i brought it in for a stinky a/c.

they gave me a speech about the recirc.

so i been paying attention.

today it was 94 on the dash and its a bit muggy for CO maybe 30% humidity LOL.

anyway. i drove about 20 miles I had it on auto. the orange recirc was on the whole time.......and it seemed as if the car never cooled properly. I had the temp set at 73.

I am going out again tonight so will do another test.




my Q;

about how long does your recirc, the orange arrows, stay on after you get moving if you use auto.

 

I rarely use auto but when I have, I've noticed that it will always stay on recirc if it's warmer outside than it is inside. Makes sense because you probably wouldn't want 94 degree air coming into your 73 degree cabin.

I keep mine on recirc all the time because I'm not a fan of the occasional motorcycle or 1960s era car that stops in front of me. I also open the windows with the A/C on sometimes to counteract having recirc on all the time. I'm one of those people who have the A/C on 100% of the time, rain or shine.

Stinky A/C? It's pretty easy to change the air filter. I'm sure Pyro's DIY list has a guide linked in there. I like to use the Arm & Hammer baking soda one. Works pretty good, and people always comment on how clean my car smells.

 

thanks i put some Wurth hi tech air freshner directly on it and will run it some more tonight.



it seems that recirc USED to only be on for a few minutes no matter how hot...once the a/c started to cool things it would go off/

 

i usually have mine on auto, and to cool the car, have the AC set between 67-69, depending on outside temp. i also drive with my front windows partially open depending on temp and speed. i havent timed the recirc though haha

 

The recirc button will stay illuminated initially but will eventually let in outside air if I leave it on long enough (maybe 15 minutes). It does the same if I have the heat on as well. I usually turn off "auto" and keep it closed permanently. It seems like a waste of energy to cool hot/humid or heat cold outside a.


I always wonder why people do that. What do you get out of having the window cracked while the AC is on?

 

Simple - you let in hot, humid air so that the AC can work harder to get rid of said hot, humid air.

 

CEB for the win

 

The smell is usually caused by bacterial growth from dampness in the evaporator housing where the cooling air flow is dehumidified. It's worse when you first turn the A/C on and in areas with high temperature and humidity. Sometimes the tube that drains the moisture condensing on the evaporator can partially clog making matters worse.

I never use auto mode and seldom use Recirc. When I do I find it does help to turn of Recirc for a few minutes before shutdown to allow outside air to circulate through the evaporator housing to dry it out.

 

i like fresh air, and when i have my windows all the way up and AC on, i feel isolated. you know how much harder it is to hear traffic, horns, and people with your windows up and music on? you may as well be one of those idiots who drive with headphones on. also i like to keep my tint down halfway. i even keep it just a crack if its raining, enough to keep rain out, but i can still easily hear outside

i understand that i make my AC work more, and drain some gas, but it is negligible to me, and it is my preference. you'll notice that mostly people who mod their cars/have tints have their windows down halfway while driving. for others its all or nothing

 

i found the drain.....well i saw it dripping. going to look at that....maybe partially blocked.

thanks for the help/

 

Sometimes the following procedure will help eliminate odor after Recirc use on a humid day. Dry the evaporator for about 10 min:

AC: . . . . . . . . . . . Off
Air Outlet: . . . . . . Foot
Mode: . . . . . . . . . Recirc.
Blower: . . . . . . . . High
Temp: . . . . . . . . . Max Warm

Obviously a pain in the ass. But I used this procedure on my RX330 several times and it really made a difference. For severe cases dealers or A/C specialists will spray a disinfectant freshener in the evaporator inlet to kill off bacteria.

 

Interesting perspective. I must depend more on my eyes more than my ears when I drive.

I don't have trouble hearing outside noise (sirens, motorcycles, horns) with my windows up. If my music was loud enough to drown out the outside, I doubt a crack in the window would help.

 

In Auto mode, the car's system reads various sensors as well as the user's requested inside temperature, and adjusts the fan speed, A/C compressor, heater, and Recir mode in order to quickly attain the requested temperature. Once you get closer to the requested temperature, the recirc is set to off.

