Cold mornings/moisture build up

[RussBird82]

I appreciate when Maserati designed the 4200, a cold winter morning in the UK probably wasn't at the forefront of the design brief. Just curious how much moisture is typical with these cars, as mine feels borderline sopping when air moisture is high/air temp cold when parked outside. I took it for a good blast yesterday with air con on for a good while and several periods with the windows slightly ajar, and today despite a cold night the car interior was clear this morning . Is it just something I'll have to live with or would new door seals/window adjustment or even closing the vents when parked make any difference at this time of year?

 

[CatmanV2]

I have issues with every car I've owned living outside steaming up. But never more than misty condensation

Check the passenger footwell for damp if the matrix is leaking

C

 

[RussBird82]

I have issues with every car I've owned living outside steaming up. But never more than misty condensation

Check the passenger footwell for damp if the matrix is leaking

C

Heater Matrix is ok/replaced recently

 

[Scaf]

I have had this with mine before - after lots shorter journeys in winter / **** weather. Always assumed it was just a build up of moisture over time, clears itself after a long run.
Car itself is dry as a bone, no water ingress.

 

[CatmanV2]

Heater Matrix is ok/replaced recently

Did you get the carpet backing dry?

C

 

[RussBird82]

Did you get the carpet backing dry?

 

[RussBird82]

I should probably double check. In the baking heat of summer I left the windows down anyway when parked yet when I lifted the little panel on the driver's side always seems to be ever so slightly moist. Not sure what the solution would be without removing the carpet? *Heater matrix was prior to my ownership so not sure how bad/if any ingress was and if this moisture is in any way related.

 

[Nibby]

I should probably double check. In the baking heat of summer I left the windows down anyway when parked yet when I lifted the little panel on the driver's side always seems to be ever so slightly moist. Not sure what the solution would be without removing the carpet? *Heater matrix was prior to my ownership so not sure how bad/if any ingress was and if this moisture is in any way related.

My apologies if you already knew it but antifreeze takes a lot to dry out. Fortunately for me when I sorted mine (so far,so good) it was the Summer and mine is a Spyder so with the top down was able to get it dry reasonably quick but still took longer than I thought. Chris (Catman) might of been referring to the mats as under them traps the moisture between the carpet. I took my mats out till the carpets were bone dry, made sure my mats were bone dry too.

 

[CatmanV2]

My apologies if you already knew it but antifreeze takes a lot to dry out. Fortunately for me when I sorted mine (so far,so good) it was the Summer and mine is a Spyder so with the top down was able to get it dry reasonably quick but still took longer than I thought. Chris (Catman) might of been referring to the mats as under them traps the moisture between the carpet. I took my mats out till the carpets were bone dry, made sure my mats were bone dry too.

Yep, this. I mean it might just be condensation. Bit difficult to tell without seeing it.

C

 

[Zep]

If you don’t run the aircon in winter, you will get this effect. Warm air can absorb a lot more water than cold air. So you drive along with the interior at 20 deg, no air con, and the air seems nice and dry.

The you park and the air cools down, the water in the air can no longer be contained and you effectively get fog inside the car as the water that no longer has a home condenses here and there, making it feel quite muggy.

The answer is air con all the time, leave it in auto.

I have a very very dull graph that shows how this works, if anyone is interested? Nope, didn’t think so

 

[CatmanV2]

If you don’t run the aircon in winter, you will get this effect. Warm air can absorb a lot more water than cold air. So you drive along with the interior at 20 deg, no air con, and the air seems nice and dry.

The you park and the air cools down, the water in the air can no longer be contained and you effectively get fog inside the car as the water that no longer has a home condenses here and there, making it feel quite muggy.

The answer is air con all the time time, leave it in auto.

I have a very very dull graph that shows how this works, if anyone is interested? Nope, didn’t think so

Never understand why people turn A/C off. Mrs C keeps doing it in her car and then complains that it mists up....

