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Humid, musty air while driving

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Old August 15th, 2008, 12:03 PM
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Default Humid, musty air while driving

I searched, but my problem is a little different with what I found.

I have a 2000 1500 with ~138k miles. The a/c works fine(does not stick)when I fire it up and I have good pressure, but lately I've been getting a musty smellwhile driving. The air also turnscool - warm.The system willreturn tonormal if I turnthe entire a/c system off for a few minutes.I've never had this issue before.

I'm in Houston so I need my a/c!

Does this sound familiar to anyone?


Thanks in advance...

CJ
Old August 15th, 2008, 6:11 PM
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Default RE: Humid, musty air while driving

I am in Phoenix and have a similar problem when the A/C is onsometimes I can smell the radiator when I am driving. I know that cant be good.
Old August 17th, 2008, 11:47 AM
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Default RE: Humid, musty air while driving

There's a filter in those models under the dash which needs to be removed and changed. It's by the passenger side of the hump. There's also a deoderizer spray from the dealer, but many people swear by Febreeze.
Old August 19th, 2008, 7:57 PM
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Default RE: Humid, musty air while driving

Check for a restricted evaporator case drain. Kinda sounds like water is backing up, you shut it off & it slowly drains. Like 'rivereye' said, Check those cabin air filters.
Old August 20th, 2008, 6:36 AM
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Default RE: Humid, musty air while driving

Use the A/c on a hot day, for an hour or so. Then park, If you don't see a puddle then you definitely have a blockage. Unfortunately you might also have a partial blockage where you do see some water, but it all doesn't get drained. Definitely a dealer check needed here.
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Old August 20th, 2008, 10:21 AM
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Default RE: Humid, musty air while driving

I replaced the cabin air filters and still have the probmel. As for a puddle when parked, I recently noticed a very large amount of run-off. Looked like a river...15' long and 3-4" wide.

Where do I have to look for this blockage?

Old August 23rd, 2008, 6:10 AM
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Default RE: Humid, musty air while driving

If the air is fluctuating between cool and warm, then the compressor must be kicking in and out. Most air conditioners eventually have that musty smell when turned off. If your pressure is good, then you may have a bad electrical connection somewhere. It could be a connector, relay or even the coil in the compressor clutch. Get an electrical schematic and check all the connectors you can find or get to. (Vibration from the road could be jiggling a loose connector.)
Old August 26th, 2008, 10:03 AM
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Default RE: Humid, musty air while driving

I'm still working on this issue. When fishing thru the drain to clear it,I noticed a wire with two plugs, one of which(the black one)was not hooked up to anything.The other plug was white andplugged into the drier. The unplugged connector has been unplugged for a while because the connectors are dirty. The black plug is split off of the main wiring and is only 2-3" long.

Does anyone know if this black connector plug is suppposed to be hooked up to anything?

Back to the drain -I used a thin wire to probe around, but nothing ran off. I was expecting a deluge of fluid but nothing happened. How long is that drain tube?

My work commute is too short to know if I was able to unstop the drain so I'll have to check it tonight.


Thanks.
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