curry????

[magnus-barelegs]

I'll just come straight out with it I know how stupid this sounds but every now and again I get a distinct smell of curry In the car, there's no take away cartons anywhere so it may be coming from the heater I think, I know how daft this sounds but my wife can smell it to I have checked the coolant and it needed about a Litre. oh and the aircon doesn't work either anyone got any ideas or have I got a phantom eating a Chinese curry in the back?

[insanitybeard]

Coolant certainly has a distinctive smell but not like curry, at least to me.....  Are the carpets wet at all in the front? Is the coolant level dropping steadily? Non working air con on the Mk2 isn't unusual unfortunately, common problems include leaks in the pipework/ condenser/ dryer housing allowing the gas to leak out over time and render the system inoperative.

[magnus-barelegs]

the carpet is a little damp but not really wet the coolant has gone down round a litre and half over few months, my temp gauge has started to work intermitantly over the last couple of days too

[insanitybeard]

If the coolant level is steadily dropping then it's going somewhere, are there any external leaks from the radiator, coolant hoses or unions etc? Where the carpet is wet/damp inside, does it smell like antifreeze?

I don't think the temperature gauge starting to play up would be related, unless the coolant level had become so low that the sensor was no longer surrounded by coolant or there were massive airlocks in the system!

[magnus-barelegs]

now I've topped up the coolant the smells gone, got to be the levels I cant see any leeks outside on the floor

[Chrispb]

Have you changed the cabin filter lately, could be contaminated with washer fluid, check for blocked scuttle and sill drains.

[Mirez]

See, thats why we say to always use a descriptive title - now I just want a curry.

[magnus-barelegs]

my pet mechanic did a full service about 5 months ago so I think he must have changed the cabin filter but I do confess I don't know what the cabin filter is?

[SilverBeast]

It's a paper filter that filters the air sucked into the car for the heating/ventilation system.  It's mounted behind the wiper mechanism on the passenger side, above the removable engine scuttle.  It can be a pain to change so often gets skipped when servicing.

[magnus-barelegs]

It's a paper filter that filters the air sucked into the car for the heating/ventilation system.  It's mounted behind the wiper mechanism on the passenger side, above the removable engine scuttle.  It can be a pain to change so often gets skipped when servicing.

thanks will check it out