[s-cars] Windshield fogs up in cold weather & AC is off

[Stott Hare]

I bet either the spring or the spring anchor point on the fresh air flap  
behind the glove box have broken. Shouldn't matter if the ac I is running,  
but if that flap isn't in the right position you'll fog up.  If you remove  
the lower panel below the glove box, and the footwell ducting you should be  
able to get hands on the flap, and contort to get eyes on as well.  Prepare  
to clean out a lot of leaves and debris while you're there...
Good luck

Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless

-----Original message-----
From: Thomas Rodriguez <trodri69 at gmail.com>
To: Joshua van Tol <jvantol at gmail.com>
Cc: s-car-list <s-car-list at audifans.com>
Sent: Mon, Nov 19, 2012 01:57:20 GMT+00:00
Subject: Re: [s-cars] Windshield fogs up in cold weather & AC is off

Thanks for the tips.  Here are a few more observations.

Tonight it was about 42F outside and this temp was accurately
displayed on the instrument panel readout.  I had the heater set to
70, the AC compressor was running fine and all the windows were clear.
 Then just like that the AC compressor turned off and all the windows
fogged up within a couple of minutes.  Pressing the AC button on the
HVAC control panel would not turn the compressor back on, though the
AC indicator light would come on as long as the button was pressed.  I
shut of the heater, zipped up my jacket and opened all the windows to
clear the fog from the windshield. Ten minutes later I got home and
turned off the car.  Five minutes after that I started the car and
turned on the heater, and the AC compressor was working fine.  For
kicks I manually turned off the AC compressor with the button on the
HVAC control panel and the windows fogged up within a few minutes.  I
manually turned the AC compressor back on and the windows cleared
right up.

Something is causing the AC compressor to turn off at temperatures
well above 32F (note this was not a problem in the warm summer
months).  Is there a sensor or switch that may be going bad?  Perhaps
it's a problem with the connection to the on/off button on the HVAC
control panel on the dash; many of the other buttons on this control
panel (e.g. temp and fan speed) function only intermittently.

If anyone has had these symptoms and found a fix, please let me know.

Thanks,
Tom
'95 S6

On 11/18/12, Joshua van Tol <jvantol at gmail.com> wrote:
> Could be that the recirc flap isn't opening.
>
> On Nov 17, 2012, at 11:21 PM, Thomas Rodriguez <trodri69 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Now that the weather is cold my windsheild fogs up when I run the
>> heater or defroster.  I believe this is because the AC is not
>> operating when the outside air temperature is cold, so it doesn't
>> remove the moisture from the air before it passes through the heater
>> core.  It is my understanding that the AC is supposed to run in the
>> winter expressly for this purpose.  The AC indicator light on the HVAC
>> control panel is unlit.  If I push the AC button on the control panel
>> the indicator light illuminates as long as I hold the button down, but
>> goes out when I release the button.  I am confident the fogging is not
>> due to a coolant leak into the HVAC system; I recently replaced the
>> heater core and there is no coolant odor inside the cabin and no drop
>> of coolant level in the reservoir.  The heater works great (aside from
>> the moisture) and the AC worked great during the summer.  Am I correct
>> that the AC should be operating in concert with the heater &
>> defroster?  Any tips on how to correct this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Tom Rodriguez
>> '95 S6
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