Do you have a product called Odo Ban in the UK? If so, then I suggest you mix it about 50/50 in a trigger spray bottle (which is very very strong) and spray the seats and floor with it several times over a period of a couple of weeks. Running the AC and Heat will suck the "fumes" from it into the fan system and help it along that way too. My mom had a male cat that just got fixed drop his final spray episode in her car and the Odo Ban really helped. You can also spray it directly into the air pickup (front passenger side floorboard) with the AC running to really get it into the system to speed it up.

As for using an AC kit to recharge the system, it works, I've used them. Especially when I want to get it working on the cheap. The worst thing about it is that usually you have too high a pressure with too little coolant due to the system not being evacuated before you start and you end up with air in the system. It still works, but not a well as it could. I have even used them after I modified an R-12 system to R-134a. The best thing you can do before you bother is to spend about $75 bucks (in the US) to have your system pressure checked. You can call around and find out how much before you have to actually do it.

What they do is pump air (and usually dye) into the system up to a certain PSI level (I think 100~200psi) and if it holds, then you do not have leaks to fix. If it does not hold, then they can use a blacklight to check for leaks. Once all the leaks are fixed and the system holds pressure, they can then pump it down to a vacuum (to remove all air, fluid, etc.) from the system. At that point, either you can use a kit to refill it, or let them do that too, but it will cost more if they do.

 

Ill be using this



As for the smell ive put baking soda in the car and hoovered. It still smells so ill be using some foam which you spray and leave and its supposed to destroy bad smells. When i have the money ill rent a rug doctor. They come with an attachment meant for furniture but its great for car seats and carpets. I used one before in an old car and as i dragged it across the seat, it went from dark beige to light, clean beige within seconds. Ive got 93,000 miles of other peoples grime in my seats i cant wait to wash out properly.

 

Don't forget about the headliner, it'll be holding a lot of the smoke smell as well.

 

He's quite right. The headliner will be holding a lot of smoke smells, even more then the seats. BUT, if you try to vacuum it, you may end up sucking the liner right out of the car. My 1995 liner is in a very fragile state and if I were to vacuum it, the fabric is held on extremely weakly to the foam backing that is deteriorating so bad that I can swipe my hand across it, and tiny flecks of what was foam rain down inside my car.

That is why I strongly suggest you get something like Odo Ban that will kill the smells and at when mixed stongly enough, can disinfect the material as well without staining it. There are a bunch of products out there that can do this, but here is a website that has more information about Odo Ban so that you can find something that will help with the headliner.

http://www.odoban.com/Menu_Odor_Control_Products.html

 

You never leak check an A/C system with air! Air contains moisture which is the systems worst enemy. you can leak check a system either by recovery and evacuation to a vacuum and watch the micron gauge or you can pressurize it with nitrogen and use the soap solution. with a system that has lost it's charge you should do both tests because some leaks might only appear by either vacuum or under pressure and not both ways. You can also add a small amount of R-22 to the nitrogen and use an electronic leak detector. Those are all for a system with known issues or if a component has been replaced. If your system is just not cold enough, I suggest the electronic leak detector. A good gauge manifold set can be your best friend too

 

I would not even begin to suggest that an ordinary person leak check an AC system by pumping air into it. This should only be done by trained professionals who have the proper equipment and training. I have taken several of my cars to AC shops that do it both ways. They pull it down to a vacuum and see if it holds THEN pump it full of air and dye to pressure check the system to see if high pressure (such as when it is fully charged) causes a leak. The system is then evaulated again BEFORE being recharged in order to NOT have air in the system.

In fact, the AC guy who came to my home checked the R-22 system in my 3 1/2 ton unit the same way. I had a continuing extremely slow leak that caused me to need a recharge every 6 months and when he did this, he found a leaking o-ring and fixed it. You cannot pull a perfect vacuum and cannot detect super small leaks such as I had. This is true for whatever AC system you may have as they all work the same way.

The person who started this thread wanted to add some R-134a into his system and my basic suggestion to him was get it fully leak checked by a pro before bothering, or he'll be doing it again real soon.

PS: I re-read your post and saw that you said pressurize it with nitrogen. While I did not see a nitrogen tank (or any other tank of anything else), I guess they use nitrogen as well as air, but I did not see any tanks of anything other then when he hooked up the refrigerant and re-filled it.

 

I finally did it. At first the pressure according to the gauge was 0, i sprayed some in and the compressor switched on and then started cycling on and off very quickly. I slowly added more and more gas until the compressor cycle slowed and stopped then finished off the can. The air con works now.