cjames9001

Ok so like the title says, when I turn my AC on I get a really steady smell of freon in my car, it seems to cool just fine but the smell seems odd to me... does anyone know what that indicates or how to fix it?

sonjaab

If you have a r-12 leak your a/c wouldn't cool and when the charge got too
low the compressor wouldn't kick on. Cood it be antifreeze/coolant or some
tjing else you may smell?

cjames9001

ok sorry i should've put this in the original post but i have a retrofitted r134a AC system not that i think that would change your answer sonjaab because it still shouldn't cool and shouldn't let the compressor kick on when it gets too low, so maybe it is coolant, i find they smell similar, if it was coolant where would it be coming from? as far as i can see underneath the car after its been parked there isnt any coolant underneath but over time coolant seems to disappear from the reservoir...

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Maybe its a leaky heater core? check everything under the dash, especially the carpet and see if anythings wet.

3rd gen Will

iTrader: (8)

The coolant disappearing problem could be a bad radiator cap allowing some of the coolant to boil off. As for the freon smell, ya got me!

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Does it smell like antifreeze or mold?

cjames9001

ok so i ran the AC for a good 45 minutes today and smelled a little bit of that smell but a lot less than I did the other day, I'm pretty sure it isn't mold because it smells sort of sweet and when i stopped I went and checked underneath the dash and the only thing I saw was a little trickle of water that was coming down on the passenger side which I think is just from the condensation the AC creates isn't it? I dont think it was coolant because it was clear and didn't have an odor to it....

kingzrt

If it is a sweet smell its anti freeze. You may have a very small leak in your heater core. Refrigerant r-12 or r-134a does not have an odor. If it was leaking that badly for you to notice the compressor would be short cycling and eventually not run at all.

DJP87Z28

If you have not used the a/c for a while it might have musty type of smell. Try a can of spraying some deodorizer down the outside vent in fron of the windshield. This always works for me when i frist use the A/C. Also the water on the ground at the passenger side is normal. Do the simple things first.

cjames9001

Ok I'll try that and see if the smell goes away, it seems like its getting to be less and less, and also DJP87Z28 when you say "normal" what do you mean? its supposed to do that??

DJP87Z28

There is a discharge tube (condensation from humid inside air) on the passengerr side by the front wheel. After I answered your post, it reminded me to spray the outside vents on my car.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

A/C dripping water

The above shows where the water drips. Can see the Y-pipe there. There is no way this could be dripping inside the cabin of your vehicle. The evaporator coil is under the hood (that "A" shaped thing right behind the accumulator (silver cylinder)). Drips straight down to the ground.

If you have drops of liquid falling down under your dash and on to your carpet, it's absolutely a heater core leak. If you smell it more using MAX A/C than you do using NORM A/C, it's because when the system is on MAX, it's recirculating air past that wet carpet and back through the system again. When it's on NORM (or VENT), it's sucking fresh air from outside into the system instead.

I suspect your interior smell is the same smell you'd get if you took the overflow cap off the radiator overflow tank and took a whiff.

cjames9001

ok so three questions then, why is it that the liquid near the passenger side doesn't smell or have a color like coolant, and two is there anything I can do to prevent it from getting worse without tearing apart the dash and replacing the heater core? and lastly why does it not smell with the economy heat on(just out of curiosity)?

Rayzor32

iTrader: (1)

You arent smelling freon it has no odor. If it is a sweet smell it is probably antifreeze from a leaking heater core. The passenger floor would be wet. Might also be mold. Maybe the hole is blocked and the water coming off the evaporator is puddling up?

cjames9001

where would that hole be at?