96 T-bird a/c question

I have noticed recently that whenever I turn my a/c on, the first blast of air that comes out smells like vinegar. Has anyone else had this problem or know what may be causing it? Thanks for any help.

Reply to
PuppyBreath
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PuppyBreath opined in news:OS8Pc.142$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr23.news.prodigy.com:

vinegar? or somewhat sweet? 10 minutes after parking your car, sniff the coolant reservoir and see if it's the same...if so, you have a heater core leaking.

If it's acrid... then you probably have mildew in the system. Or leaves have gotten in there and are decomposing/fermenting... this is quite likely if it IS a vinegar smell, open up a leafy compost heap and you may smell the same thing .

How long have you had the car?

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

It's definitely not the heater core, I had that happen on a new Chevy truck once. That's a smell I remember, but I checked it anyway. The only way I can describe the smell is if you have ever smelled a bag of "salt & vinegar" chips, that's the smell. After the a/c has been on for a few minutes the smell goes away. I don't see any leaves or anything when I open the hood. I just moved from Houston and we had a bunch of pine trees and there were always pine needles all over the car, but I made sure that I always removed them (or at least I tried).

I have had the car since it was new and have about 58,000 miles.

Thanks for the info.

~PB~

oh just one of the many reasons I hate not having a man around on a regular basis.

Reply to
PuppyBreath

bet its the pile needles(some got into the evaporator core area and this is what you are smelling.. try to take some new pine needles and put them in a plastic bad for a few days and see if it smells the same as the a/c unit in the car... if so then you know what it is... you gotta get them out....

Reply to
dbird

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