I occasionally have noticed a sewer-like stink from the climate control if it is on when I start the engine. It only lasts a few minutes, but it is really stinky.

Is there some place that holds water in the system if a drain is clogged and lets the water go sour? Or might I have a rodent living in the heater? ( I did have a good sized mouse that came with the car and would shred paper towels in the boot until I finally caught it in a trap and then found its pink fiberglass nest ball behind the rear bumper cover).

Any suggestions for cleaning climate system drains?

 

 

I had a mouse build a nest in my cabin air filter, it had a really funky smell. It didn't take it long to build it either, one day it was OK and the next PEWWW!

 

Thanks guys, I didn't realize there was a cabin filter; I'll check it for rodent signs as soon as the ice from the last storm melts off the cover so I don't crunch it. I found a photo of the evaporator drain underneath the Mini in the archives.

I can't remember now if it dripped when it was warm enough to run the AC, but I never had any drips in the cabin. Do I poke a piece of weed trimmer line up to see if it might be plugged? or try to rig a shop vacuum to suck it out?

 

You must be thinking of some other cover. The cabin air filter is in the passenger footwell under the glove box.
https://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/2..._cabin/replace

 

 

Don't use compressed air, that can cause the connections in the drain to come apart.

 

Yes, I meant my car cover which got frozen stiff when rain turned to sleet and the temps dropped to 10 degrees F. I did find some videos on changing the cabin filter under the passenger dash.

Is there anything above the drain that could be damaged by poking a wire up there? I'd hate to cause a core leak.

And I agree on no compressed air; over on the Land Rover site one fellow tried using compressed air to clear his slow gas filler vent tube and blew up the charcoal canister in the engine bay.