Heater smell

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Sun 18 May 2003 12:38
Heater smell - welshy
Hi all again ,I have a Peugeot 405 1994 model . This maybe be nothing but when the heater is on the Hot setting and when the heater blower decides to work the Hot air smells like , well its hard to explain but... it smells like gone off water , this smell only happens when the heater is on the Hot setting it does not smell while on the cold setting . Any ideas why it smells ? Should the coolant be changed or something , it does not leak any water .
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Sun 18 May 2003 12:49
Heater smell - racingkarts
fisrty, the smell u are thinking of, is, well, it smells like dead rat - its most likely mildew - or mould. - noting to do with your coolant system. have you just tried running the heater for an hour, nice and hot -- that will clean the smell out, if that fails, striff the system, and clean everything !!!!! -check if you have a pollen filter - if you do, try changing it - also, check for any leaves etc that have been sucked in,if they start to rot, they can cause that smell
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Sun 18 May 2003 16:10
Heater smell - Dave N
405's are not exactly immune from heater matrix failure. It may be only leakinf a very small anount of coolant, but enough to give you that anti-freeze smell.
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Tue 20 May 2003 13:19
Heater smell - Mike H
...and it may be leaking with no visible signs in the car - i.e. no wet carpets etc.
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Tue 20 May 2003 12:41
Heater smell - blank
It sound very much to me like your two posts could be related. Is the carpet in the front footwells wet? Damp carpet with warm air blowing on it might be the cause.

As to the source of the water, it could be many things. Rear light clusters or heater matrix as previously mentioned, badly sealed windscreen, leaking door seal panels, leaing door seals ... The first job is to try to define more closely where the water is coming from.

Suggested approach: Either sit out in the car in heavy rain, or with someone watering it. Search for the water! Tedious I know, I've done it several times!!

hth
Andy
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Tue 20 May 2003 13:07
Heater smell - welshy
Thanks for the reply , I must say that the front carpets are bone dry , its just the rear floor behind the drivers seat . I have noticed that when I have taken the rear seat (bum part) out , it looks like its coming from the boot area and then rolling down into the rear footwell.
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