heartless Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 the car: 1995 Legacy L, EJ22, auto, AWD with around 209,000 miles on the clock... the issue: started the car this morning as usual, set to defrost, fan set to #2, went back in the house to finish getting ready for work... Go back out to the car to leave, defroster was starting to thaw the windshield, had about a 3" high area cleared - turned the fan up to 4 to expidite things - but instead of clearing it began to fog up more - on the inside! I switched the controls to floor heat and turned the fan back down to 2, found some paper towel to try to dry the inside of my windshield off so I could get to work. My first thought was blown heater core - BUT - the floor/carpeting is bone dry - no moisture at all - not even a little bit. No moisture from the floor vents either - even after having it set there for the drive to work (about 15-20 minutes) - I am at a loss? I could not smell that tell-tale sweet-ish smell of anti-freeze either....it just smelled damp. Is it possible that snow got into the air intake for the cabin and that is where the moisture is/was coming from? If so, how do I prevent it from happening again? It did get quite windy overnight, with light snow fall and the cowl area (under the wipers) was pretty well packed with snow this morning - not that unusual, but this is the first time I have had a moisture issue inside the car. HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Is it possible that you have a build up of snow, or melted snow from your shoes that you tracked inside the car to the foot wells? I have had that happen in the past. Once I dried out the floor mats and carpeting, the problem went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 also wanted to add that the temp gauge never budged from the normal position (for this car) once it reached operating temp - just a hair below the halfway mark Hi Rooster - with the amount of moisture coming out of the defrost vent, i kinda don't think that is/was the problem - but I suppose it could be a possibility. I am kind of fanatical about knocking excess snow off my shoes when I get in the car as well - I know I cant get all of it off, but the greater majority, yes...drivers side floor mat is a little damp, but the underlying carpeting is pretty dry. until yesterday & last night it has been dry and VERY cold. it got into the upper teens yesterday with light snow in the morning - first time in several weeks it has gotten that warm (if you can call upper teens warm) We have been hovering around zero, into single digits above during the day, and well below zero at night...haven't had any snowfall in at least 2 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Does it have AC? Maybe the drain tube is blocked/frozen, so instead of getting rid of the moisture on defrost, it just recycles it back on to the windshield? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I can imagine that condensation had formed in the vent system, remaining frozen, and now that the weather is slightly warmer, it is finally evaporating. I could see the AC drain being frozen temporarily. The only other thing i can think of is water infiltration in the a pillar or windshields seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) it does have AC - never considered the possibility that the drain line could be plugged/frozen - even knowing that the defrost setting uses the AC condensor to help dry out the air...will hjave to look into that before I get too freaked out! LOL Where does the AC drain hose exit the car? I hope there arent any problems with the windshield seals... Edited February 13, 2014 by heartless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Okay, so it is not snow on the floor, as the source of moisture. Do you have a sun roof? Drain tubes from a sun roof have been known to deposit moisture, but always down on the floor. If through the vents.........can you put the car in a heated garage to melt down any ice or snow that is anywhere on the car? Doing so, may solve the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 no sunroof on this one - altho the roof rack may be questionable - there is rust forming under the ends of the outer runners...I dont think it is quite so bad as to allow moisture in, but without taking it off the car I cant say that with any certainty... nope, no heated garage available, sadly... now lets add to the mystery... freezing rain when I left work this afternoon - freezing on the windshield as soon as it hit the glass - had no choice but to run the defrost if I wanted to be able to see - worked perfectly - even on full blast - no moisture inside at all. However - it did smell kind of funny this time - not that sweetish smell of antifreeze, but more a musty, old, damp basement kind of smell... I am beginning to think that it is the AC drain tube plugged and/or there was/is some moisture in the vent system... oh joy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 no sunroof on this one - altho the roof rack may be questionable - there is rust forming under the ends of the outer runners...I dont think it is quite so bad as to allow moisture in, but without taking it off the car I cant say that with any certainty... nope, no heated garage available, sadly... now lets add to the mystery... freezing rain when I left work this afternoon - freezing on the windshield as soon as it hit the glass - had no choice but to run the defrost if I wanted to be able to see - worked perfectly - even on full blast - no moisture inside at all. However - it did smell kind of funny this time - not that sweetish smell of antifreeze, but more a musty, old, damp basement kind of smell... I am beginning to think that it is the AC drain tube plugged and/or there was/is some moisture in the vent system... oh joy... Every car with A/C has a moisture drain tube. Drive on a hot day with A/C on, then stop on your driveway, and you can see the water spot form under the engine. The drain tube on a Subie is near the firewall. They can seal off, and back up with moisture, and that may be very well what you have. It may even just be a piece of ice causing the blockage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 yeah, for some dumb reason I forgot all about the silly drain tube for the AC system - must be frozen brain syndrome from the extreme cold we have had up here for the last couple of months Gonna guess it will be near the center of the firewall, down low (in the general area of the heater core box, since that is where it drains from...) I havent had a car with working AC in years, so.... dont know if this one works yet either, and it isnt warm enough for me to try it out yet LOL hoping to get into the shop where the other half works this weekend to put in the new struts/springs - shop is kept at 50 degrees all the time so with any luck everything will thaw out while I'm there and I wont have any more problems with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB's93LegacyL Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 For what it's worth, I live close to you and had the same thing happen on the same morning. I shoveled, and then drove through the fresh snow with the fan on full speed and the control set to the mixed heater/vent setting. There was no fog/frost on the windows (car had been parked in an unheated garage overnight.) I parked outside during the snow storm for about an hour, checked the horses, and then got back in to leave while it was still snowing. The windows had fogged on the inside while I was doing my horse chores. I switched on the defroster and idled for awhile until everything cleared. I think it was just extra moisture in the cabin from melting and evaporating snow on my clothes & boots, and the higher outside humidity on the snowy day. I thought maybe the blowing snow was forcing its way into places where it would get picked up by the ventilating system. I think the warmer weather in the teens and new blowing snow brought this on. It doesn't take much moisture in the cabin to fog the windows when the air in the cabin starts to warm and the glass is still cold. You mentioned a damp smell. It will help when you find out if your A/C is functional. You might have a little moisture/mildew in the ductwork. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Thanks BB - at least I know I am not alone! LOL it has been fine since, so yeah - probably a combination of factors being just right that caused it. Having only been driving this one a couple of months now, so still working out all the little buggy things - like the check engine light that came on today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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