Honda Car Forum

jim beam wrote:
> Leftie wrote:
>> Tegger wrote:
>>> Leftie <No@Thanks.net> wrote in news:1BpZl.3971$f43.547@newsfe03.iad:
>>>
>>>> The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's
>>>> not mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> So it's a gasoline and oil smell?
>>
>> Not exactly, certainly not gasoline, but there is a garage-y
>> component to the smell.
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> over the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are
>>>> dry), a burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap
>>>> motor (it works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and
>>>> just stale air. I've tried various treatments to little avail, and
>>>> will probably try ozone next, if I can find a shop that uses it. But
>>>> I can't help but notice that, unlike all the other cars I've owned,
>>>> the fresh (ha!) air intake is located *completely* under the hood,
>>>> in the engine compartment.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Actually, it's not. It's sealed from the engine compartment by a soft
>>> rubber gasket that presses against the underside of the hood. That
>>> gasket wouldn't be missing, would it?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Aha! I have no idea, and will check that when the rain stops. If
>> they buried the intake and then used the gasket to make fresh air flow
>> downwards and backwards into it from above, though, I remain
>> unimpressed with the design. Thanks a lot for the info, though.
>
> dude, have you ever looked at the air intake on a modern helicopter?
> it's convoluted so that ground debris doesn't get in the engines. even
> fine dust is separated out. similar logic here - all the driven debris
> stays out of the intake.
>
> of course, if you drive detroit crap with a design life of 5 years, this
> might not be a problem, but if you have a honda and want to drive it 20+
> years without its being clogged with twigs, leaves, mud, insects or any
> of that other crap, this is the way to go.


Interesting, then, that neither of our Camrys of the same year, with
their open-at-base-of-windshield intakes, has clogged or developed this
nasty smell. Nor the even older Volvo 240 before that.

On Jun 15, 7:40*am, Leftie <N...@Thanks.net> wrote:
> * * The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's not
> mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage over
> the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are dry), a
> burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap motor (it
> works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and just stale air.
> I've tried various treatments to little avail, and will probably try
> ozone next, if I can find a shop that uses it. But I can't help but
> notice that, unlike all the other cars I've owned, the fresh (ha!) air
> intake is located *completely* under the hood, in the engine
> compartment. Does anyone else with the series Civic (any of the sedans
> of that era) have a similar problem? If so, have you found a way to
> solve it? The car gets 40mpg and I don't want to sell it.

yup, hondas of that era have funny ventilation smells. i own one and
remember a one line review of them in some car mag: Honda: nice car.
smells funny. One thing that helps a lot is to dry out the AC before
turning the car off, by turning the AC off a couple of minutes before
turning the car off. that helps keep the condensate on the evaporator
to a minimum and reducing the fungus growth. but you don't seem to
have mold smells.

i'd guess your diagnosis re the recirculate motor may be correct.

re the location of the air intake, there have been quite a few cars
who do that kind of thing. lots of gm cars with the "hidden wiper
blades", for instance, for sleek look. i don't know why honda does it
though, since the wiper blades aren't hidden.

z wrote:
> On Jun 15, 7:40 am, Leftie <N...@Thanks.net> wrote:
>> The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's not
>> mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage over
>> the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are dry), a
>> burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap motor (it
>> works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and just stale air.
>> I've tried various treatments to little avail, and will probably try
>> ozone next, if I can find a shop that uses it. But I can't help but
>> notice that, unlike all the other cars I've owned, the fresh (ha!) air
>> intake is located *completely* under the hood, in the engine
>> compartment. Does anyone else with the series Civic (any of the sedans
>> of that era) have a similar problem? If so, have you found a way to
>> solve it? The car gets 40mpg and I don't want to sell it.
>
> yup, hondas of that era have funny ventilation smells. i own one and
> remember a one line review of them in some car mag: Honda: nice car.
> smells funny. One thing that helps a lot is to dry out the AC before
> turning the car off, by turning the AC off a couple of minutes before
> turning the car off. that helps keep the condensate on the evaporator
> to a minimum and reducing the fungus growth. but you don't seem to
> have mold smells.
>
> i'd guess your diagnosis re the recirculate motor may be correct.
>
> re the location of the air intake, there have been quite a few cars
> who do that kind of thing. lots of gm cars with the "hidden wiper
> blades", for instance, for sleek look. i don't know why honda does it
> though, since the wiper blades aren't hidden.


Just to make me cough, apparently. I always dry the A/C out after
using it. I'll probably bite the bullet and pay to have the system (the
intake, at least) manually cleaned, and the recirculate motor replaced.
Thanks for the response.

Leftie <No@Thanks.net> wrote in news:k8l%l.8609$hE.649@newsfe13.iad:


>
>
> Just to make me cough, apparently. I always dry the A/C out after
> using it. I'll probably bite the bullet and pay to have the system
> (the intake, at least) manually cleaned, and the recirculate motor
> replaced. Thanks for the response.


You can get disinfectant sprays that eliminate the mold in the system; no
need to dismantle it.

--
Tegger

Tegger wrote:
> Leftie <No@Thanks.net> wrote in news:k8l%l.8609$hE.649@newsfe13.iad:
>
>
>>
>> Just to make me cough, apparently. I always dry the A/C out after
>> using it. I'll probably bite the bullet and pay to have the system
>> (the intake, at least) manually cleaned, and the recirculate motor
>> replaced. Thanks for the response.
>
>
> You can get disinfectant sprays that eliminate the mold in the system; no
> need to dismantle it.
>


It isn't mainly mold, and the disinfectants are as bad as the odor.
I'm sensitive to harsh chemicals. What mold there is is in the carpet,
because of that damned Civic rainwater leak. I got caught with the car
at work in torrential rain, and now I have to have the carpet shampooed,
too.

On Jun 22, 5:40*am, Leftie <N...@Thanks.net> wrote:
> Tegger wrote:
> > Leftie <N...@Thanks.net> wrote innews:k8l%l.8609$hE.649@newsfe13.iad:
>
> >> * * Just to make me cough, apparently. I always dry the A/C out after
> >> using it. I'll probably bite the bullet and pay to have the system
> >> (the intake, at least) manually cleaned, and the recirculate motor
> >> replaced. Thanks for the response.
>
> > You can get disinfectant sprays that eliminate the mold in the system; no
> > need to dismantle it.
>
> * * It isn't mainly mold, and the disinfectants are as bad as the odor.
> I'm sensitive to harsh chemicals. What mold there is is in the carpet,
> because of that damned Civic rainwater leak. I got caught with the car
> at work in torrential rain, and now I have to have the carpet shampooed,
> too.

Look up bacterial bloom it may be on this news group but you will find
it on a search. My wifes 06 pilot has the same thing and the dealer
dumps some stuff down the air intake vent. It cures it for a while but
it always comes back. You can see it on the windshield it starts with
bluish tint in spots then takes over the entire winshield with the
film. I washed it with a mild bleach solution and then vinegar based
windex.

The bottom line is there is something living in your in the
ventilation system that need to be eliminated. It does not seem to
affect all vehicles my daughers 05 civic is fine. There is a drain on
the bottom of the system look where the ac drips out see if it is
plugged.