[4lindamar]

I've had my fs about 2 weeks- I have noticed that SOMETIMES when I start the car, for a few minutes there is a strange (pretty nasty) smell the comes through the vents. At first I thought it smelled like manure and assumed it was due to the previous owner living on a farm. My husband thinks it smells more like a dead animal, which probably makes more sense as it's been a couple of weeks since the car left "the farm". I'm now wondering if a mouse or something crawled up into the motor and didn't make it out.... Does anyone have any similar experience and how do I find out and/or get rid of the nasty smell? Fortunately (and oddly) it only smells funky for a few minutes, and it only happens sometimes- I'm trying to narrow down when it happens and so far it seems to happen when it is hot outside or when I restart the engine while it is still warm from a previous drive. Any suggestions?

 

[james.today]

I had a similar experience and it ended up being a rat (still very much alive) that had decided to make a nest beneath the windshield cowl in the area that houses the AC blower motor. There is no screen or barrier to this location; I believe a few others have experienced this.

To check this you can pull up the cowl on the passenger side enough to see down in. Cleaning pretty much requires that you remove the windshield wipers and cowl completely - not too difficult if you have a socket set. I cleaned mine and the smell went away after a few days. Some members have added some metal screen material to keep rodents out.

Check out this thread:mice, keeping them away from my stored car

The area you want to check is the black plastic opening on the passenger side near the set of sockets in the picture.

 

[Spideromeo]

I experienced the "manure" smell on a test drive in an X 1/9 I bought several years ago. The car had been stored in a barn for several years, and the floor mats were a little muddy. Since it really smelled like manure and not mice, and there were no visual signs of mice in the car, I assumed it was farm mud that had been tracked in.

Turned out it was, in fact, mouse infestation behind the dash.

 

[Aldo]

My Spider stinks of exhaust fumes when I turn on the AC.

As bad as that is, I will take that over a dead rat...

 

[Daziner-1959]

I've had my fs about 2 weeks- I have noticed that SOMETIMES when I start the car, for a few minutes there is a strange (pretty nasty) smell the comes through the vents. At first I thought it smelled like manure and assumed it was due to the previous owner living on a farm. My husband thinks it smells more like a dead animal, which probably makes more sense as it's been a couple of weeks since the car left "the farm". I'm now wondering if a mouse or something crawled up into the motor and didn't make it out.... Does anyone have any similar experience and how do I find out and/or get rid of the nasty smell? Fortunately (and oddly) it only smells funky for a few minutes, and it only happens sometimes- I'm trying to narrow down when it happens and so far it seems to happen when it is hot outside or when I restart the engine while it is still warm from a previous drive. Any suggestions?

Here is a good writ up from a couple years back when rodent issues came up:

Addition of a screen to the HVAC inlet

What is labelled as a side cowl grille, is in reality, a bezel desperately in need of a metal screen mesh to keep critters, leaves, twigs, etc. from finding their way into the cabin air blower fan,…

21stcenturyfiat124spider.wordpress.com

 

[Daziner-1959]

This is a long explanation of my encounter:

Replace Air Cabin Filter

I think it's this site. http://mihiro.sakura.ne.jp/shimoken/nd_roadster-038.htm It's not 3 pictures but it's 3 volumes or pages and it's in Jananese. I see it in Google chrome and then do a page translation. You don't need to be a member. @frankmar - that's a different set of instructions...

www.124spider.org

 

[4lindamar]

Thanks to all for your insightful responses. Though I don't relish the idea of what this means as far as clearing out the problem- It is good to know that my instinct is probably accurate. I am so grateful for this forum- what would I do without y'all?!

 

[Kain]

what would I do without y'all?!

Frebreeze your car on startup until the rotting corpse finishes decaying?