Air conditioner de-skunking kit for loan in NY/NJ/CT

[Terry Kennedy]

It's that time of year again, when funky smells start wafting out of BMW air conditioners everywhere :irate:

8 years ago, I bought the official BMW A/C de-skunking machine and supplies*. For more info, see the BMW service bulletin (http://www.tmk.com/transient/SI640891.pdf).

Since more 'mudgeons seem to be coming to the NY/NJ/CT area, I figured I'd re-post my offer of a free loan of the kit for anyone who wants to get rid of the A/C smell. The kit includes the spray can, special wand and adapter, and a jug of the recommended disinfectant. You'll also need an air compressor - if you don't have one, I can lend out a pancake compressor and air line.

Be sure to read the instructions and make sure you're willing to disassemble the interior to the extent described in the bulletin. In order to get rid of the smell, the cleaner has to be sprayed into the evaporator - spraying stuff in the vents won't have any lasting effect.

* The recommended cleaner is an industrial Lysol product (http://www.reckittprofessional.com/productpro/ProductSearch.do?brandId=1&productLineId=68&searchType=PL&template=1) (stronger and without the goofy 1920's patent medicine smell). Since they only sell it to commercial accounts, I have more than I'll ever need (4 gallons - makes 80 gallons of BMW-strength cleaner, or 2000 :eek: gallons at Lysol-recommended-strength).

[ZBB]

We're taking my wife's E91 in tomorrow for them to do an odor search.

I had the problem occasionally in my E46, but it never got bad enough (even in Atlanta) to have them look at it -- and it mostly went away if I drove for a couple miles with the A/C off before parking (but only had to do that 2 or 3 times).

But my wife's car started smelling like something curled up and died in it about a week ago. Not particularly strong, but strong enough to notice. And we can't find the source, so in it goes...

[ZBB]

We're taking my wife's E91 in tomorrow for them to do an odor search.

But my wife's car started smelling like something curled up and died in it about a week ago. Not particularly strong, but strong enough to notice. And we can't find the source, so in it goes...

Ugh... This is becoming quite the story:

Saturday:
We took it in to the dealer we typically use for service since its closest to our house (BMW North Scottsdale). They said, yep, there's a smell -- but since we think its from your child spilling milk on the back seat (there were 2-3 white spots on the leather) and that it wasn't their problem. We don't believe them, but pick the car up anyway.

Sunday:
I spend 30 minutes taking the back seat bottom out of the car. No milk spill or obvious spot where it had gotten wet and was mildewing. There were some Cherios and various crumbs that had gotten through the seat belt and LATCH openings in the seat -- so I vacuumed that up. I also smelled the seat -- and it didn't stink. I also started sniffing around the car to try to better ID the source -- and the smell is definitely coming from behind the dash (strongest smell was when I opened the glove box.)

Monday:
Drop the car off at a different dealer (Chapman BMW Camelback) that is near my office. But it was a mid-afternoon drop-off, so it wasn't going in until the next morning.

Tuesday:
Get a call from the SA. He's trying to get authorization from BMW to pull the dash and clean the evaporator under warranty (car has ~8500 miles and is less than a year old).

Wednesday:
No word from mid afternoon, so I call the SA to check on status. He had just gotten word back from BMW that they wanted to try a new procedure for dealing with this that needed a new special tool to insert some Lysol (probably the same stuff Terry has) around the evaporator. Problem is that the tool won't be in until Friday...

Thursday:
No updates, but not unexpected.

Friday/Today:
SA calls; tool arrived Thurs, procedure done on Thurs afternoon. But it didn't work -- smell remains in the car as of this morning.

They now have permission from BMW to pull the dash and clean the evaporator. But he cautions me that if the source of the smell turns out to be a dead rodent, that BMW won't cover it under warranty. Estimate is ~$1800 for the fix if that's the case. Car won't be ready until Tuesday.

