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I'm probably being thick, but can anyone throw light on this. In the first cold spell of the winter here in early November, for the first time ever (I've had the car nearly three years and have always kept it in the same place on the drive) I started getting frost on the inside of both front and rear screens. I put this down to one or two things - the airport valet parking leaving the windows partly open during a week in late October or damp golf gear left in the boot for a few hours (twice). Consequently, I garaged the car and using a fan heater dried the inside thoroughly. That seemed to sort it and I've had no problem for a few weeks - or so I thought until this evening when I had the problem again. Ironically, the cold snap of the last few days had dried the air so thoroughly that this morning I had no ice to clear from the screens despite a temperature of -5C. Any ideas of what might be causing the problem and of a pemanent solution?
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Just dampness, leave the aircon on to keep it dry.
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Would agree with that, as find my Xsara currently mists up very quickly if driving with the A/C off. Never really seen any tangible difference in performance or economy with it on or off so have no qualms about using the A/C- and believe is meant to be better to use it regularly.
Had same thing with my old Seat, so had put it down to a peculiarity of running a car with A/C. Interestingly the Seat and the Xsara both have climate control, whereas the Picasso and the Mondeo I had with just 'regular' air con didn't suffer from this. Have wondered if it was because only used the A/C in the Picasso and Mondeo in bursts to cool the car as required, whereas with the Seat and the Xsara just set the temp and leave as is.
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This version has "automatic" climate control and I've had it on Max (ie no AC), so it sounds like you're both on the right track. I also tend to recirculate the car's air when in heavy traffic to avoid pulling in fumes. I guess I'll just leave more room from the car in front!
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I sometimes get condensation in my C5, all you need to do is ensure the pollen filter is clean (or new), clean the inside of the windows, check the carpets aren't wet as this could indicate leaking door seals or leaking heater matrix.
If everything seems ok then drive it for a bit with the heat on max.
I drive round normally at 18-20 degrees, I hit auto then the eco button to turn the air con off.
Older series 1 C5's don't have an eco button but instead have a snowflake button to turn the air con on.
Ben
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Another member has suggested a box of (fresh) cat litter under a seat. It certainly seems to help. I imagine I will have to change the box every now and then.
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Another member has suggested a box of (fresh) cat litter under a seat. It certainly seems to help.
Unused is best.
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I got in my car for the first time after Christmas (2 days sitting in the road) and had frozen condensation all over my windscreen. It all felt very damp but remembered I'd not had my ac on for some time previously. Even damp on the steering wheel with misted up instruments cover.
All fine now. I don't have the ac on all the time normally but switch it on 10 minutes before I get home so it's nice and dry for the morning.
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I don't have the ac on all the time normally but switch it on 10 minutes before I get home so it's nice and dry for the morning.
The problem I get is that residual moisture in the aircon comes back into the car when the aircon is off and causes misting in cold weather. I'm satisfied that this is a correct diagnosis because if I stop using the aircon in cold weather the problem disappears after a few days when the residual moisture in aircon system has completely dried out. My solution is to not use the aircon in cold weather, but to use the heater (plus front and rear screen heaters) for demisting. Try not using the aircon at all in cold weather.
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I had similar problems with my last car when I would re-circulate the air while in heavy traffic, but forget to return the controls to their normal setting.
Clk Sec
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Drive with the air con on to remove condensation. Switch the air con off once the condensation is removed and before you get to your destination to ensure there is as little moisture in the car as possible.
I've not tried cat litter but last year while mainly doing short journeys used a pouch of silica gel to absorb moisture from inside the car. Available at all DIY places.
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As usual, a lot of (mainly) good advice here, but in my experience with my present CRV) and previous (C5) cars, recirculating air will increase humidity immediately and should be avoided at all costs where dampness is a problem. Having said that, we have a lot of tunnels around here where I often have to recirculate, and with the same recirc./aircon rutines the Honda handles it all a lot better than the C5 did. The only tunnel I can (tho' not always) have a problem with the CRV is the Laerdal tunnel (26kms.). The C5 already started misting in the much shorter tunnels from a mile or so upwards, where I always had to clear the screen manually - demister rag so far unused in the CRV. Incidentally, my C5 wasn't too bad new, but got noticeably worse with age. I think you're just going to have to more or less live with it.
Conclusion: Minimum recirc., aircon/demister on all winter - in a C5 at least, my old Xantia was somewhere in between the two.
BB
ps Happy New Year
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Give the screen a good clean. Takes 5 minutes and costs (next to) nothing.
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>>The problem I get is that residual moisture in the aircon comes back into the car when the aircon is off and causes misting in cold weather
This will only happen for a few seconds while the system fires up. After that, you'll have nice dry air coming into the car. Best just leave the climate on auto with the aircon on. The effect on fuel comsumption is minimal unless it's a tiny-engined car. I've had no problems with condensation or climate systems when used like this, however both were/are on Subarus, other systems may differ.
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My Passat is doing this at present - apparently Climatronic does not work below 5 degrees. I assume therefore the air conditioning part doesn't also - hence increased misting unless the blowers are set full blast. Previous cars from various manufacturers often had a similar set up with climate control, but ones with just air con did not seem to be affected. Perhaps a vote for air con over climate for the future?
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EverestPete, My Passat Climatronic is fine in cold and damp weather. Have you checked your passenger carpets (front & rear) for damp recently?
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Its like the Class sketch with the Two Ronnies isn`t it?
There`s ( Upper Class) climate control on the right. " my car is moist"
In the middle - ( Middle Class with little hat) " My car is damp - but I look up to him"
Oilrag - (wearing a flat cap) "I know my place" - "it`s dry and just has a heater and wind up windows"
;-)
Edited by oilrag on 01/01/2009 at 21:13
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PeterRed - no damp, no leaves blocking drainage holes, newish pollen filter. As per manual for climatronic - ECON mode at less than 5 degrees = no air con. Only a problem when car has 5 up - when its just me there is no problem.
But thanks anyway!
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The BSIs on PSA cars don't seem to have any protection from condensation, so turning the air con off is a baaad idea. Recirculation is not meant to be permanent either, just a short-term solution for when things get stinky. Leaving it on long-term your car will start to smell like the inside of my laundry basket...
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