Heater: 70: C70 with a misty windshield...??

[02Anders]

Good evening Gents,

I just picked up my C70 today, and with a bit more than 100 miles covered I'm already loving it! Soooo comfortable, soooo smooth and soooo powerful...

But.
One question:

Is it a common problem they struggle to de-mist the windshield? Does't really matter which setting I used on the A/C, and it just didn't really do the job.
Any help and/or advise would be much appreciated...

[kwk]

Is the aircon actually working. I have always found them to clear in seconds if it is. Try replacing the pollen filter.

[GMC]

Classic symptoms of a leaking heating matrix

[iamawookie]

^^^What he said!

[Luxobarge]

As above, either leaking heater matrix or aircon not working, or the intake plenum is stuffed with rotten wet vegetation.

I'd start by taking the scuttle panel off (easy once you've removed the wiper arms) or at least lifting it up so you gan get in there, and giving it a thorough clean out in there. Then check inside the car for dampness in the footwells - check thoroughly, is the carpets have deep insulation under them that can absorb a lot of liquid before becoming obvious. If the matrix is leaking it isn't a particularly difficult job on these, unlike on some cars.

Aircon is easy to check. It's not working on mine, and I'm about to throw some money at getting it fixed, as the car's too hot in summer and a pain to de-mist in the winter, so I really want it working, I'm fed up with driving around with the fan on full blast whenever it's raining. As stated above, when it's working it generally demists in seconds, really effective.

HTH

[brickman]

Luxobarge has pretty much covered it, but when replacing the pollen filter if its rancid (they often are, esp if parked under trees), clean out the inside of the box as far as you can reach with bleach (wear gloves) to kill any bacteria forming.

Could be your heater matrix, they are a known thing to fail, esp with cars that haven't had coolant replaced as often as they should.

You might find the heater matrix AND AC evaporator/condensor unit (whichever is the right term) both are covered in mould and debris. Happens with all cars, and they aren't a lot of money for the parts £10-20 for the matrix and £30-60 for the Ac part, but a solid 4-6 hours of labour to replace (on 850 cars you don't have to remove dashboard).

With the pollen filter removed, put the fan on max, fresh air and set to a medium temperature with all vents closed turn it to windscreen. It should be a fair amount of air, if its pathetic then likely your matrix and/or AC unit are clogged with debris.

[02Anders]

WAUW!
Thx for all your quick and thorough answers. Much appreciated.
Now I know what I'll be doing as soon as I have a day free...

[kevvydude]

30 min job for the matrix, when mine was replaced i used de-ionised water and anti freeze , so shud be good for a while

[Luxobarge]

Originally Posted by Luxobarge

Aircon is easy to check. It's not working on mine, and I'm about to throw some money at getting it fixed, as the car's too hot in summer and a pain to de-mist in the winter, so I really want it working, I'm fed up with driving around with the fan on full blast whenever it's raining. As stated above, when it's working it generally demists in seconds, really effective.

HTH

As a point of interest, my car went in for the aircon to be fixed yesterday, the fault was both seals to the condensor leaking, one of them quite badly. Also changed the reciever-dryer while the system was empty - but the point is that it was p*ssing down on the way home, and yet now the screen was kept totally crystal clear the whole way, even with the controls set to "auto" which means that only the slightest trickle of air is fed to the screen. Not saying your fault isn't something else, just to underline that these cars do really work better with functioning aircon.

Cheers!

[02Anders]

Thx Luxobarge, much appreciated.
I'm just extremely short of spare time right now, so I've booked my C70 in with a local garage on the 18th. I'll make sure to let the garage know everything you guys have told me here. Hopefully that'll help them sort it out quickly and cheaply...