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Mositure on inside of windshield

S

SHOgoFast

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As the title states, I have been getting a uncommon amount of moisture on the inside of my windshield after the vehile sits for awhile.

This is particularly annoying when it builds up over a cold night and is ICE in the morning. Much more difficult to scrape the INSIDE with an ice scraper.

Other things to go along with this. I do/can hear a moving liquid sound inside the dash at idle, I do not hear it any other time.

The condensation is there regardless of what setting I put the HVAC on before shut down.

Heater core?
 
that happened to me the first winter that I didn't drive my car. I would run it once a week and after while there was ice on the inside. it went away after the winter
 
DOES IT SMELL SWEET?

DOES IT SMELL SWEET?

1. If the car smells sweet and the inside of the windshield has a film, then it's probably the heater core.

2. Otherwise the evaporator drain is probably clogged. This would certainly be the easier and cheaper problem.

Good luck
 
It really doesn't smell like coolant but there does appear to be a film. It will freeze though so I would think that if it is composed of coolant it would not freeze solid.
 
If it's coolant, it leaves a smeary film that is difficult to clean off and it will smell like antifreeze. The defroster usually cannot remove antifreeze film.

It's probably just a clogged evaporator drain.

Steve
 
It's been happening to my car, but I'm pretty sure it's caused by my trunk leak.

The moisture vents up through the rear deck into the interior and fogs up the windshield.
 
my car does the same thing, only it happens one cool mornings on the windows facing away from the sun. I just figured it was the humidity and the cooler glass on that side of the car? :shrug:


CSVT1214 said:
...from my trunk leak.
Click to expand...

got the same problem... maybe check your trunck vents then?
 
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devanmc said:
got the same problem... maybe check your trunck vents then?
Click to expand...

They are fine. I know where the leak is, I just need to find time to repair it. My drivers side tail light didn't seal correctly.

It needs to be re-tinted to correctly match the reflector and passenger side, so why reseal it just to remove it again? Therefore I'll deal with the leak for now. :laugh:
 
^^^ reffering to the guy that made this thread. You know whats wrong he doesnt.
 
Alright, this needs some serious attention now. I cant be waiting for 15 mins to melt this ice for my 3 min drive after work in the evenings.

To any that will suggest starting the car ahead of departure, I take a commuter train in to chicago, so that will not be an option.

Where is this evaporator drain located? Is it under the hood or in the rear of the vehicle? I would like to check and see if it is plugged.

Also, Tony, you mentioned that yours is caused by moisture evaporating from the trunk through the rear deck and condensing on the windshield. Now, I would believe this is my issue other than the ice does not form on the rear window at all. Could this still be my problem?

I do not have a trunk leak, but I do have the intercooler resevoir in there and I know for a fact that the lid does not seal completely. Then again, I had the same setup last winter and did not experience this problem.

Thanks guys.
 
need outside air?

need outside air?

Depending on the outside humidity, you may have a problem caused by recirculation of the inside air. The recirculated warm inside air accumulates moisture over time then condenses out as the glass cools. Seems odd that it would only condense on the windshield, though, since the defroster should have made the glass warm. Maybe condensation is forming inside the ductwork then evaporating out of the defroster vents before the ductwork completely cools? Could it be a malfunction of the ductwork damper controls not letting in outside air? The contour doesn't have a separate control to select outside air/recirc, and I am not sure what setting would pull outside air to the defrosters. I would suspect A/C should recirc but Defrost should pull in outside air. For what it's worth, if the weather isn't too cold and it is humid outside, a good way to keep nice clear windows is to run the A/C in recirculate/defrost mode to dehumidify along with the heater to warm the air. The Contour doesn't give that option, though. You probably already know this, but never heat the engine up to operating temp before turn ing on the defrosters to full heat with a cold windshield, unless you like that crack along the bottom of the window that is so common in northern climates. Warm the glass slowly.

One other thing, when the weather would get really cold, I remember having ductwork dampers freeze up on me. I had to garage the car to thaw it out before I could move them. Just a thought.
 
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From the owners manual, the only time the contour recirculates is when the A/C is on the MAX setting. Otherwise, all other times it draws in outside air.

Little bumpitty bump, anyone know the location of the mentioned drains?
 
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