Sweet smell from A/C but only when heat is on.

[Zaraia]

Any help is appreciated gents, im at my witts end and have exhausted all possible resources, bless me with some knowledge, from what ive researched everyone keeps saying my heater core is bad but the symptoms are as follows
SYMPTOMS-
1.no leaks, no water or coolant in the cabin.
2.no leaks visible under car except for water.
3.car only smells sweet when the A/c blows hot.
4.car is not over heating.
5.car is not changing in levels of coolant.
6.hot and cold A/c both work well.
7.no sweet smell comes from the car at all inside or outside unless the a/c is on

I was supposed to drive 6 hours but was told not to drive on a bad heater core, thank you guys in advance.

PS. My cabin air filter is brand new.

[BirdTRD]

Remove the cabin air filter first to make sure that is not the source of the smell.

Sweet smell inside the cabin does usually mean the heater core is leaking. As a temporary "fix" (or permanent since you appear to be in south Florida) you can bypass the heater core by disconnecting the heater hoses at the firewall and coupling them together with a suitable sized piece of pipe and clamps. (I would guess 1/2" to 5/8" dia.) That will enable you to drive the car without worrying about it overheating, just make sure you burp the system after you reconnect the heater hoses together since you will have introduced air into the system.

As for the smell, that will still be present since there's still some antifreeze in the core and the leak is still there. You could flush out the core with a hose then suck the water out with a wet/dry vac. Once any leaked antifreeze has dried up, the smell should go away.

[Zaraia]

Originally Posted by BirdTRD

Remove the cabin air filter first to make sure that is not the source of the smell.

Sweet smell inside the cabin does usually mean the heater core is leaking. As a temporary "fix" (or permanent since you appear to be in south Florida) you can bypass the heater core by disconnecting the heater hoses at the firewall and coupling them together with a suitable sized piece of pipe and clamps. (I would guess 1/2" to 5/8" dia.) That will enable you to drive the car without worrying about it overheating, just make sure you burp the system after you reconnect the heater hoses together since you will have introduced air into the system.

As for the smell, that will still be present since there's still some antifreeze in the core and the leak is still there. You could flush out the core with a hose then suck the water out with a wet/dry vac. Once any leaked antifreeze has dried up, the smell should go away.

Will my car be safe to drive if i just dont use the heater? Or would i be putting it at risk for even further damage if i continue to drive it?

[WNDSRFR]

I gotta ask...
What in the hell are you doing with the heat on in South Florida? It's 95 degrees out.

[BirdTRD]

Originally Posted by Zaraia

Will my car be safe to drive if i just dont use the heater? Or would i be putting it at risk for even further damage if i continue to drive it?

The risk is that you have a coolant leak and you will over heat the engine, potentially damaging it. The cooling system needs to stay pressurized to work properly.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by WNDSRFR

I gotta ask...
What in the hell are you doing with the heat on in South Florida? It's 95 degrees out.

85 is frigid cold...