Vinegar Smell from AC

[pbrevo64]

Hey All, about a month or two ago I started noticing an occasional vinegar smell on hot days, right as I start up the AC. It has gotten worse, to the point where I have to open all the windows for a few minutes when I get into the JT. My Gladiator is a 2020, with 60k miles. After doing some research, it seems like this is usually an indicator of a dirty AC Evap coil, and likely has mold or mildew built up. Obviously not something I want to breathe in for an hour or two each day.

My question is, has anyone had any success cleaning out their HVAC system? Not looking to mask the smell, I would rather eliminate it altogether. I have a hunch my AC condensate drain is clogged, as I do not see any dripping while the AC is running, even on hot humid days. I believe this is the drain, can anyone confirm?

I pulled the air filter, and stuck my phone camera in but couldn't see anything obvious, and any parts diagrams I found of the HVAC system have been less than helpful. Next step tomorrow will probably be pulling the blower motor out to see what I can find.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start, or how to unclog the condensate drain and flush or clean the evaporator coils? TIA.

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[pbrevo64]

I tried the lysol trick others have done, and it freshened up the smell the last two days, but I fear the source is still in there somewhere. I also fished a wire into the drain, and blew compressed air in to try to unclog it. Today was hot and humid, so I sat in my Jeep with the AC on for 20 minutes, and sure enough I had a nice big puddle of condensation below it. Looks like the drains are cleaned out now. Ordered a can of the AC Evap cleaning foam, and am going to try that to clean out the rest of the system.

 

[ZoMojave]

Sounds like it is draining just fine. Give it an Ozium treatment in the vents. That is good stuff.

 

[kevman65]

Funny you should mention vinegar. If you can get to the coils to spray them, use vinegar. Will kill mold almost instantly and much cheaper than anything you'll find labeled to do the job.

 

[pbrevo64]

Funny you should mention vinegar. If you can get to the coils to spray them, use vinegar. Will kill mold almost instantly and much cheaper than anything you'll find labeled to do the job.

I had the same thought, but I couldn't find a straightforward way to get access to the coils without pulling out most of the dash, or drilling a hole into the HVAC case.

I ended up using the Kool It foam cleaner up through the drain, and it seemed to work well. AC blows a little cooler than before, and so far it smells better. Time will tell if it works long term, but I may start doing it every year as preventative maintenance.

 

[Pedal Metal]

Funny you should mention vinegar. If you can get to the coils to spray them, use vinegar. Will kill mold almost instantly and much cheaper than anything you'll find labeled to do the job.

I do agree that vinegar is a great cleaner as is ammonia. If you do use vinegar, then be sure to thoroughly wash afterwards with water as it is an acid. For instance, I’ve used vinegar to remove rust and the thinner chrome found on old bicycle parts. So, I'm always careful to wash to dilute it after I’m done cleaning things that could be damaged by the acidity To limit unintended consequences.

 

[heftysmurf]

Holy crap! I’ve been battling this issue for a while now! So, just clean out the drain?

 

[pbrevo64]

Holy crap! I’ve been battling this issue for a while now! So, just clean out the drain?

So far, yes. Between unclogging the drain, spraying the AC evap coil cleaning foam up through the drain, and spraying some lysol into each vent and into the blower motor area (where the cabin air filter lives) it seems to have remedied the issue, at least for now. Only time will tell, but for $13 in parts and a half hour of time, I won't mind doing this every 6 or 12 months for fresher air.

 

[BEERviper]

Hey All, about a month or two ago I started noticing an occasional vinegar smell on hot days, right as I start up the AC. It has gotten worse, to the point where I have to open all the windows for a few minutes when I get into the JT. My Gladiator is a 2020, with 60k miles. After doing some research, it seems like this is usually an indicator of a dirty AC Evap coil, and likely has mold or mildew built up. Obviously not something I want to breathe in for an hour or two each day.

My question is, has anyone had any success cleaning out their HVAC system? Not looking to mask the smell, I would rather eliminate it altogether. I have a hunch my AC condensate drain is clogged, as I do not see any dripping while the AC is running, even on hot humid days. I believe this is the drain, can anyone confirm?

I pulled the air filter, and stuck my phone camera in but couldn't see anything obvious, and any parts diagrams I found of the HVAC system have been less than helpful. Next step tomorrow will probably be pulling the blower motor out to see what I can find.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start, or how to unclog the condensate drain and flush or clean the evaporator coils? TIA.

I have been searching everywhere for answers on this myself... I've tried the Lysol into the AC intake at the bottom of the windshield but gained nothing. I feel like all this did was maybe soak the cabin air filter? But I didn't even smell a difference with linen smelling Lysol.

@pbrevo64 can you let me know where you found the AC condensate drain tube?

 

[pbrevo64]

I have been searching everywhere for answers on this myself... I've tried the Lysol into the AC intake at the bottom of the windshield but gained nothing. I feel like all this did was maybe soak the cabin air filter? But I didn't even smell a difference with linen smelling Lysol.

@pbrevo64 can you let me know where you found the AC condensate drain tube?

It is right above the transmission, kind of hard to get to but there is enough room to at least get a hand up there. I would suggest waiting until everything has cooled off though, as the transmission can be pretty hot to the touch. Ask me how I know lol.

For spraying the lysol, I would pull the cabin air filter out, as to not saturate it. I actually used the air filter location for spraying the lysol, and had the fan running to help push it through.

Almost a month in now, and the smell is still gone. It is colder now up north, so I am not running the AC as much but if the AC is on, I started turning it off a minute or two from home to help prevent any condensation build up.

 

[GoFastJTR]

Has anyone figured out how to unclog that drain? My passenger footwell is constantly full of water. I can't even find that drain with a boroscope. It's driving me crazy.

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