Windows fogging up

N

Nicko

Registered User
Messages
15
Hi
Last few months the windows in my 10 year old Skoda have been fogging up after 20/30mins of driving. I have to turn on the heat up high, the fan on the dashboard up & a window slightly open to keep the windscreen from fogging up completely.

I have checked the whole car inside and there is no evidence of water ingress or pooling. I cleared the outside front of windscreen of any leaves, dirt etc etc in case there were any vents blocked, but no difference.

My local garage told me that its the A/C not working on the digital climatronic and just to buy a second hand one, they would install it and that should fix the problem. He has been trying to source one for me for three months now but unsuccessful. I found one while searching on ebay, but it would have to come from the Uk.
I was passing by the dealership last week and dropped into them. They said the A/C is working but only blowing cold air and that the first step is to regas the existing unit.
So two different opinions!!
When i run a diagnostic check on the climatronic it throws up two error codes:
4FA and 53d
Does anyone know what these are?
And any suggestions to what i should do, just buy a second hand unit or try to fix my existing one?
N
 
Is there a switch/setting to select re-circulating the air or taking in fresh air? Often, re-circulating air results in more condensation.

For the AC, there are specialists who service/re-gas, they might better diagnose issues than a regular garage.
 
I would expect a regular garage will throw parts at a problem at your expense, as educated guesses.

A specialists AC place would be my choice tbh.
 
Nicko said:
...
When i run a diagnostic check on the climatronic it throws up two error codes:
4FA and 53d
Does anyone know what these are?
...
Click to expand...
From the very useful link provided by @Dinny above - "I then got a '04F7' error code, which I guess makes sense because that one says that it is the temperature flap servo motor." and "53D in Hex is 1341 in regular old decimal"

I can't translate 1342 into English but it most likely refer to a CAN / ODB / ODB II bus error. These buses shunt electronic signals between various Control Units and the engine and various sub-systems, your car's intranet

Nicko said:
...
And any suggestions to what i should do, just buy a second hand unit or try to fix my existing one?
N
Click to expand...
The problem appears to be with a flap control motor that directs air to the windscreen, the cabin or the feet, so my guess is you need a replacement motor or servo, not a replacement A/C unit. The A/C may need re-gassing, but that's a different problem.

Lift the rear footwell mats and check the carpets again. The old leaking door-carrier gasket problem may have surfaced.

Also check that the cabin filter (aka pollen filter) inlet (behind the glove-box) isn't choked with leaves or other debris. You'll need to remove the glove-box to do this (3 or 4 philips screws)

HTH
 
The steel doors on many VAG cars have an aluminium panel attached (the door-carrier panel) which carries mechanical and electrical gizmos - window regulator, central locking mechanism, electric wiring, maybe speakers, etc.

The panel and door are either screwed or riveted together and there is a rubber or plastic gasket between the two to make a water-tight seal. These gaskets can fail over time allowing rain, condensation or car-wash water to lodge inside the door-trim and from there, leak onto the floor. The water is meant to run off the windows, etc into the bottom of the door and out via drain-holes.

It is a very poor design and is implemented badly as well.

The normal fix is to disassemble the door trim and internal furniture (arm-rests, switches, handles, etc) from the door, re-caulk the joint between the door-carrier and the door and reassemble. Skoda have a kit, mainly a tube of black "gunk" to help fix the problem on their cars.

YooToob video fixing problem on a Skoda Fabia (model is irrelevant, the fix is the same)
 
Check the plenum holes, in the engine bay under the windscreen. Under where the battery lives. They can block up and lead to water holding there, the air intake for the cab is generally in this area.

Also change the pollen filter another suspect for blocking fresh air getting in to the cabin.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top