Ugh. I've already called our insurance to verify if rodent damage is covered in our policy -- they said an adjuster would have to review the specific case, but that rodent damage is generally covered.

We'll see on Tues.

[lip277]

Jeezzee - that must be a really bad smell.

[ZBB]

Jeezzee - that must be a really bad smell.

Its very unpleasant... very noticeable after the car sits for an hour or so. Smell reduces after driving for a bit, but its still there.

It does not smell anything like spoiled/curdled milk (and with a toddler, we're very familiar with that smell...). The closest I can think of is a decomposing rodent -- but its not strong enough to actually be that. Plus, I can't think of how a rodent could get in and behind the firewall (there is no smell whatsoever outside the car, and its not noticeable when you pull fresh air in from the vent (before taking it in, I was thinking it was possibly something dead near the cabin air intake...).

[Terry Kennedy]

No word from mid afternoon, so I call the SA to check on status. He had just gotten word back from BMW that they wanted to try a new procedure for dealing with this that needed a new special tool to insert some Lysol (probably the same stuff Terry has) around the evaporator. Problem is that the tool won't be in until Friday...
See - you should have borrowed mine :D

SA calls; tool arrived Thurs, procedure done on Thurs afternoon. But it didn't work -- smell remains in the car as of this morning.

They now have permission from BMW to pull the dash and clean the evaporator. But he cautions me that if the source of the smell turns out to be a dead rodent, that BMW won't cover it under warranty. Estimate is ~$1800 for the fix if that's the case. Car won't be ready until Tuesday.
On an E46, I'd look for:


blocked drain holes in the bottom of the evaporator housing (drains to the underbody)
critters or vegetable material between the skid plate and the underside of the car
critters or vegetable material in the area between the windshield and hood (air filter, vent slats, and so forth)


Presumably an E9x is similar...

If it is was a critter, adding the critter zapper (unfortunately not allowed in the US) would be cheaper than dealing with the carcass afterwards. Here's ( http://www.tmk.com/transient/4238en.pdf) the E46 version. Apparently there is enough of a problem with critters eating the wiring that BMW has come up with this kit as an option for all of Europe.

[JST]

See - you should have borrowed mine :D


On an E46, I'd look for:


blocked drain holes in the bottom of the evaporator housing (drains to the underbody)
critters or vegetable material between the skid plate and the underside of the car
critters or vegetable material in the area between the windshield and hood (air filter, vent slats, and so forth)


Presumably an E9x is similar...

If it is was a critter, adding the critter zapper (unfortunately not allowed in the US) would be cheaper than dealing with the carcass afterwards. Here's ( http://www.tmk.com/transient/4238en.pdf) the E46 version. Apparently there is enough of a problem with critters eating the wiring that BMW has come up with this kit as an option for all of Europe.

That cover pic is pretty awesome.

[Terry Kennedy]

That cover pic is pretty awesome.
Here's the actual critter:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Beech_Marten.jpg/299px-Beech_Marten.jpg

From the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_Marten) article: "The Beech Marten (Martes foina), also known as the Stoned Marten, is the most common species of marten in Central Europe. [...] Beech martens are noted for their habit of damaging cars by biting through ignition leads and brake hoses and pulling apart insulation boards."

[ZBB]

See - you should have borrowed mine :D

I probably could have driven to NJ, fixed it, gone for a ride in the Atom, and been home by now :lol:


On an E46, I'd look for:


blocked drain holes in the bottom of the evaporator housing (drains to the underbody)
critters or vegetable material between the skid plate and the underside of the car
critters or vegetable material in the area between the windshield and hood (air filter, vent slats, and so forth)


Presumably an E9x is similar...


I checked on that last one -- there were a few dried leaves in the drain grates on either side of the windshield / under the hood. But the E9x doesn't appear to have to many nooks and crannies other than those.

Discussing with the SA, I'm guessing its the first one. The second one is unlikely -- there is no smell outside the car (and since its starting to get warm here, we'd definitely have a smell noticeable in the garage...