Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have had a 1999 Vhall Astra 1.8 CDX for about ten months and i am getting a musty smell from my Air Con. If I switch between the two I get the smell for a bit but it clears in five or ten minutes.
I have thought it may be the pollen filter.
Would be grateful if anyone could provide advice.
Paul
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If the pollen filter hasn't been changed in a while, then it *should* help. On your car you have to remove the glovebox to change it, so subsequently if you pay someone to service your car, chances are they'll have been lazy and not bothered to do it. Fret not though, here are the instructions for changing it:-
www.puravent.co.uk/filters/dispfilter.pl?id=87&mod...L
The following threads might be of use as well:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=23708
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=32715
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I have had a 1996 Astra Premier 1.6 from new which at the time was a novelty with aircon as standard. Not long after the car was out of warranty (15 months) however the aircon became erratic on wet days but in heavy rain the cabin would just fill with condensation in seconds and the ventilation system was useless to cope. Aircon simply refused to kick in at all in these conditions. The fan became noticeably noisier when the aircon acted up in this way and the cold air was distinctively humid. Driving on a motorway at 70mph with a car full of kids when windows suddenly steam up completely is no fun at all. The only solution was to roll down all 4 windows and get soaked for the rest of the trip!
Dealer said it was due to a wet pollen filter but replacing it had very little impact and I've just had to live with the problem ever since. Aircon just hasn't worked in winter at all for 6 years or so which is a real pain on wet days; the other family car does the school run etc because wife will not tolerate the Astra's behaviour in damp conditions. For some reason, the handbook states that the aircon is designed not to operate in temps below 5degrees celsius. I guess it's a weakness with this model of the Astra which is not known to have the best ventilation system in the world apparently. That said, any ideas would be most welcome as I rather like the car and with 120k on the clock intend to run the otherwise reliable 8 valve into the ground :-))
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It sounds as if the plenum chamber drain is blocked in the fresh air inlet. The air enters the heating/ventilation system via this chamber(usually at the base of the windscreen) and there are drain holes in the chamber under the inlet. If these holes block up then the water builds up until the level rises and it overflows into the car. It will also happen with the water at a lower level when you go round corners.
I don't know the Astra layout specifically, but the drain holes should be visible under the bonnet. Sometimes they have simple rubber flaps covering them.
Look into the grill at the base of the screen and see if you have leaves etc collecting at the bottom of it.
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I had these exact same probs in an '97 V6 Omega. The plenum drain pipe(s?) were bunged up with bits of leaves, tree mould etc and when released at least a gallon of water came out!
The end of the drain pipe was a rubber hose and it used to get squashed to "nearly closed" by other stuff in the engine bay, then the grot did the rest. If you get a garage to do it - get em to show you where the end of the drain is, then next time you could do it yourself with a thin garden cane....with your goggles and an old T-shirt on....
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