BAD SMELL????

[joe-robo]

driving my bongo today i notice a smell that can only be discribed as 'cat pee'....
van was driving ok, not over heating.... checked the water/oil levels and the're ok.
anyone experienced this or know what the cause may be?.......

[westonwarrior]

Own any cats?

[scanner]

driving my bongo today i notice a smell that can only be discribed as 'cat pee'....
van was driving ok, not over heating.... checked the water/oil levels and they are ok.
anyone ecperienced this or know what the cause may be?.......

Had you just used the screen washer?

That can smell awful sometimes.

[westonwarrior]

You can get air con freshener if thats where its coming from

is it worse with the fans on?

[joe-robo]

got no cats and i checked underneath for dead ones!!!.... made no difference if i had the fans on or not... i have never put the aircon on either....it's the same screenwash thats been in it since i got the van and had no funny smells before?....

[amie..x]

did you pass a land fill site?

amie..x

[mikeonb4c]

Ah yes, I get a bit of this. Settles down if heaters are in regular use. Its as if the hoses ( ) are bit old (which they are - ha ha!). I also get the quite common funny smell that comes out of the rear seating high level vents. Dettol spraycan disintectant (apple flavour) helps settle it for a while though it tends to return, never quite as bad as before I think. For the rear system, I spray it in the floor level intake grille (with the rear fan on full and with the setting at high level grille output). For the front system, I lift the bonnet, remove the heater intake scoop and spray it into the fan unit while it is running at high setting.

But the smell of hot old rubber pipes still unsettles me. And I wonder sometimes if the tendency of the windscreen to mist up is due to leaking in the heater matrix area. But I don't think it can be as I'm barely losing any coolant. I seem to recall my old cars from years back would sometimes give off this smell so maybe its just the way it is. Slightly lets down the overall quality experience of Bongo driving though. Still, no car is perfect and at least the Bongo is close to perfect (just typing this from my daughters room at Leeds Met Uni. after a joyful cruise over the M62 to Leeds to drop her off).

[trevd01]

i have never put the aircon on either...

You should, though, at least once a week.

I run our aircon most of the time - in summer to keep cool, in winter to keep the van demisted.

[maxheadroom]

driving my bongo today i notice a smell that can only be discribed as 'cat pee'....

What trainers did you have on, where they nike (see link)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/200 ... pdate.html

[joe-robo]

te he... no nike trainers on my feet!!!... i will give the air freshner a go and stick the air con... if still no joy it's a trip to the mikw=es at wheelquick

[joe-robo]

just had a quick search, is this what you mean by air con freshner?.....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-AIR-CON-CLEAN ... 240%3A1318

[missfixit70]

I'd stick your nose in the screenwash bottle just to check, it's happened in a couple of cars in the past, just seems to suddenly go "off"

[scanner]

I'd stick your nose in the screenwash bottle just to check, it's happened in a couple of cars in the past, just seems to suddenly go "off"

Exactly my point.

But I reckon it could be the unused aircon that isn't helping either.

[joe-robo]

just found this in the members section, so i guess it's not just me then.....

Q: When I put my air conditioning system on it smells like a sweaty sock left to marinate in tom cat urine. Does something need cleaning or replacing in there? (Wiskers from Norfolk)

A: This can be caused by one of 2 things. Either a tom cat has indeed been using your Bongo as a litter tray, or, more probably, it can be due to stagnant water, crud etc around the evaporator. Try a cheap quick-fix: get a can of Wynns air con freshener (try Halfords) and do what it says on the tin. Simple, quick and if it solves the problem, great. If it comes back, get someone to check the evaporator fins etc etc aren't blocked.

[mister munkey]

This has popped up before I believe from peeps that have bought low milers that have been stood a while. Just as a air freshener screenwash additive can make the car smell fresh, stagnant water is gonna stink like hell.

Worth flushing it out & stcking some freshie in it before forking out too much.