Hi guys,
This may just be the way it is but I dont remember it being like this last year but its been a wet week since the mega frosts and I have been using the air con as well as heater to keep inside of my baby Jag warm and dry when driving. But after parking it for a while getting serious condensation on windscreen immediately above the screen vents. . Last service about 1000 miles ago I replaced the cabin filter. Is it likely to be the cabin filter failing, or just the damp getting in? Floor seems dry, I regularily double check windows closed when parked and wierdly it is just a strip above each widescreen vent almost dripping as if I had a steaming kettle below the vents. . .
I appreciate any thoughts esp if anyone else has had this. Many thanks... if it is just how it is then so be it but I just cant figure why thay location and why after parking .....

Steve Sheldon
2002 X-Type 2.5 Manual Classic 96,500m
purchased Sept 2012
(using mobile app :-( so apologies for typo's etc)

 

Steve, not to ask a silly question, but is the drain tube for your A/C system clear? It may be that you are getting a build up of water in the bottom of the vent duct and instead of it draining out the drain line, it is back up inside the car. This would leave warmer water inside the car and it would condense on the windshield as it would be one of the first things to really cool. Not sure how cool it is getting in your neck of the woods.

Yes, the A/C does run when you are using defrost. That is what dries the air to make the defroster more effective as it is dumping hot dry air on the windshield and it can absorb some of the condensation from the inside of the windshield.

 

Hi Thermo,


Hmm, no not a daft question at all and yes it does sound like it could be the issue as the condensation is purely above the vents... however it does raise maybe a daft question from me (for which I apologise :-)) .. where is the a/c drain tube?

 

I have similar , but very intermitent . Some mornings screen perfect , some days quite bad condensation . However with dial on Screen , heat on hot , A/c on ( default on screen ) & fan on 5/6 speed , even the worst fogging only takes a couple ofmins to clear. ( My A/cFilter is quite new & inside car shows no signs of damp )

 

Wierdly enough, hammering rain & high winds last night and barely any condensation other than what you would usually expect this morning.. no rhyme nor reason sigh.. what got me wondering was about two days ago.. the condensation was literally two patches on the windscreen actually drips suspended from the glass above the vents lol.. in yet last nights storm led to none..

 

The usual cause is my 7 year old son winding the back window down on his side about 3 to 4mm which is not visible or audible when driving but is just enough to let the damp in and it takes two days to get the car back to not fogging lol.. *but* I have got wise to it and always check now which is why I was curious when I had water actually hanging in drips above the vents.... :-) But as you say no logic as last night was driving rain and nope no condensation this morning

 

Steve, the easiest way to get to the drain is to get under the car and get to to where the firewall is on the car. If I remember right, it is on the passenger side (for you since you are RHD) and if you look up about 10 CM, you will see a tube sticking out of the wirewall. That will be the drain tube that I am talking about. A can of compressed air should clear things up for you or if you can get a pipe cleaner to run through there, that would be better as you can then pull any junk out.

Some people have also found that a little bit of mildew will form inside the vent duct and that removing the filter and spraying a large amount of Lysol down the inlet will help get rid of the clog. But, if you do this, make sure the car is parked and the windows are down. You are going to essentially fill the interior of the car with the Lysol spray and is not good on your lungs. Then you will need to let the fan run for a few minutes to help push out the vapors.