Smelly Air Conditioning - Where Do I spray?

[whippg]

Thanks for all the comments guys, but I'm still struggling to find this air intake.

I set the climate control to Re-circulate + Econ + Top Vents Only + Max Fan
Had a good look in the passenger footwell and even used a lighted cigarette to check for signs of smoke drawing.

I found a couple of likely areas but neither appeared to draw air / smoke in.

1 - In the passenger footwell, under the glovebox, at the back, on the side of the centre tunnel there are 3 rectangular 2cm x 1.5cm holes side by side

2 - Again in the passenger footwell, in the centre of the underside of the glovebox itself, there is a single 3cm x 2cm opening.

There are a couple of reasons why I'm reluctant to just spray the Airco Fresh in the footwell itself
First off it's quite a wet gas and will obviously make a mess of the carpets and trim,
Secondly an aircon engineer who looked at a previous car said that it works best the nearer you can spray it to the 'evaporator' - hence by inserting the tube into the air intake itself I stand more chance of 'hitting the target'.

Unless any of you can help me track it down, I may have to call Audi.

[maersk]

If you leave it on all the time (as designed) you don't get this.............................................. ................................

[whippg]

Maersk - I do leave it on all the time as designed.
It's the previous owner that needed your pearl of wisdom

[MattS3]

Mine used to smell, but I did leave it on constantly, and within a week or 2, the smell went.
That was 16 months ago, and I haven't had it smelly since I've left it switched on.

I also tried a cleaner/air purifier and it didn't work.

[maersk]

Ahhhh, sooooo.

[UBM]

So, does it still pong?

Mine pongs for a few weeks at this time of year - it is the rape seed pollen from the fields.

Should clear up again soon (after having my aircon services last year!)

[cruiser647]

I was always told that you should turn the air con off a few miles from home. That way it doesn't leave any moisture/condensatin on any surfaces for bacteria to congregate on and so start smelling.
I do not leave the aircon/climate on all the time and I have never had smelly air con.

I do make sure I use it about once a month in winter though.

[geddy]

the bad smells that you getting is bacteria on the condenser unit behind the dash

[MikeA2B]

Hi guys,

I have had the smelly air con problem for years and tried all sorts of products to fix it, The one product that worked for me was this stuff -----> Deodorising/Sanitizer, A/C AC Air Con Conditioning on eBay, also, Air Conditioning Tools, Garage Equipment Tools, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 03-Jun-09 21:54:34 BST)

This is how I did it:

Buy a tin of airco-breeze and a replacement pollen filter.

Start your car and switch the air con / climate on

Adjust the fan speed to the lowest setting and open dash vents (this ensures the internal flaps are open and allows air flow)

Spray the airco-breeze in each dash vent for 10 seconds.

adjust aircon / climate to max cold setting & switch on recirculate, make sure all windows and doors are closed and leave running for 10-15 minuites.

After this switch the car off.

Then open the bonnet and remove the pollen filter
Mine was located under the plastic batter cover on the passenger side of the car (A4-B6)

Once you have removed the pollen filter spray some Airco-Breeze into the pollen filter intake for about 10 seconds.

The start the car and switch on the aircon, switch off recirculate, this will open a flap below the pollen flter intake.

Spray some more Airco-Breeze into the intake for about 10-15 seconds.

Leave the car running for 10 mins with the windows open.

Then you're done!


I hope this helps.

[whippg]

The smell has subsided a bit over the last week or so for some reason - (I always have the air con on all the time so that's not a factor). However I reckon it's still worth giving it a spring clean so I'll give Mike's advice a go (thanks Mike) and see if that gets rid of it completely. Cheers for all the comments folks.