This Stinks!

[tippitover]

No really.. my A/C stinks. I can't figure out what the smell is. The A/C itself is working fine, blows strong and is cold. I don't know if this is directly related, but I'm also finding little bits of gray foam around the vents. Any thoughts?
And one more question. The fog lights aren't working. Ok, it could be that I'm a newbie, and don't know how to turn them on But I'm still pretty unfamiliar with this little guy, and any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[topless kitty]

to turn on fogs, turn knob so headlights are on, then pull the knob out a click. the little light next to the knob will light up.

[tippitover]

Originally Posted by topless kitty

to turn on fogs, turn knob so headlights are on, then pull the knob out a click. the little light next to the knob will light up.

yay! thanks!

[topless kitty]

haha. sometimes it's the simple things in life

[CoriBug]

Change your cabin filter and the smell should go away. You might have a mouse nest, old leaves, etc in there. There is a DIY on the org for replacing it. Easy if you have some basic Torx tools. I'm clueless about the foam pieces though.

[O 16581 72452 5]

Originally Posted by CoriBug

Change your cabin filter and the smell should go away. You might have a mouse nest, old leaves, etc in there. There is a DIY on the org for replacing it. Easy if you have some basic Torx tools. I'm clueless about the foam pieces though.

I had a car that blew shredded cardboard at me when i turned on the vents.

[Benderbeetle Rodrigues]

Try what Darkstar did:
How To: Change AC Dust / Pollen Filter - NewBeetle.org Forums.
Later, you can try what I did:
leaves and gunk from fall
Cheers.

[2004NBTURBOS]

The cabin filter is an easy DIY.

[tippitover]

Thanks everyone for all the help! I'm going to try the changing the filter and cleaning it up first to see if that does the trick. Will let you all know. Thanks again!

[topless kitty]

Originally Posted by Duffy

I have seen service bulletins on this issue.

yes!! when researching the regulator issue the other day i found a list of TSBs and recalls for the beetle and one just simply said, "A/C is smelly" or something like that. i laughed.

[akasha1963]

The cabin filter is really easy. You may also want to feel around, carefully, inside the dash toward the driver side to pull out anything else that may be in there. I pulled out a couple of handfulls of fluff, string & a couple of tassels. Since it is kinda hard to see inside there I used my digital cam to take pics to let me know what I was dealing within inside.

[Turbomania]

Living in Corpus as you do humidity is a real problem for all A/C units. We have similar problems here in Dallas. Try this and see if it helps...It fixed mine. Before you turn off the car put the A/C control on outside air, compressor off and fan on high. Do this for a minute or so to try and dry out the evaporative coils inside the car. It may take longer in Corpus but it really works for my system up here. Turning off the compressor and running the fan on high will allow your evap. coils to warm up and shed some the moisture that has formed on them. Once you shut down your car right after running the A/C the coils are still cold enough to allow for condensation of more moisture and provide the necessary water for mildew to form. There is also a spray that is designed to eliminate that smell which is actually mildew fungus in the evaporative coil area. VW does offer this service and I bet they make a killing down in south Texas. One more thing is to make sure your drain for this condensation is open and clean. It is located on the passenger side, lower engine compartment on the fire wall down where the foil insulation is. It can be reached from under the car or by using a right angle tool from the top. Best from the bottom... Hope this helps, it did mine... JK

[doublebarrel]

TDIPARTS.com has carbon cabin air filters that might help also.They are supposed to help absorb odors.

[salsa-man]

Assuming you don't mice or other "trash" problems, the problem is mold/mildew in the evaporator coils. Cabin filters will do NOTHING for this problem. The only sure fire way to combat this is what turbomania said above. I have been doing this for literally decades and have never had a problem. Well almost. I had a slight problem when I first got my Beetle but then I just started running the fan a little longer than I had been. The Beetle appears to be more prone to the problem than other cars I've owned.