Red Wine smell - Arrow

[Sac Arrow]

Aside from the obvious, what could contribute to a smell that I can only describe as red wine (more like a red Zinfandel, not oakey like a Cabernet) coming from the upper cabin vent?

 

[Skylane81E]

Tell your passengers to stop drinking.

Other than that, no idea. Exploratory surgery time!

 

[Anthony]

Dead mouse ageing.

 

[HerrGruyere]

Maybe be mold or something similar in your vent?

In my car, if I use the a/c on a hot day and turn the car off, the air in the vents can linger and condensate. That water just sits in the vents and eventually gets kinda moldy/stagnant, producing an interesting smell.

 

[Sac Arrow]

I guess it could be mold. That could be expected. But this is the first time I've noticed it, and it's been dry for the last several weeks. Just curious if it could signal some sort of hydraulic leak, failing battery, etc...

 

[Skip Miller]

Start buying better wine?

 

[Sac Arrow]

Boxes stack more efficiently than bottles.

 

[alfadog]

Hydraulic fluid from the gear? Ask in the shop to let you see the fluid they use and take a sniff.

 

[Skylane81E]

Hydraulic fluid from the gear? Ask in the shop to let you see the fluid they use and take a sniff.

Better yet open the brake resivor on the firewall and stick your nose over

 

[Clark1961]

The overhead vent is fed from the air intake at the top of the vertical stabilizer. The system should be sealed (more or less) down to the vent. There may be a squirrel cage fan just aft of the fiberglass bulkhead and the connections there may be allowing contamination.

Other than the connections just at the fiberglass bulkhead, I'm not sure where an odor could be entering the system.

 

[ISPYFROMABOVE]

Forced landing in a vineyard?

 

[Henning]

That smell is indicative of fungus and cellulose 'rot' (digestive off gassing of the stuff eating it).