I was going to say wet floor but I'm at a bit of a loss with suggestions here.

Though I will say, to stem the condensations get hold of some silica gel packets (things you get in shoe boxes to stem the excessive moisture in the cabin)

 

Get the A/C filter changed and run it continuously?

 

To soak up the condensation, get some cat litter.

 

I bought some of those condensation crystals from the hardware shop this morning, and just jabbed a load of holes on the upper face of the bag, and have left it in the rear footwell. This will help, I'm sure, but I would really like to find where the real problem lies.

If it was a leaking heater matrix, or similar, would I be getting damp carpets already?

 

Condensation

I have had this from time to time with the wife's Vectra.
Once it was because she had left the window very slightly cracked open all night.
The second time was because she had left a wet coat and brolly in the car.
Has anything been spilt in the car?
All I can suggest is checking the car doors and the windows are fully closed and there are no damp clothing or other items in the car.

 

I have had this from time to time with the wife's Vectra.
Once it was because she had left the window very slightly cracked open all night.
The second time was because she had left a wet coat and brolly in the car.
Has anything been spilt in the car?
All I can suggest is checking the car doors and the windows are fully closed and there are no damp clothing or other items in the car.

Thanks. Nope, all windows are shut, and nothing damp has been left in there. It's all a little odd.

 

I too had this.

Checked all the carpets and the boot and found nothing. It was not until I came to change the hand brake cables and had to take out the rear carpets that I found the issue.

The rear foot wells were wet but the carpet was not. The rear carpet has close cell foam sprayed on the back for the shape and the water was not able to travel through this to the surface. My leak was only slight and the water was building up very slowly, but also drying out very slowly showing your exact symptoms.

I re sealed the inner door cards and spent three days drying carpet out side of the car as the water trapped in the foam is really hard to get out.

Can't say it still does not steam up any more on occasions but it now clears very quickly and once clear stays clear.

 

Interesting - thanks.

So, the water was coming in through a window seal, then through the door card itself?

 

Thanks - I'll have a gander.

 

Silly question but have you checked your heater is not on recirculation? When the temperature outside drops, the aircon stops working so there is nothing to extract the moisture which then condenses on the coldest thing it can find - the windows.
I tried to explain this to my daughter on her car but she said she doesn't like breathing other people's exhaust fumes in traffic.

 

Make sure air con is not on re-circulation. Possibly the condensation is due to temp difference between inside and outside. Moisture will condense on the inside of the windows if the outside air is cooler than the dew point inside the car. I found leaving one of the doors open for minute or two when arrive home \ work etc to let the warm air out before I lock the car helps.
Also there is Rain-X anti fog ... never tried it so not sure if effective or not
Halfords | RainX Anti-Fog 200ml

 

It must be wet in the car somewhere. Have a look at my post here...

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-159-brera-and-946-spider/442425-solved-rain-water-leak.html

If this drain blocks the water seems to get through the dash and down until it's below the carpet. Although it's coming from the front the drivers carpet feels bone dry and it collects in the rear footwell. It takes quite a lot of water to get to the point that the upper rear carpet feels wet.

I think that the sequence is that this scuttle floods then the water is high enough to get under the loom snap clip (to the right in the picture) and then trickles down through the carpet under padding.

 

You beauty, Old Engineer! Just had a look, and it was gunked up!

I will have a proper clean out this weekend - thanks so much!

 

There are a couple of these scuttle drains under the wiper grill, the wife's Vectra has the same problem. When they get blocked the rain fills up the space and spills into her car thru the pollen filter.
Most cars I have worked on over the years, the families cars, have the same issues. Some empty into the engine bay and some behind the front wheel arch.
When you wash the windscreen on your car and do not see water coming from behind the front wheel arch you usually have a blockage. A torch and a piece of wire sorts the issue.:thumbs:

 

UPDATE!

Armed with a straightened coat hanger, and a big kettle full of boiling water, the offending drainage hole (driver's side) was cleared through. As mentioned above, there is also a similar drain on the other side, so it's worth checking both. With the coat hanger I was able to sort the block without removing the scuttle, quite easily.

I'm still not convinced that I'm 100% there, yet - although it was gunked up, I'm not sure if it was completely blocked - time will tell.

Also, I've applied a lot of pressure to the carpets in the footwells with my fist to try and draw some moisture up to the surface, to no avail. Also, the mats that sit atop the footwell carpets are also dry underneath, on their rubber backing - I would have expected to find some trapped moisture here, but alas not. I will see how things progress.

 

I was interested in this thread because on Monday I had the same issue. However, after a couple of days it's gone and without me doing anything. I did give my bella a deep clean on Sunday so I'm guessing the water was trapped inside the rubber seals where I'd washed inside the door and around the boot.

Probably only applies if it the condensation happens as a one off, anything more persistent is probably because of the issues described above.

 

Slight similar theme, does anybody have a misting issue with the rear lights, I've noticed a bit in places. I've only had it a few weeks and originally thought the valeting bay who prepared the car had been using too much water pressure and forced the moisture in there.

I may strip down the units, dry out and refit.

Am I the only to have this?

 

No your not alone.

The lights only have a foam type seal on the back and water can get past if a little over exuberant with the jet wash. I added a little more sealer around the rear to stop this happening, all sorted now.

 

Just had similar issue on my wife / daughters corsa where a seal had perished on a fuse box cover allowing water to seep through and into passenger footwell. Changed the fusebox cover so leak seems sorted.

To speed the dry out I initially sponged it with newspapers but this only got so far. Then since I am currently without a wet and dry hoover took it to a garage vacuum (where I figure they have a larger disengagement tank) and gave it a good vacuuming with that pressing hard on the carpet to squeeze the water out. That got it almost finger damp rather than wet when pushed.

Now I've invested in some silica gel bags - 1 pair of 1 kg ones actually from a dive shop on amazon for 16 quid.
These have continued the drying progress and absorbed another 300g of water in the last week. I weighed them before and after - sad I know.

Apparently they can be regenerated on a radiator over night or in an oven.

Hope this helps



No issues now with condensation

 

Thank for the info Coxy & Vromm, little weekend job along with checking the drain by the front screen!