A/C Smell

[SoCalLightning]

The drain identified by scruvs is indeed the answer. I’ve had the horrible a/c odor for months and finally eliminated it today. I put a new cabin air filter in there before proceeding. The products I used are Kool-It evaporator coil cleaner, and Frigi-Fresh. Just park with your wheels turned hard over left, and sneak under the passenger side front wheel well. Look up toward the firewall and gently pull the well liner back an inch and you’ll see the drain. Feed the Kool-it applicator tube in, hook up the can, dispense the full can (took maybe 10 seconds), and pull the tube out. Wait 15 min (foam/liquid will drain) and then start the truck and turn on the a/c on low. Disable “driver focused” so all the vents open. Run the a/c a few min. Then, turn the fan to high, get out, and zap the fresh air intake (cowl center and passenger side, below the wipers) with the Frigi-Fresh. Let the system run a few minutes. Open the doors and let it air out a minute or two and job done. Some bubbles might come out the vents but that is inconsequential. It’s crazy how well the products worked.

Thanks for being the pioneer! This smell got me sick and give me a bad cough. I didn’t connect the dots until I stop driving the truck and went in a different vehicle for a week long trip. I will definitely try this and report back.

Sponsored

 

[NoOctane]

No worries, I hope you fix your problem too. I can’t take any credit - I saw a guy on YouTube deodorizing a super duty with these products but he was drilling holes in the evaporator housing, etc. No thank you. This procedure I described is what the box instructions say. I’m glad someone else on here knew where the drain was. I looked at a ford parts website with a diagram of the evaporator and blower housing (same one in all F-150 models and a couple other large Ford vehicles) with the drain part identified to confirm.

It’s concerning that dealerships either don’t know or can’t be bothered to know where and how the condensate drains on the Lightning. Or they pitch a $200+ cleaning (I paid $15 for those cans, total). An a/c is an a/c.

Thanks for being the pioneer! This smell got me sick and give me a bad cough. I didn’t connect the dots until I stop driving the truck and went in a different vehicle for a week long trip. I will definitely try this and report back.

 

[SoCalLightning]

No worries, I hope you fix your problem too. I can’t take any credit - I saw a guy on YouTube deodorizing a super duty with these products but he was drilling holes in the evaporator housing, etc. No thank you. This procedure I described is what the box instructions say. I’m glad someone else on here knew where the drain was. I looked at a ford parts website with a diagram of the evaporator and blower housing (same one in all F-150 models and a couple other large Ford vehicles) with the drain part identified to confirm.

It’s concerning that dealerships either don’t know or can’t be bothered to know where and how the condensate drains on the Lightning. Or they pitch a $200+ cleaning (I paid $15 for those cans, total). An a/c is an a/c.

I finally got around to it. I bought the Frigi-Fresh and Kool-it Cleaner. The Kool-it did a fantastic job, probably took out 90% of the issue. The Frigi-fresh brought it up to 95%, but I could still tell something was lingering, so I gave it a week, just to be cautious. I was still getting a cough from something irritating in the air system. I decided to go back to the Kool-it Cleaner and pump it through the two center vents from inside, and that finally solved the issue. It's like a new truck again. No issues have been reported so far after a week.

Thank you so much again!

 

[I <3 My Lightning]

My last ride, a '19 GMC yukon denali, was notorious smelly from the get go, and having a double system and drains, one in the front and one back at the third row, this became a required twice a year preventative maintenance. Very inexpensive when doing this yourself. When new I brought it in as a warranty issue, they did the same thing AND reprogrammed the HVAC system to run the fan after a set amount of time after being shut down to dry the condenser and ducts.

That helped but never really fixed it. I still made sure when I am a few miles from home, I shut off the ac and crank up the fan to try and dry the condenser and ducts.

The lightning is already getting smelly and it reminded me to make sure I turn off the AC and run the fan on high to help dry off the condenser and ducts.

Our ev6 is probably the only non smelly AC system we ever experienced. It automatically dries the condenser and ducts after a set amount of time after parking. It runs for a lot longer than the reprogrammed Yukon...

Now for my long winded question...

Can the HVAC system be programmed to run the fans to assist drying the condenser and ducts for a set amount of time after the truck has been shut off after using the AC?

I also speculate the automatic driver only HVAC duct setting is also allowing for some condensation trapping in the ducts.

I am trying the shut off the AC and turn the fan on high a few miles from home and turning off driver only.

Sponsored