From what I read, the sensors include: outside air temp, inside temp and whether it is sunny (sun sensor is on the far front / center of the dash).

 

To get rid of the smell I usually leave the heat on high with the a/c off. It is also good to have the a/c turned off for around a minute before shutting the car off so moisture doesn't build up.

 

lol you are the musty hustla, so that pungent bacteria infused scent may just be right up your alley.

 

so i brought it back today after giving them a 4 on a survey and having the service manager call me.





THIS TIME they cleaned the evaportive core with the mold cleaner. the fould smell is gone this time.....for good I hope.


he read me from the service manual 'for every hour of recirc need 10 minutes non recirc'. I always used auto up till now......i will avoid using the recirc if I can.

if it comes back, ILL BE BACK/

 

Glad to hear you got rid of the stench. Suggest you now switch to manual so you can control when and how much recirc gets used otherwise your likely to end up in the same situation.

 

@Robpp -- good to know. Thanks!

My feelings toward automatic climate control were more or less neutral, but now it's no thanks. Give me manual control.

 

Auto has nothing to do with recirculation. Auto merely adjusts the fan speed to attain and maintain the set temps. On tech models it also - in theory - uses the GPS to adjust airflow to either side of the car.

 

actually, they are linked. i've tried turning off recirc with the auto on, it turns off the auto sometimes. usually its when i just started the car within 20 minutes

 

But you can always turn auto back on, but i've never had auto turn off when i turn recirc off.

 

i'll record mine doing it for you =)

 

I don't doubt that yours does it - or that the system might actually be programmed to shut both off under some circumstances. Mine hasn't shut off auto but then again I hardly ever use recirc.

 

i don't like recirc either. makes it awkward if i wanna fart on a roadtrip

 

In full AUTO, if you set the temperature control to a low or the Lo setting the system will run in full cooling mode with Fan at max and Recirc active until the desired temperature is attained.

In full AUTO, if you manually select various functions the system will deactivate full Auto and work in semi-automatic mode with all other functions automatically controlled except the one you selected. For instance, if you deactivate Recirc from full AUTO, the Fan, Mode, and A/C will remain automatically controlled.

So, if you live in a hot climate and have set your system to full AUTO with a low temp selected it's likely that you'll be driving around with Recirc constantly on.

 

What you say is technically correct but not the correct way of working the AC system.

Auto adjusts the fan speed to get to your desired temps. Obviously, if you set the system to low, the system will always give you full fan.

Unless you want full fan right when you get into a hot car, you'll want to set a temp and let the system adjust the fan speed for you. Lowering the set temp will not cool the car faster - only adjusting the fan speed will do that.

Once the car has cooled, there is no problem in turning off recirc.

If I get into a hot car, I open the windows and turn the fan on high. This dumps all the super heated air from the car and equalizes the outside and inside temps. A few minutes later I close the windows and turn the system to auto. Once it gets comfy I turn the recirc off.

 

if i am in auto and AUTO decides it wants recirc the ONLY WAY to turn off recirc is to go to semi-auto....basically the auto light goes out, recirc goes off, but everything else stays the same.

 

Ceb, perhaps I misunderstood what you meant when you said, "Auto has nothing to do with recirculation. Auto merely adjusts the fan speed to attain and maintain the set temps". I was trying to point out that AUTO mode can enable or disable Recirc in addition to Mode and Fan speed as necessary to achieve a given set temperature.

The quickest way to cool a heat-soaked car uses a combination of Hi fan speed, Recirc, and dash vents which is the configuration AUTO uses for max cooling. So, if you select a temperature only slightly lower than ambient, AUTO may only increase Fan speed and wait. If however you select a temperature significantly lower than ambient, AUTO may use a combination of Recirc and high fan speed to reach that setting as quick as possible.

 

Sure. We're both saying the same thing but I've never had n issue turning recirc off and leaving the system in auto. I think once it went off auto but pushing auto again turned it on without recirc on.