White Smoke Coming Thru AC Vents

A

AhhhCraig

100+ Posts
I have smoke come thru the AC vents recently that smells like burnt green cedar or something similar. Any ideas what it is? I had AC work and a new radiator installed last summer.
 
Ahhh, Craig, where there's smoke there's fire. Wouldn't it be a better idea to call the fire department than post on HornFans?

Seriously, you shouldn't play around with that. You could go to sleep and not wake up.
 
are these vents in your evil underground lair, if so...a spy will soon be entering to foil your plan?
 
BlessME, is that a guess or a definitive answer? Can a guy still buy freon, or do I have to pay to get it done?
 
This same thing happened to me years ago. I freaked out, shut of my A/C and pulled over. I wasn't overheating or anything, I drove on with no problem and it never happened again.

I attributed it to some white dust that was on the road due to construction.
 
Happens in my car from time to time when it is wet out. That tends to make my A/C freeze up which causes the A/C to mist. I turn it off to let it thaw for a few minutes and it works fine again.
 
I'm not positive but someone may be trying to kill you with poison gas. Just to be on the safe side, find the 5 people that would like to see you dead, and kill them.
 
It's the freon. I had AC problems two years ago and went to get my freon refilled. When I turrned on the AC, nothing but white/grey dust looking stuff came out the vents and was higly visible. I called the repair place up and they told me that that was a result of a leak/faulty compressor whatever. Needless to say, I had to get my whole system replaced if I wanted AC. I wasn't about to drop $600 on an old car anyway, so I went a whole year without AC in Houston. What sucks, is that my AC went out on my second day of full time work and that was on June 5th. There is nothing like driving in Houston during the summer with no AC. Driving to Austin after work on Friday's for football games were especially brutal!!
 
heater core. should not cost too much to fix depending on where it is located. if it is against the firewall under the dash, well, god bless you.
 
Haven't had the white smoke for a few days, but occasionally will get a faint smell of the burning. Can I go to Auto Zone and buy freon, or do I have to pay someone to install it for me?
 
Dammit, celis. You beat me to it.
mad.gif
 
If it is fog, then your car is low on refrigerant, either R12 (pre 95) or R134A (95 and newer). The refrigerant also dehumidifies the air, so when the system is low, too much humidity comes out the vents and you see visible fog in your car. So get it converted to R134A if it isn't already using that refrigerant, or else install a disco ball and wear a white '80's v-neck polyester suit.
Now, if it is really smoke, that is different. You should turn off the key and run very far away from the car, because it is on fire. A keen sense of smell should differentiate the two.
 
I have an R12 system...that started 'blowing smoke' (fog) recently and is now have trouble cooling down the cabin air. How much should it cost to have a can or two added?
 
Many shops do not install R12 anymore. You should get it converted to R134A, which will work, and depends on the kind of car you have-might cost about $180 on most Japenese cars. Then you won't be leaking expensive R12 into the atmosphere and killing the ozone, baby whales, and clubbing harp seals.
 
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