My Alfa stinks.....

[mike9009]

As of yesterday evening, i have an awful smell in the interior of our 156 sw.

My wife likens it to a dead body being in the car ( still unsure how she knows this?). I liken it to rotten stilton.

I have searched the car high and low and cannot find anything. Is this something to do with the air con?

The only other thing i've done recently ( last weekend) was fully clean the interior. This included cleaning the leather with some autoglym leather restorer. Any chances this may have caused some adverse reaction?

Any help gratefully received.......

Mike

[MarkwG]

Doubt the Autoglyms related - the smell would take effect immediately, & I've used the stuff & never had that. I'd go for a dead pollen filter, or blocked bulkhead drains, or both: if yours is pre-facelift, the covers ahead of the windscreen have to come off to change the pollen filter anyway, if it's post, the filters under the dash & is a bit of a PITA, so I'd do that first, then see what happens. The smell is usually bacteria in the aircon system; it builds up during hot/humid periods, so if those above don't clear it, an aircon bomb may help, or a 15 - 20 minute blast of the heater at max to dry it out & kill the bugs.

[Stu R]

Check the spare wheel well in the boot and other places water can accumulate if something's leaking. Also check the carpets for damp etc and yep, pollen filters are rank when they go bad. Stagnant water in the vents is also a possibility, you can get aerosol cans to sort that from halfords etc.

[mike9009]

Thanks chaps. Will check all that this morning. Any recommendations for where to purchase a pollen filter on the net? Mines a 51 plate so pre-facelift model.

Mike

[RicksAlfas]

Shop4parts is as good as anywhere.

Also Alfashop, EB Spares, even EBay.

[Biglips]

Mine did this and it turned out to be screen washer bottle contamination. Disgusting smell and worse when washing windscreen. Bugs can grow in the fluid particularly if you make your own screen wash. I flushed out the system a few times and smell went.

[mike9009]

Well, quick update...

There appears to be no water ingress into the car, either through rear windows (read this was a popular failure point) or into the rear tyre recess thingy.

I have ordered a new pollen filter which will get replaced when it arrives. Also used some stuff from Halfords to clear any bacteria in the aircon system. Three hours later, it seems to have done the trick.

My wife also has changed the flask our two year old daughter uses to drink from. This has always been filled with milk and I have a sneaky suspicion that this may have been dropped in the back of the car and leaked. (of course wifey denies all knowledge!!) So I have also cleaned and shampooed all the interior mats. Lets hope this multiple attack on the offending items will help.

I have also banned my daughter from drinking milk in the cars and now only uses water. Poor little love!

Thanks for all suggestions - will update again with the success or failure!

Mike

[MarkwG]

Milk! That would certainly do it...banned in our cars, on pain of instant death!

[Oilchange]

Cleaning the carpets after a milk spill is a waste of time in my experience. After a spill in my old car the stuff filtered through the carpet and ended up under the underlay stuff. After a few days in the sun there were maggots by the KILO living in the carpet. Cue a full NBC suit and multiple poly bags full of wildlife, gunge and old carpet. The smell was utterly nausiating -yeuch!

[mike9009]

All good today. No more smells. I suspect the root cause was bacteria in the air con system. It was strange how quickly it came though, i would imagine the bacteria would accumulate over time, so the smell would slowly get worse?

Thanks again

Mike

[RicksAlfas]

mike9009 said:

All good today. No more smells. I suspect the root cause was bacteria in the air con system. It was strange how quickly it came though, i would imagine the bacteria would accumulate over time, so the smell would slowly get worse?

Thanks again

Mike

Might be the sudden very hot weather we've had making some lurgi grow in the system?
Do you run the aircon all the time - it's better to do that, than just occassionally.

[mike9009]

Air con not run that often. So you are probably right. Never had a smell like it before in other cars I ve owned.

Maybe just the humidity and outside temps, have tipped the bugs over the edge....
Mike

[MarkwG]

It's a good idea to run it at least once a week; the refridgerant contains lubricating oil to keep the system operating properly. Without it, it'll develop leaks & problems which will cost to fix.