dag

I know there are threads all over the place on A/C, but I think I have a unique issue going on. When the warm weather started, I tried my A/C and it didn't work. I had been noticing a "coolant" smell occassionally, but the level was O.K. and lately I haven't been smelling it. So I brought my car in to check out the A/C and replace both the defog buttons (both cracked). I was told that the factory didn't fill the A/C all the way, so they evacuated the A/C, checked it for leaks, and refilled the A/C. I brought up the smell again to the dealer before I left and they said the A/C had no leaks. The A/C works great now, but I am again smelling an occasional "coolant" leak.

So here it is -

I believe the "coolant" smell is actually refrigerant? Anyone can tell me that they should smell the same?

I am brining the car back to the dealer Friday to actually replace the two cracked buttons (the didn't have the parts) and I asked them to recheck the A/C for leaks. Any advise on how to approach this with the service department to make sure it gets resolved?

dag

Anyone else have this specific issue?

Frankenguy

I've only smelled it once, but refrigerant doesn't smell anything like antifreeze/coolant. It is a unique smell, so I can't really describe it.

Zoom49

I work with R134A refrigerant daily and you really cant pick up any odor unless the leak is very large. Only other way to smell it is if the leak is near the air intake and it gets drawn into the
engine and burned. Then there will be major odor comming from the exhaust, even with a smaller leak. You still may have a leak
if the system worked well a while ago and then quit working. It takes a good tech to find leaks in todays systems.

Nubo

I don't think the refrigerant gas has much of a smell. There's also a light oil in the system for lubrication and that might have a smell; I've only been around it with industrial-size AC units a long time ago so can't say for sure.

You can also get smells from your AC due to dust, etc that gets in the ducts and combines with the water condensation and breeds mildew. There are sprays that you can use to draw into the air intakes to get rid of it.

When you say "coolant" do you mean it smells like radiator coolant (anti-freeze)? That's a fairly distinctive odor. How's your coolant level?

Best thing would be if you could get it to make "the smell" with the mechanic present.

TheDosDog

Nubo is right on with this. R134a has little odor unless it is reaches combustion somehow. Not likely and the odor would be at the tailpipe. There is refrigerant oil in the system to lubricate the compressor however it smells nothing like coolant and there is really no way you would be smelling it unless there was a massive leak or you are servicing the system. The evaporator on the other hand can yield a variety of odors. Usually it's more of a musty smell and not sweet as coolant would be. As Nubo said there are sprays that will resolve this.

dag

Thanks everyone for your posts. I had to check out yesterday because I was moving. Going to the dealer this morning. I'll update this post if I find anything interesting.

From the smell, I did think it was a nasty coolant smell, but every time I keep checking the coolant level, it seems to be fine. (Temps are good also) I will have to keep an eye on all the fluids to see if something is leaking. Just to clarify, the smell isn't constant and it smells like a drip (aka - brief smell that occurs once in a while).

dag