I have an 04 Ranger XLT 4.0 4*4 and have noticed that when I use the vent to blow normal outside air, it smells, stale, or stagnit. I was wondering if maybe my Ranger is equiped with an Air Cabin fliter. This part is mentioned in the interval maintance guide but that guide is kind of an universal maintaince book and mentions that only certain vehicles have the filter. The owners manual doesnt mention an air cabin filter. Im keep my Ranger super clean inside and out so I dont think the smell is from dirty interior. Any ideas on what the problem might be

 

you could have mold growing in the pipes. There is no cabin filter.

 

x2

Most likely its a funky ac box is the problem.

You may have a clogged drain line in the ac box causing poor drainage.

I have removed the fan and flushed it with a hose (easy wwith the water flow). Then followed up with lysol. That seemed to do the trick for a awhile.

 

I noticed that nasty smell too whenever I turn my A/C on. Is there any kind of permanent fix for this?

 

When I am using my AC i let it get cold and then switch it to my vent setting. The thing that is wierd is the air coming out is still pretty cold even after 20min of running it. It does the same thing in my bro's Ford F-150.

What is with this? I like it because it is still cold but I am not using my AC

 

http://www.carcare.org/Climate_Contr...ng_odors.shtml

 

My gf's 96 Ranger XLT does the same thing with her vent setting. It blows cold air as though the AC was on. Even if she has just started it with the HVAC on the vent setting it blows cold air as though the AC was on. It's the strangest thing. Is the selector vacuum operated or electric? Could it not be switching over all the way from AC to Vent?

Cheers,
D.

 

Air Conditioning on new fords is deceiving. The air conditioning runs in ALL settings except for floor only and panel only. All other settings are air conditioning settings. It is stupid but thats how they did it for some reason.

 

yep what Matt said...my 02 seems that way also.

 

Thats why some people put a switch on the ac compressor correct? To keep it from running on every setting.

 

Yep. The famed "AC Mod"

 

Thanks for the info.

Cheers,
D.

 

I have this problem sometimes too but here are some ways to fix it:

Turn off the A/C and leave the fan on high a few minutes before you park. This lets the vents and fan get dry before you shut off the truck so it doesn't have a chance to mildew.

If you have the mildew smell, turn on the truck and put the fan on MAX AC and crank it up to high. Then, spray some lysol, oust, whatever your favorite air disinfectant is and shoot it into the floor vents. The MAX AC setting recirculates the interior air so it will suck it up through the floor vents and run through the whole system killing any mildew or mold and making the air fresh.

If you have a smell in your truck that you dont want to be there the next day (like cigarette smoke, Red Lobster leftovers, a nasty ol beer fart, whatever) don't use MAX AC or it will suck in the smell (by recirculating the air) and still be there the next time you start the truck and run the vents.

 

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It's behind the glove box but I can't get to it . it's very dirty and a.c. works harder then it should
The thing looks cheap plastic filter to block stuff from getting in The blower