Condensation

Hi. My 4200 which currently stands on my drive, is suffering from a lot of internal condensation, especially on windscreen and rear window. Nothing else in the car seems damp and I cannot detect any leaks. Is this a common problem or do I need to do more investigating? I would be grateful for any suggestions.

Drain holes blocked or change pollen filter. There can also be air con problems but a search on here will shed more light. Good luck!

Yah must be getting water in somewhere for the humidity level to rise and then condensate on the inside screens.
As said, pollen filter/blocked drain holes especially being winter time with leaf fall etc.
Also check boot area, its common for water to leak into the boot due to poor seal/lid contact.

Might be worth putting a fogging machine inside the car. You will be able to see if all your seals are ok.

A fogging machine what's that. most interior water leaks are from the doors,tailgate and boot lid or rear light assemblies not sealing correctly..

Dave

A cheap dehumidifier will do a job.

I got one for £25 from Amazon, worked a treat.

GeoffCapes said:

A cheap dehumidifier will do a job.

I got one for £25 from Amazon, worked a treat.

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Trouble is Mark what happens if as most of us have nowhere to plug the thing in...no parking, park on the street/live in flats etc.

Not a very good idea mate..

Dave

Place a open bag of kitty litter in the car.

alfatwo said:

Trouble is Mark what happens if as most of us have nowhere to plug the thing in...no parking, park on the street/live in flats etc.

Not a very good idea mate..

Dave

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A couple of bags of the silicon you can get from Halfords, will do the same job.

GeoffCapes said:

A couple of bags of the silicon you can get from Halfords, will do the same job.

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It really doesn't. Nor does kitty litter. It's normally just too cold (at least that's my theory). If there's water getting in, it needs sorting, really, or it'll just carry on

C

Have a look at this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGirjqyrMcY

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. There is no damp or musty smell in the car and none of the carpets appear to be damp. I will try and investigate some of the more obvious areas, when it stops raining for long enough to do this. In the meantime I will try one of the silica gel type dehumidifiers and see what difference this makes.

I had the same problem. My car has always been parked in a garage and never used for more than a year under any rain and not washed for some time!!! Still the windows fog when I turn off the engine.
Clearly is not water coming from outside being my car always covered.
The drain is clean an dry, I have fully dismantle the drain. Recent pollen filter change did not reveal any water accumulating.
I had a doubt about my matrix core but the coolant level has not been dropping in 5 years of my ownership an there is no smell or sign of coolant.
No sign of humidity anywhere in the car or outside
I believe this mist is due to:
1) living near to the Thames where the air is very humid in winter...like all England!
2) the pollen filter, at least the one I have, seam to be made of a material that absorb humidity (Alfa 166 one bough on ebay for 10£)
2) When I turn on the car the air con goes on automatically
3) the condensation on the air con matrix evaporate due to the heat produced by the engine (quite a lot in comparison to normal cars)
If I turn on the climate control no mist at all in seconds.

I honestly think is a fault with this car! Said that I have the same with a new german car in very damp days.

I would be interested if you find a cause in your case. In my case I will try to remove the pollen filter to see if things improve.

F

Door membrane failure, and the fact that (at least on mine) the aircon cooler condenses moisture on the outside and drips onto the driver's left foot....

YMMV

C

Thanks again everyone. I will post my findings if and when I resolve this.

CatmanV2 said:

Door membrane failure, and the fact that (at least on mine) the aircon cooler condenses moisture on the outside and drips onto the driver's left foot....

YMMV

C

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Yes, and in mine the air con condensation drop under the car from the drain pipe as it should!!!
I will open up mine again just to check that nothing is limiting the drainage of water inside the matrix box because that seems to be the only reason why mine steams more than one should expect when stopping the engine.

F

i find that if the AC is not running properly it steams up regardless, these cars team up a lot even when everything is ok. I presume the mist clears when you start the car up and the AC on? As previous posts have suggested water in the pollen filter chamber is common, water in the boot is also very common. You might also if you want to start pulling things apart check for water in the doors, i think the doors should have drain points for letting any water that gets down the glass into the door skin drip out, but you may have moisture in there.

alfatwo said:

Trouble is Mark what happens if as most of us have nowhere to plug the thing in...no parking, park on the street/live in flats etc.

Not a very good idea mate..

Dave

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You can buy rechargeable dehumidifiers now Dave, just charge up put in car remove when full and recharge. They often come in pairs for less than £20 so you can have one ready to go as soon as the other is full.

zagatoes30 said:

You can buy rechargeable dehumidifiers now Dave, just charge up put in car remove when full and recharge. They often come in pairs for less than £20 so you can have one ready to go as soon as the other is full.

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By rechargable you mean the silica gel ones you heat up?

C

CatmanV2 said:

By rechargable you mean the silica gel ones you heat up?

C

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For £20, I assume so, for a moment I had in my mind a rechargeable battery pack motor/compressor unit, then for £20, and two, thought no!