Our A/C (coleman-mach) has a strange smell, kind of sweet, almost like some type of aerosol spray lube. I can't quite put my finger on it but my wife thought it smelled like freon. I can't recall the smell of freon so I don't know but it is cooling just fine. I've run it for days hoping the smell would dissipate but it hasn't. Suggestions?

A fridge going bad will emit an ammonia smell. If its just starting to go you may not get the whole strong in your face wiff of it. And that is what you are smelling. That's what happened to me it wasn't the whole ammonia smell in your face and I thought it smelled like an aerosol too. Sadly the fridge might be on its way out.

rockhillmanor wrote:A fridge going bad will emit an ammonia smell. If its just starting to go you may not get the whole strong in your face wiff of it. And that is what you are smelling. That's what happened to me it wasn't the whole ammonia smell in your face and I thought it smelled like an aerosol too. Sadly the fridge might be on its way out.hmm, i know ammonia and this didn't remind me of that at all... not as pungent, no watery eyes or difficulty breathing. And by fridge you mean A/C, right? The thing can't be more than a year old, hope it's not going out already.

When an AC ices up it sometimes will have an unusual smell. Just my experience.

Many Freon lubricants emit a sweet odor. If your A/C is cooling properly it cannot be that. Check for oil seepage at a return line connections.

If you had a Freon/410 leak bad enough for you to smell it inside, it would then NOT cool. You state it has cooled correctly for a few days. They only hold 1 lb. of coolant, and if a leak bad enough to smell inside, it would not have enough coolant to continue cooling. Something else is causing that smell. Check the upper unit condenser and evap for foreign debris. Doug

Strange sweet smell coming from air conditioner

14 Replies

COboondocker
Explorer
Jul 21, 2016
Well the smell came back the next morning but we figured it out. The opening cut for the AC wasn't sealed and there was a delamination so it was pulling a bunch of air from in between the the layers of fiberglass. Gorilla taped it up and all is better...with the AC at least.
Golden_HVAC
Explorer
Jul 07, 2016
Glad that you found the problem.

Once I found bees flying into a hole in a building, and they had to come out and spray it to kill the bees. I guess they left the honeycombs inside the walls.

Honey does not decompose.

Fred.
COboondocker
Explorer
Jul 07, 2016
well i found a huge wasp nest up there and took it out. opened everything up, no smell. closed everything up, ran it, faint smell for just a second then gone. i really can't see a wasp nest causing that smell but i didn't change or remove anything else...
John_Joey
Explorer
Jul 06, 2016
When you go searching, watch out for hornets or bees.
2oldman
Explorer II
Jul 06, 2016
You may have already done this:

Google: your question
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Jul 06, 2016
Yeah, I had one in the heater blower of the toad. It got musical as well as aromatic when I switched on the fan.
COboondocker
Explorer
Jul 06, 2016
Definitely not a dead mouse. That smell I know all too well.
Jack_Diane_Free
Explorer
Jul 06, 2016
Sounds to me like it could be a decomposing dead mouse.
COboondocker
Explorer
Jul 06, 2016
dougrainer wrote:
If you had a Freon/410 leak bad enough for you to smell it inside, it would then NOT cool. You state it has cooled correctly for a few days. They only hold 1 lb. of coolant, and if a leak bad enough to smell inside, it would not have enough coolant to continue cooling. Something else is causing that smell. Check the upper unit condenser and evap for foreign debris. Doug

Thanks, I'll get up there tonight and check.
dougrainer
Nomad
Jul 06, 2016
If you had a Freon/410 leak bad enough for you to smell it inside, it would then NOT cool. You state it has cooled correctly for a few days. They only hold 1 lb. of coolant, and if a leak bad enough to smell inside, it would not have enough coolant to continue cooling. Something else is causing that smell. Check the upper unit condenser and evap for foreign debris. Doug