mrtoofay

As many GL owners know, our AC can smell. I have cleaned it couple times already with those foaming AC cleaners that comes in a can. That usually helps with the smell for few months to a year. As I lay on the passenger footwell, injecting the foaming cleaner into the plastic tube, a thought came to mind.

Since the foaming cleaner is a "wet" solution, can we just pour in more warm water after the cleaner does it job just to flush out more dirt/mold? or even use other diluted cleaners like simple clean, bathroom cleaners that kills 99.99% germs, or even just use alcohol to kill the mold in the evaporator? Is there anything in there that we need to worry about hurting?

thx.

geniushanbiao

I agree that there are many more options than the commercially available cleaners we can use, but keep in mind there are temperature sensors you don't want to ruin it. Also there are flap motors, etc. Water based cleaner solutions might cause rust in the long run. I would never use any chlorine bleach related stuff cause it might damage the sensors and leave the chlorine odor. Even alcohol is a question mark to me. The foam cleaner is so cheap it's not worth to risk it. I used the FJC 5914 from amazon that's only $8 per bottle and I only used 3 bottles for 2 cars.

jonUF02

Isn't there some kind of recall for moldy AC in Mercedes?

mrtoofay

Great points! I just throught that since the coil freezes and thaws enough to cause water draining out, it's be safe to really hose it down. The foaming cleaners clean, but only allowing gravity to drain out the nasty stuff, it'd be nice to be able to really flush it out. Btw, I'm going in from the little tube behind the carpet to the left of the passenger footwell. I think that'll after the motor and straight into the coil. Any other electronics or moving parts in there?

geniushanbiao

Yes there is but the coverage is like a joke. It only covers 100% for repairs within warranty, or 75% for repairs within 8 years/100k miles, or 50% for repairs within 10 years/125k miles. The cost of the foam is only $8 so it's obvious which option is cheaper.
https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-...site-now-live/

geniushanbiao

I did the same thing and I don't think there's any electronics or moving parts over there, but there might be a temperature sensor somewhere I'm not sure about. The port is actually for cooling the glove box there's a small hose attached to it that goes to the top of the glove box. Make sure it's firmly attached before you put the glove box back it falls out easily. Most likely water will not cause any problem with the temperature sensor as they are mostly sealed. Just don't use any harsh chemicals or organic solvent.
For disinfection I sprayed a lot of lysol into the HVAC box to conduct it. I think it's much less harsh than chlorine though.

chassis

@jonUF02 No, there is no recall. A legal settlement exists, which has been mentioned in this thread. Members of this site report repeated refusals by dealers to offer the cleaning treatment free of charge. Allegedly MB disagrees with the settlement and the dealers are doing what dealers do and not helping the customer.

There is no recall. There is no fix or repair.

There is a service treatment, which is a temporary and partial remedy. The treatment cost appears to be not covered by MB or dealers.

pshrop

Can anyone provide detailed X166 instructions for spraying the foam evaporator cleaner? I just bought a can of FJC 5914, but not sure where to use it. And do I need to use a wire/screwdriver to clean out a drain hose before doing so? If so, where is this hose? Pretty sure mine is so clogged, I won’t be able to locate it with a drip spot. I thought I once saw a post that had detailed instructions and pictures, but can’t find it anymore. Everything I see now is for different MB models. Thanks for the help.

chassis

What results did the search function produce? This has been extensively discussed. One option is to spray from the cabin filter position in the underhood area. Another option is to spray into a hole in the evaporator housing from behind/above the glovebox area inside the vehicle.

pshrop

I thought I had previously seen a thread with pictures that show exactly where to spray behind/above the glove box area. I think this is the more effective approach, but recall there is more than one tube back there? Or maybe there was something you have to disconnect to to spray into and I didn’t know which way to spray it? That post with the pictures is what I’m looking for (or just some more hand holding). I need to know where to spray the foam cleaner and if there’s anything I need to do with the drain tube. The posts I’ve seen are either written by someone with generic language or someone that failed to find what they were looking for (like the link below where someone failed to find the drain tube).

https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...rain-tube.html

pshrop

I just found it here. Please let me know if linking to other sites is a no-no and I’ll remove it. Not sure what proper etiquette is in this situation

https://www.benzworld.org/threads/20...#post-16010042

annalim2008

First, switch your air conditioner system off along with any air handler unit in your home. Then, gain access to the coils by removing the panel of the air-handling unit. Where it is will vary depending on models and I think you should to check the book guide of it for sure.

bruno3904

Can you tell me about all steps of cleaning AC evaporator? If you can, tell me more detail.

rapidoxidation

I smell a bot.