oil smell in cabin when running A/C

[BlindHog]

I know it's not a trawler but I like the opinions on this forum and well my favorite boat was dad's old woodie GB42.

So I have a '98 Cabo 31 express and the A/C is located in the cabin under a salon bench. It is the original all in one unit but when it is running I am getting an oil smell in the cabin which is pretty strong. I can open the hatches and air out the cabin and no smell but run the AC and it comes back. For those not familiar, there is a bulkhead separating the engine room from the cabin and going down into the ER I don't smell anything remotely like the smell in the cabin which leads me to my question - can the AC generate an oily smell on it's own? The boat sat in a lift for 6 years and I was able to have the AC charged and after replacing the water pump it works really well - except the heat which throws a LP code but I really don't care about heat in Florida.

 

[rslifkin]

Check the A/C unit over carefully. Look at all of the refrigerant tubing, including the condenser. If anything looks oily, you might have a refrigerant leak. Usually some of the refrigerant oil leaks out as well and you might be smelling that.

 

[Cigatoo]

Are you sure the “oil” smell is not over heated wire insulation? I would Check every wire and connection for heat / melting from inside the air conditioner back to the ac panel it is connected to.

 

[Comodave]

Do you have any smell in the A/C compartment when it is off? How about the duct work?

 

[TowLou]

Any engine room air getting into the ductwork? Is it just with the AC on or heat to?

 

[fryedaze]

I had the same problem with my AC units. The AC intake just sucked on the area they were enclosed in under the seats in the salon. When the filter in the intake grill got dirty it was easier for the unit to suck from ER. I boxed the intake in with foam so it could only suck off the salon.

 

[High Wire]

Any engine room air getting into the ductwork? Is it just with the AC on or heat to?

Agree. Most rec boats are not seriously compartmentalized. Air from the engine room leaks everywhere though unsealed wiring openings and such. Does this smell also exist in the ER without AC on?

 

[BlindHog]

Agree. Most rec boats are not seriously compartmentalized. Air from the engine room leaks everywhere though unsealed wiring openings and such. Does this smell also exist in the ER without AC on?

I don't notice any smell when I open the ER hatch and have specifically done it and stuck my head down real quick to see if there is a smell. One thing right now, I do have the fridge removed as well as the old CRT TV that is behind the helm and I am working on closing those hatches holes up. Last week I removed the cushion above the AC unit so that the top of the AC was exposed to the cabin and I have not experienced any smell in the boat, at least not like it was so it must be pulling air from the ER from very small holes in the firewall from the wiring chases. Also, I checked the AC unit and did not notice any oil residue any where on the unit.