Rain = Cat Pee Smell!

[moleary]

I know this isn't a proper introduction and no doubt there's a few folks laughing at my predicament right now, but I'm at my wits end!

After lurking for a couple of months on the boards while I shopped for a 2005 Excursion 6.0L PS 4x4 I finally found a reasonable (not great) deal on one with 106K miles in Georgia. I bought it sight unseen and had it trucked to Jacksonville only to find that the condition was not quite as described - shocker!

I laid it up for about 2 weeks while I replaced some wear parts on it and made sure it was in good running condition. I got it ready just in time for Tropical Storm Debby to flood my house and give me a good reason to use the 4 wheel drive!

I loved the truck until recently when I started noticing a strong cat urine odor in the vehicle right after its been sitting in the rain. There is no smell when it's dry and the smell goes away quickly when I turn on the A/C. I don't see any visible stains and can't locate a source inside the car.

Full disclosure: After the storm I drove (repeatedly) through water that came up to the top of the front bumper - a small amount of seepage got through the door seals and dampened the edges of the carpet (not really bad, but enough that I took care to dry them thoroughly) and bought some Damp Rid to capture the moisture.

I ran water over the vents behind the hood for a minute or so thinking a cat might have peed in them (yes, I have a cat) - the odor came back again at the next rain. I don't know what to try next - steam clean the carpets? Bleach in the vents? Run water down there longer (where does it go)? I'll try any suggestion - I'd hate to dump the vehicle but I'm a freak about stuff like this and won't keep it if I can't get rid of the odor!

Thanks - and sorry for the "stinky" way to introduce myself to the forum!

[k.thed]

Kind of having a similar issue with my truck the past couple of weeks, but mine happens when I first kick the AC on for about 20 seconds. Sour smell comes through the vents for that first 20 seconds then disappears. I've never had a truck do that before and I'm hoping someone on here has some sort of answers for that. Bump for ya!

[moleary]

Originally Posted by k.thed

Kind of having a similar issue with my truck the past couple of weeks, but mine happens when I first kick the AC on for about 20 seconds. Sour smell comes through the vents for that first 20 seconds then disappears. I've never had a truck do that before and I'm hoping someone on here has some sort of answers for that. Bump for ya!

Thanks for the bump! In researching my situation I've heard that there could be smells coming from bacteria in the ventilation system or that a coolant leak can smell funky. Neither explanation matches the symptoms I've had but maybe they apply to you?

[k.thed]

Originally Posted by moleary

Thanks for the bump! In researching my situation I've heard that there could be smells coming from bacteria in the ventilation system or that a coolant leak can smell funky. Neither explanation matches the symptoms I've had but maybe they apply to you?

I read that somewhere as well. I've tried searching on the matter but couldn't exactly line up my symptoms with any solution that seemed viable to me. Best I could figure is I read somewhere that you can have your AC system 'cleansed' by a dealer. It's weird how your smell goes away when you kick you AC on and mine starts briefly when I kick mine on?