C

 

[DLax69]

...also, just in case (and you probably know this) the weeps under the bonnet/hood, when blocked, will cause water ingress and dampen your carpet. Ask how I know...thought my car came with a leaking heater matrix. Nope, just leaves...

 

[RussBird82]

If you don’t run the aircon in winter, you will get this effect. Warm air can absorb a lot more water than cold air. So you drive along with the interior at 20 deg, no air con, and the air seems nice and dry.

The you park and the air cools down, the water in the air can no longer be contained and you effectively get fog inside the car as the water that no longer has a home condenses here and there, making it feel quite muggy.

The answer is air con all the time, leave it in auto.

I have a very very dull graph that shows how this works, if anyone is interested? Nope, didn’t think so

Yeah I leave it running all the time, hot and cold days. It has a fresh re-charge in August and that's what the guy advised to keep the pump and pulleys etc lubricated. Not sure the science behind it but doesn't the Aircon act as a dehumidifier to some degree?

 

[DLax69]

Yeah I leave it running all the time, hot and cold days. It has a fresh re-charge in August and that's what the guy advised to keep the pump and pulleys etc lubricated. Not sure the science behind it but doesn't the Aircon act as a dehumidifier to some degree?

Sorta...kinda acts as a preheater. Introduces conditioned air rather than just ambient to the system, at the risk of oversimplifying the explanation. Building HVAC systems essentially do the same thing with the introduction of fresh air to certain commercial systems.

 

[Zep]

Yeah I leave it running all the time, hot and cold days. It has a fresh re-charge in August and that's what the guy advised to keep the pump and pulleys etc lubricated. Not sure the science behind it but doesn't the Aircon act as a dehumidifier to some degree?

Yes. Because the evaporator is colder than the dew point of the air, the excess water condenses there and drains away as liquid. This means the interior surfaces have to be much colder before any condensation occurs and when it does it will be less.

The majority of of dehumidifiers work on the same principle.

 

[williamsmix]

I think I'll check my evaporator drain on the 3200 as I haven't noticed any drips under the car for a while. Is it a tube that hangs down on the back RH side of the engine and is a stiff bit of wire the best way to remove any blockage?

 

[Zep]

Don’t be alarmed, the amount of water is an order of magnitude lower in winter than summer, so you probably won’t see it.

As for the location:

Thread 'Aircon clean out / pollen filter'
https://www.sportsmaserati.com/index.php?threads/aircon-clean-out-pollen-filter.222/

 

[williamsmix]

Don’t be alarmed, the amount of water is an order of magnitude lower in winter than summer, so you probably won’t see it.

As for the location:

Thread 'Aircon clean out / pollen filter'
https://www.sportsmaserati.com/index.php?threads/aircon-clean-out-pollen-filter.222/

Thank you for the link. I did the evaporator drain this afternoon and didn't find anything of significance; only a small amount of gunge that wouldn't really plug up the flow. I did find that the inner end of the drain pipe disconnected itself very easily when I pulled everything apart and it was quite difficult to push it back on to the bottom of the evaporator housing, but fortunately I still seem to have the dexterity (and small enough hands) to do such things by feel in a confined space. Anyhow, my conclusion for the moment is that any steaming up is down to our very high levels of winter humidity; over 80% this afternoon according to the Met Office.

 

[Zep]

No problem.

Yes, relative humidity is high when the temperature hovers around 1-5 deg C.
Absolute humidity is still very low so there isn’t that much water to condense. As you can see below, the amount of water air can absorb increases almost exponentially with air temperature.

 

[rs48635]

No problem.

Yes, relative humidity is high when the temperature hovers around 1-5 deg C.
Absolute humidity is still very low so there isn’t that much water to condense. As you can see below, the amount of water air can absorb increases almost exponentially with air temperature.

View attachment 122150

thanks for the picture. Just remembered that in the loft at Mum's house I still have spirograph !