It's starting to smell a little musty

[Scooby24]

The A/C is starting to stink...in the past I've bought cans of foaming cleaner that you spray up the drain tube and into the evap coils to eliminate the mold....has anyone done that yet and can speak to if it's worked? Other suggestions?

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[Mach-Lee]

Yes I did, and it's a pain because you have to remove the blower motor and go in that way. The A/C drain is above the battery pack and basically not accessible from below the car. Removing the blower motor requires removing the BCM/fuses in the footwell first. You want to be careful not to let any water or chemicals drip into all the BCM electrical connectors that are dangling below the opening. It's also very difficult to see where the straw and foam is going when you do it. So I would put this one in the "Advanced DIY" category.

The foam process did mostly, but not completely fix the smell. The Mach-E is more stinky than other cars I've had, probably because of the greater use of automatic recirculation to save energy, and perhaps due to the design of the evaporator and drain pan. Having an upgraded cabin air filter does help a lot to prevent smell buildup, so I would defiantly upgrade that at the same time.

I have pictures somewhere, I debated making a post because it's not an easy job and I'm not sure how many people have the chops to remove the BCM and blower motor.

 

[Scooby24]

Dangit Lee! Well, thank you for that info but if it didn't resolve it all the way it's not worth it for me to go that route. My secondary option is to use one of those fogger systems or maybe the chlorine dioxide vapor cleaners

 

[AtomicInternet]

You already replaced your cabin air filter with a "carbon activated anti-odor supercharged" one right?

 

[Scooby24]

You already replaced your cabin air filter with a "carbon activated anti-odor supercharged" one right?

Yep, it smells okay after the HVAC gets up and running but when it's sat and when it first fires up, you can smell the evap and it's musty. No amount of cabin filtering can stop the mildew growth in the evap coils if it stays wet for too long.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Dangit Lee! Well, thank you for that info but if it didn't resolve it all the way it's not worth it for me to go that route. My secondary option is to use one of those fogger systems or maybe the chlorine dioxide vapor cleaners

I would say it removed about 90% of the smell.

 

[MotownMachdoc]

Do you always run the AC in recirculate mode? I rarely use that mode and have not experienced musty odor or window fogging. Is water getting into the cabin?

 

[ARK]

I don’t know why, I read this thread title to the tune of, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.

Carry on ?

 

[Scooby24]

I would say it removed about 90% of the smell.

That's pretty good, but I'm going to give the biobomb a shot and see how that does. I've heard some good things about it. Hopefully the car doesn't end up smelling like a pool haha

 

[Scooby24]

Do you always run the AC in recirculate mode? I rarely use that mode and have not experienced musty odor or window fogging. Is water getting into the cabin?

No, just leave it running auto - but I garage the car and we have pretty humid summers so I pull right into a humid garage where the water in the evap coils doesn't necessarily drain or evaporate quickly and will end up sitting with water in there.

It's happened to all my cars...just the nature of my location/parking situation.

 

[Tomm]

What is this biobomb of which you speak?
Sounds interesting.

 

[Scooby24]

What is this biobomb of which you speak?
Sounds interesting.

It's a chlorine dioxide deodorizer which oxidizes bacteria, mildew, etc and neutralizes the odors.


https://biobombs.com/

 

[smoke20]

Mine has not yet developed this 'musk'...pun intended.

Maybe try turning off the AC 2 minutes before shutdown. Let the blower run to clear the evap coil moisture...you would also be taking out the last bit of free 'cold' from the coil. This may help to reduce the odor.

 

[zvez]

Yes I did, and it's a pain because you have to remove the blower motor and go in that way. The A/C drain is above the battery pack and basically not accessible from below the car. Removing the blower motor requires removing the BCM/fuses in the footwell first. You want to be careful not to let any water or chemicals drip into all the BCM electrical connectors that are dangling below the opening. It's also very difficult to see where the straw and foam is going when you do it. So I would put this one in the "Advanced DIY" category.

The foam process did mostly, but not completely fix the smell. The Mach-E is more stinky than other cars I've had, probably because of the greater use of automatic recirculation to save energy, and perhaps due to the design of the evaporator and drain pan. Having an upgraded cabin air filter does help a lot to prevent smell buildup, so I would defiantly upgrade that at the same time.

I have pictures somewhere, I debated making a post because it's not an easy job and I'm not sure how many people have the chops to remove the BCM and blower motor.

Is it possible to spray it at the cabin filter access point? I'm guessing since you didn't do it that'd be no?

 

[phil]

I don’t know why, I read this thread title to the tune of, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.

Yes, the lesser-known fourth verse.

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