts to frost up again, then you most likely need refrigerant (R-22 until next year). Most people refer to refrigerant as freon which is like calling an open end adjustable wrench a crescent wrench. Crescent is a company name. So is DuPont, which is the company that makes freon. Isotron and genetron are two other brands of refrigerant. Anyway, if you need refrigerant, let a qualified technician recharge it for you. He'll want to find and repair the leak before recharging it.
Outdoor Air Conditioner A/C AC Fan Motor: 1/5 hp vs 1/3 hp? Does it make a difference?
Does the horsepower make a difference? Does it matter? My fan motor went bad about 2 years and 7 months ago. The sticker says it should be replaced with a 1/5 hp fan motor. It was replaced with a 1/3 hp motor and now that one (the 1/3 hp one) is bad. Is it because a 1/3 hp motor was put in as opposed to a 1/5 hp? I was told by one technician that different hp's can be used because the motors are designed to work under for units of various hp's (an all in one as he put it.) Is this true? Looking forward to your answers.
How can I make my air conditioner stop smelling bad?
Air conditioners, due to the way they operate, can develop a nasty smell.Some people say that the air comes out of the air conditioner smells musty, moldy, like dirty socks and more.This is also a common phenomenon in cars A/C.Here is a moldy A/C:You can see the little black dots. Probably also dust, but still moldy.Here is a list of things you can do in order to prevent that smell or at least, minimize it.1. Run the air conditioner on Dry Mode. It will help reduce moisture inside the evaporator (inner unit) and in the surrounding air.2. Enable X-FAN mode. It will dry the coils after every use.3. Create a siphon in your drain line. Examine your drain line. It might be clogged. Another thing is that the drain line is connected to a bigger sewer line and bad smells are sucked in.4. Use a coil cleaner spray.5. Clean the AC filters regularly.There are more solutions and more information in the following resource: 5 great cleaning tips for a musty smelling air conditioner.There is also a YouTube video on that topic you can check out.
Does car air conditioner have anything to do with engine oil change?
I have 2004 Toyota Highlander v6 model. My wife usually drives this car and about 3 weeks ago, she told me the hot air would come out for a bit once in a while when she turns on the A/C. And sometimes the hot air comes out for very long. She knows her car well enough to know how to turn on A/C and set it so that cold air comes out, so it's not a user error. However, when I tried a few times, I didn't notice the problem. I did notice the warm air once when I tested but it was only for very short time. She also told me that she notices the problem more often when the car had been out in the sun for long that the car is hot. My engine oil changing date was bit passed (I change every 3000 miles, but it's gotten to 3500), so I changed it. Since then my wife hadn't noticed the warm air problem with A/C. And she's been using the car almost everyday for past 2 weeks now and during that time we even drove for about 2 hours straight and didn't notice the problem. So I actually have 2 questions. 1. Does the car's A/C have anything to do with engine oil change? 2. My guess something is starting to go bad with my A/C unit. Is it something that I can wait until the problem shows definitely or would it be better to take it to mechanic now when problem is mild and fix whatever is the issue (i.e. would it damage more and cost me more if I wait and fix it later?)
What happens if you connect wrong wires to wrong terminals on a dual capacitor on an AC?
If the wires arent connected properly on the capacitor teminals then tbe components will get damaged sooner or later.If the compresor wire is connected to the fan terminal - assuming the common wire is connected properly - the compressor won't start. The compressor overload will trip or in a worst case sinario, the compressor winding will burn. Also if the common wire is connected to herm(compressor terminal) on the capacitor the compressor will start but may burn out with time.The fan motor will burn easily on just double it's requires uf so you can just imagine the damage that will occur when running it on the compressor's require rating, which would be about ten times higherMost dual capasitor will be labeled; com, herm and fan. Commom for power. Herm for compressor. Fan for the fan motor.If there are no indications on the capacitor, then the common may have four terminals, herm will have three and fan will have four.Be sure to check your wiring diagram before making any assumptions.Hope this info helps.