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[Entwood]

Recently have had problems with the windscreen "steaming up" .. it clears fast enough if "demist" is selected but then re-occurs fairly quickly, driving with a window cracked or the sunroof on opening helps a great deal .......

I've checked :

The boot vents .. all clear
Scuttle drain ...... clear
Pollen filter... dry and only 3 months old
Done an auto+off reset (several times ..see below   )
Done the select recirc then back to normal... (also see below)

Auto + off  ... only seems to have any effect ( whirring and fan speed changes) if the engine is not running but ignition is to on, try it engine running and nothing happens at all.

Selecting recirc on/off ..... a faint "click" can be heard from behind the glovebox area but no sound of flaps moving at all.

All this leads me to suspect that the recirc flap is stuck in the recirc mode, which is causing the misting.

So, what could it be ... lack of vaccum to the valve ??  valve fubar ?? linkage ??

and how to check as I've never delved into this part of the system ?? I take it the glove box has to come out to access the valves and whatever pipes there are... what about manually moving the recirc flap ?? is that possible ??

[Andy B]

I know a fortune was spent on your a/c in the past, but the question still needs asking .................  is it still working as it should? Does the ally part of the a/c under the bonnet  pipe get cold? 

[Entwood]

I know a fortune was spent on your a/c in the past, but the question still needs asking .................  is it still working as it should? Does the ally part of the a/c under the bonnet  pipe get cold? 

Not checked that, but it blows cold if you select it, so I guess that side is working, but I'll check it tomorrow... you thinking the whole AC might have failed   I was thinking just high humidity ..

[Andy B]

I know a fortune was spent on your a/c in the past, but the question still needs asking .................  is it still working as it should? Does the ally part of the a/c under the bonnet  pipe get cold? 

Not checked that, but it blows cold if you select it, so I guess that side is working, but I'll check it tomorrow... you thinking the whole AC might have failed   I was thinking just high humidity ..

But it's cold outside ...... 
Just checking the obvious to start with ..... 
Mine had a new condenser and compressor for last summer and it keeps the inside mist free with windows & roof closed. 

[alank46]

On the pre-facelift cars the recirc flap is accessed via the scuttle.  Take out the cabin filter and the flap is behind that.  My linkage failed so I inserted a self tapper to wedge it open.  I presume the later cars are the same in this area.
Alan

what about manually moving the recirc flap ?? is that possible ??

[Dave DND]

but it blows cold if you select it, so I guess that side is working, but I'll check it tomorrow... you thinking the whole AC might have failed

Put a thermometer in front of the vents and see what the temperature is actually getting down to (middle of the day) but personally, I wouldn`t rule out the A/C even though it appears to be blowing cold. I had a similar fault on a VW where the gas kept losing pressure over about 9 months or so, and needed to be regassed on a regular basis despite pressure checks that reveled no losses, leaks or problems whatsoever.

Interestingly, I went somewhere else for a regass (other than Kwick-fit) and the pressure stayed there for much longer

 

[Kevin Wood]

Interestingly, I went somewhere else for a regass (other than Kwick-fit) and the pressure stayed there for much longer

 

Probably because they didn't strip the threads on the valve caps when they tightened them like kwik fitup did on mine.


IME, the car should stay free of condensation without AC in this weather, yet it will steam up quickly on recirc and you should hear the flap moving when you activate it (and, with the blower running, you can hear an increase in noise on recirc as the fan input is exposed to the cabin). The click you are hearing is probably the solenoid valve which controls the vacuum feed for the flap.

Flap can be seen by peering up behind the glove box or by removing the pollen filter, as said. First job is to check it's moving.

I can't remember which state it should be in without vacuum. Maybe the vacuum feed has failed or you were testing with the engine stopped and vacuum had already died?

It's powered by an identical vacuum setup as the multirams. Same type of reservoir under the scuttle just inboard of the pollen filter. Vacuum feed then runs into the dash by the heater matrix pipes to a set of valves that are visible to the right of the glove box from underneath or with the glove box removed.

The other thing that'll make it steam up is using the air con selectively. Start with ECO mode on and no problems. If you have used air con on the journey and it is then switched off, you have a damp evaporator that then starts to warm up, liberating water into the incoming air, and it steams up in short order, IME.