Nail polish remover smell from air vents.

[Harry]

I have 94 Ford Explorer. When I turn on the AC, sometimes I get a nail polish remover smell coming from the vents. It’s still blows cool air. Could this mean I have a small AC leak in my evaporator core or a small coolant leak in my heater core?

Topic

[college man]

Refrigerant does not usually smell like nail polish.
Does the smell go away or does it happen when you first
turn it on? coolant usually smells sweet. Are you losing
coolant?

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/finding-and-fixing-leaks

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-hvac-problems

[Harry]

I do have a small coolant leak that I haven’t been able to find. I do have to refill it from time to time. As for the smell, it only occurs when I turn on the AC. Sometimes I can smell it right away once the AC is turned on, and at other times, it takes 30 minutes. When I do smell it, turning off the AC makes the smell go away.

I also tried turning the heat on and I don’t get a smell either.

[EricTheCarGuy]

The information in the HVAC article College man posted should be helpful. Aside form that, perhaps something got down onto the evaporator core that’s causing the smell. It would be good if you could see down in there to have a look. Honestly, kinda stumped on this one.

Keep us posted on any progress you might make.

[Author]

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