My S3 retains that old English musty odor and I'd be happy to be rid of it. When my Maxima goes in for a dealer service, it always comes back with a "Climate Control system sanitized and deodorized" listing on the bill and It maxes a huge difference!

Has anyone ever used one of those AC deodorizing products on a Series 2/3? There seems to be two types, one is a foam that is sprayed directly on the evaporator and the other is a product that is directed into the recirc. and outside vents. I don't see any reasonable way to access the evaporator, so I am looking at the latter one.

Is that flap directly below the drivers side fuse panel a recirc. intake? Can I spray into that? Is there another on the Pass. side also?

Do these products make a difference on a Jag?
Ian

 

might be simpler to spray Lysol disinfectant at the air intake in the cowl where it will pass thru all the vents.

 

I would say Fabreeze at the cowl Fabreeze also offers a capsule for the outlet.
The stuff works. I opt for the spray bottle over teh aerosol versions. And unscented over the scented ones.

Carl

 

+1 for Febreeze, spritz a little on the headliner and carpets too.

 

Iramphal,

Have you checked the passenger side carpet underlayment.? Our cars super-duper sound deadening adds a nice thick layer of sound suppression material under the carpets of (all? most?) Series XJ's. Under a thick carpet & maybe layer of undercarpet. This fuzzy mass holds an enormous amount of leaked evaporator condensate, should yours be leaking. On any other car the carpet would feel wet to the touch. Somehow the Jag can store a lot of water under the carpet, without soaking the passengers feet. Not saying this is your problem, but when it occurs it certainly contributes to that 'old car mystery smell'.

 

You may have something there, but my underpadding is dry. Strange thing is that the AC blows cold, but there is never a drop of condensate under the car! Still cannot find the drain tubes, mind you, I hate jacking up the car and crawling underneath to check. When she goes in for an oil change soon, I'll be able to peek underneath. Doug advised they are to be found one each side of the transmission.

 

Very interesting. If the A/C is blowing cold and where you live has any humidity at all the condensate has to be going somewhere. If not under the car and not into the cabin, where? Please be sure to let us know when you find out.

Jeff

 

remove the floor mats and foam pads underneath the mats, front and rear.

Put them under the sun upside down during the day. Spray Lysol on them and on the floors. Take advantage of the heat wave. The sun will kill the bacterial odor.

 

"Mud Daubers" and the like have a habit of clogging up the condensate tubes. You can only rod them out (with a coat hanger) from underneath.

black and yellow mud dauber - Sceliphron caementarium (ufl.edu)

 

I can second what Bill mentioned above about the Mud Daubers ! I have also had a smaller version that looks more like a small honey bee do the same thing to my coolant recovery tank overflow hose ( inside left front fender well ). After removing the line and unplugging it, I installed a plastic aquarium pump strainer to HOPEFULLY keep the critters out.
Can't find pictures at the moment, but I'll try to get some to post soon !

Cheers,
Brian

 

Get a pair of ramps. Good ones. Easier and safer...

 

Thanks JagCad. I have a pair of ramps, and the first time I used them to raise the front wheels, they just skidded across the floor. Once I got to the top of the ramps, unless you have a second person watching to tell you when to stop, I almost drove over the end of the ramps! Not a happy camper!

 

I agree, I don't like or trust those ramps. Instead I raise the car one side at a time and place jacks under the front A arms and concrete blocks under the tires. Then I keep the hydraulic jack on one jacking point and the tire jack on the other. Triple safety precautions.

 

When I was growing up on the farm, the guys bolted a 15 foot length of wide belting to the bottom edge of the ramps, stretched it out so the car/truck/pickup's rear wheels were on the belting before the front wheels were at the edge of the ramp.

That way the ramps couldn't slide away as the rig was driven on. And we didn't have to take a run at it.
At the end, to keep from driving off the edge, they welded a length of 2 inch pipe so you Knew you shouldn't go farther.

I used a length of wide cargo ratchet strap tie-down for the rare occasions I need a ramp.
(';')

 

I think I'll just stay away from the ramps for now!

 

I drilled 3/4 inch holes in my garage floor and dropped bolts in them, stopped the ramps sliding, and bolts just lift out of floor when not being used, have since gotten rid of my ramps as they kept denting the rear side valances or whatever you call the panels that hide the bottoms of gas tanks!! Now my new problem is the exhaust now runs under the rear cage, so instead of being able to jack whole back up at once, I have to do each side independently