Technical Cleaning Stilo aircon

[mkarjala]

My Stilo 95 1.4 3d 2004 whiffs of milk gone bad now and then. The smell seems to be coming from the vents, so I'm assuming bacteria in the aircon system.

I bought a can of CRC Airco cleaner, which is supposed to eliminate the bacteria. In the instructions it says I should remove "the dust/pollen filter and also other filter systems".

Can anyone tell me exactly
-what filters I should be looking for
-where they are located
-how they're accessed & removed

Thanks in advance.

 

[Big Black Stilo]

First of all I wouldnt dismantle anything or buy any specialised cleaner, I would just turn the AC on in the car with fans on full and spray a fine mist of detol or similar about an inch to 2 inches above the intake for the fans. This always works.

My mates an aircon engineer and its a trick of the trade apparently

 

[mkarjala]

Hmm... I already bought the Airco cleaner...

Thanks for the tip, though. I'll have to go see if we have anything similar to Dettol over here in Finland. Is the air intake on the Stilo located where I think it is, right beneath the windscreen on the passengers side (left hand side, standing in front of the car)?

 

[Big Black Stilo]

It is usually below the windscreen but where I dont know.

 

[mkarjala]

Ha, I was looking at the CRC Airco can to see if it still had the pricetag on when I caught a whiff of what it smells like. An absolutely addictive, supernice smell. I have to get it my car! Will have to try the Dettol trick next time it starts smelling...

 

[Big Black Stilo]

Does the CRC stuff use antibacterial agents?

any antibacterial stuff like detol will probably work just as well

 

[Deckchair5]

Yes they say run the aircon flat out on full hot at least once per month to get rid of bacteria but a good shot of anti bacterial spray in the air intake under the windscreen does wonders

Mind you- the pollen filter isn't difficult to change- took me about 30mins- I've put some pictures of where it is and how to do it in the Stilo guides.
Click on "Guides" up above and scroll down to Stilo

It gets absolutely clogged with dust so not surprising it smells

 

[mkarjala]

Thanks for all the tips. I checked with CRC and was told their product contains "cleansing, antibacterial and disinfecting" ingredients. Costs less than 10 euros and smells totally wonderful.

I've tried running the ac on cold first, then hot (or vice versa, can't remember now), but the smell seems to return. It's especially strong when the car has been driven, parked and left for a couple of minutes and then started again.

I was ready to start poking around in the car, looking to remove the pollen filter, when I decided to check with Fiat, just in case. I was once again pleasantly surprised, the dealer promised to take a look and told me to bring the CRC with me. Hopefully I'll get the car done while having a cup of coffee..

 

[mkarjala]

Problem solved, dealer sanitized the AC-system as it's included in the warranty. Car now smells unbelievably nice..