Misting air-con Quattro V8

[Alex Gray-OUPC <alex@oupc.bbc.co.uk>]

Please, please, does anyone know how to cure occasional but serious steaming 
up of Quattro 200 and V8 interior. I'm not talking about the usual little 
flush of humidity when an a/c starts up, but a real pumping of humid air 
into the vehicle. A little background...

I used to have a 200 Quattro with only one fault - the air con. It needed 
recharging about every 6 months - I could live with that, but it had another 
real problem. Every now and again, sometimes ebery day, it would suddenly 
decide to give me a sauna. The windows would mist uncontrollably, and it was 
a misery, especially in winter. It happens a bit more when the weather is 
cold or wet, but can even happen on a fine sunny day.

I never could work out where the water was coming from - the coolant didn't 
drop much, and I had the plenum and drains etc all checked out for blockages 
and so on. Never did solve it, and one day when the compressor packed up 
(seized so hard it stalled the engine), I decided to sell it as have no 
air-con, and bought a V8 Quattro to replace it.

Big mistake - the V8 is auto, and despite being 4.2, isn't as fast off the 
mark as the 2.2 Turbo 200, takes 50% more gas, and, horro of horrors.... 
turns out to have *exactly* the same aircon problem.

My wife nearly strangled me the first time it happened - I 'sold' the new 
buy to the whole family on the strength of getting rid of the dreaded 
steaming up, and here we are back at first base!

It seems to be whenever the vehicle decides a little heating is called for, 
and my first assumption with the first vehicle was that the heater matrix 
was leaking, but the coolant doesn't go down, and I've had it all inspected 
more than once.

Any ideas would be very gratefully received.

Alex Gray

PS the climate control seems to be a real black spot in Audio 100/200/V8 
design. I have had 4 (some people never learn!) and they have all given real 
problems with the aircon. My wife has had two little Hondas with aircon 3 
times as powerful as the Audi's and never a fault!