gresmi Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 I haven't thought to much about this lately because we are in the middle of winter and rarely does the AC kick on. A week ago though we had a day of 70 degree weather (it was -6 degrees this morning) and on my way home the AC was running and I smelled a familiar smell again. It's a smell that last summer i started to smell almost every time the AC was running for an extended period of time to cool the car. The smell is identical to the smell of my windshield washer fluid. Some days are much stronger than others. This is an issue that started last summer. I haven't smelled it at all this winter and until last Friday I didn't think about it all. Since then I've been reading a lot of posts about head gasket failures...and more recently about Scott's '94 starting to fail which now has me worried/paranoid. Just curious if anyone has had the same symptoms with a similar smell only when the AC is running. Or...and I'm scared to ask this...is this smell the beginning of the end of my head gasket?? Thanks in advance to anyone with insight or suggestions!! Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 The 4.9 (which you have) is a very reliable engine and is not plagued by the HG failures of the 4.6 Northstars. Is it possible what you are smelling is mildew on the A/C evaporator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gresmi Posted February 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 That's good to hear. I understood most of the HG problems in the threads usually involved the 4.6 but you know how the mind works when there is doubt...I was assuming the worse for my 4.9. I'll investigate the smell more this spring when I start using the AC again. Like I said before, the smell is identical to my windshield washer fluid. I wonder if the fluid is draining into something it shouldn't be and causing the smell. Never a dull moment with these cars!! Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 As Ranger noted, you can get a mildew smell I have had that If you are complaining about a coolant smell, maybe your heater core is leaking, check the floor under the passenger side dash and check under the carpet for wetness, they can leak and you will smell coolant through the vents and the windshield and windows will tend to fog up due to the increased humidity Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gresmi Posted February 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 As Ranger noted, you can get a mildew smell I have had that If you are complaining about a coolant smell, maybe your heater core is leaking, check the floor under the passenger side dash and check under the carpet for wetness, they can leak and you will smell coolant through the vents and the windshield and windows will tend to fog up due to the increased humidity Unfortunately I'm familiar with that smell along with the leak inside the car. Luckily I don't have any of those symptoms with this car...yet. The smell isn't coolant, it's the windshield washer fluid. I was trying to figure out what the smell was, smelling everything under the hood. When I popped the lid for the windshield washer fluid and took a whiff...it was an exact match. Was thinking about mixing some Cologne in with the windshield cleaner and tell anyone riding with me that the smell was typical of any old Caddy!! Also, this only smells when the AC is running. I thought maybe I had a leak through the firewall or something but I don't think that is the case any longer because I don't smell it all in the winter. This is a strange one, I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Keep in mind that the grill at the base of the windshield is the cabin air intake. There is a drain on the bottom (passengers side I think). It's a long shot, but just maybe it's not draining and that's where your washer fluid smell is coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gresmi Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Keep in mind that the grill at the base of the windshield is the cabin air intake. There is a drain on the bottom (passengers side I think). It's a long shot, but just maybe it's not draining and that's where your washer fluid smell is coming from. Thanks for the infor Ranger, I'll check that tonight. Do you have any idea why it would only smell when the AC is being used? In my car I don't have the option to change which vents are being used. When the heater is being used, it blows out the floor vents...when the AC is being used it blows from the vents in the panel. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 That's the way it was designed to work. The Devilles did not get a mode control button until 2000. Being that it only smells when the A/C is on is why I said it was a long shot. I would have suggested maybe mildew on the A/C evaporator, but that's not the smell you described. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gresmi Posted February 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 That's the way it was designed to work. The Devilles did not get a mode control button until 2000. Being that it only smells when the A/C is on is why I said it was a long shot. I would have suggested maybe mildew on the A/C evaporator, but that's not the smell you described. We were hit with a winter storm last night so I didn't get a chance to look at anything and I'm driving the truck today. I noticed last night though that the heater in the car wasn't putting out much heat, even when set to 90. I think, when the weather clears, I'm going to put a new thermostat in the car and look at the drain. I'm somewhat hopeful to find that the panel isn't draining as that makes the most sense of anything I've looked at so far. I'm hoping it's not the heater core!! Thanks for the advice/help!! Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 I noticed last night though that the heater in the car wasn't putting out much heat, even when set to 90. Might try flushing the heater core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gresmi Posted February 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 I noticed last night though that the heater in the car wasn't putting out much heat, even when set to 90. Might try flushing the heater core. Sorry if this is a stupid question, but how do you flush the heater core? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Disconnect the heater core inlet and outlet hoses at whatever is the easiest location. Use a piece of 1/2" copper pipe as a coupler and plug it into one hose. Get a length of old garden hose and cut the male connector off. Put that on the other end of the copper pipe (you may need to hose clamp them). Turn the hose on and flush the core. Water and whatever crud is in there will come out the unconnected heater hose. Reverse the connection and flush the other way. When you're done blow out the core to get the water out. Reconnect and fill the coolant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gresmi Posted February 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Disconnect the heater core inlet and outlet hoses at whatever is the easiest location. Use a piece of 1/2" copper pipe as a coupler and plug it into one hose. Get a length of old garden hose and cut the male connector off. Put that on the other end of the copper pipe (you may need to hose clamp them). Turn the hose on and flush the core. Water and whatever crud is in there will come out the unconnected heater hose. Reverse the connection and flush the other way. When you're done blow out the core to get the water out. Reconnect and fill the coolant. Thanks for the information and response Ranger. I wonder, if I go to the trouble to get the hoses off the heater core if it wouldn't be just as easy to replace it?? I think, once I get that far, I'll know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyjaws Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 get some lysol spray turn on the ac and open the hood below the windsheild wipers is the air intake for the ac and spray in to the plastic grate it will go in to the car and should get rid of any un wanted odors and make your car smell nice after that you can put colone or any scent you like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Better like the smell of Lysol. I tried that once. NEVER AGAIN! I smelled that crap for a good 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott y Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 You could always dump some GARLIC in there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Personally I think that would smell better than Lysol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gresmi Posted February 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 get some lysol spray turn on the ac and open the hood below the windsheild wipers is the air intake for the ac and spray in to the plastic grate it will go in to the car and should get rid of any un wanted odors and make your car smell nice after that you can put colone or any scent you like Hey, this post is coming back to life!! I'm happy about that as I still have funky smell. Thanks for the information Johnny, I'll see if I can find the vent you are talking about. That makes sense though and would possibly explain why I only have the smell when running the A/C. Thanks for the help/advice...I have new hope now!! Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 There is a procedure where a high pressure siphon atomizer is used with a GM 2-part chemical that is sprayed into the evaporator core. The blower control module must be removed in order to gain access. The chemical is allowed to sit for a few minutes, then rinsed away. It removes/kills the mildew. You'd need to refer to the shop manual for specifics. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gresmi Posted March 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 I think I might have solved part of my problem but not sure if it has solved everything. With some suggestions from the forum I started to investigate my heater core. That investigation led me into replacing a bad/leaking water pump. I tried blowing out the heater core but didn't have much success so I replaced it also. I'm now blowing more heat into the cabin, which is a good thing, and I have zero anti-freeze smell, which is also a good thing. The verdict is still out on whether or not this has had any effect on the strange smell I get while running the AC but I have a feeling it could be related. Time will tell!! Thanks to everyone offering any help and/or advice...it's much appreciated!! Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Göran W Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 If that didn´t do it: I don´t know how the AC-evacuation looks on your car but this is a wellknown problem on many brands! Try to locate the evacuation from under the car. It´s probably clogged from mildew and dust!!! The water gets at a stillstand. The smell is close to vinegar. Try to clean and blow out with air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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