58 modeo condensation problem

Hi all

My 58 mondeo estate mk 4 TDCI, has devoloped over this winter a condensation problem that is driving me nuts!!
every morning, i have to sponge clean all the inside glass, to get rid of moisture, EVERY DAY!!
were or why is all this condensation coming from? theres no obvious leaks, the boot is not full of water, and the car does not smell damp,
driving with the aircon on, does seem to take a lot of moisture out, but next day the car inside glass is soaking
so.....
wtf is going on, as its never done this over the last 3 winters

Well. today, i managed to have a good look a the car, and both front and rear passaenger side footwell, are like a paddling pool,
so at least i know know why my car is so damp!

but why? as all door seals appear to be in excellent condition, and all fitting correctly
all door drains appear to be clear of any obstruction, as with poking them through with a cable tie, does not seem to find any crud or let any water out (indicating a blockage)

next day off, i will check the pollen filter and housing, but apart from that what else could i check, and are there any other drainage holes ?

regards
steve

Bit of a long shot but does it have a sun roof? My golf does the same and its a common problem on golfs with sunroofs where the drains block up and empty them selfs in the foot wells. I know it's a completly different car but worth a mention!

Happening to a lot of cars at the mo. I believe it's simply due to the air being cold an saturated.
I bought a disposable dehumidifier today and the sales girl commented on how many they have
sold recently. They even had a specific in car version.

No sunroof, !!
I dont think an icar dehmidifier would get this lot out!

Last time I had a large amount of water in the foot well was due to a passenger getting in with an umbrella whilst it was raining and taking a considerable amount of time to do so, if you often use both doors while it's raining it could be just coming in through the open door, though I'm guessing not from what else you've said. Is there water any where else like in the glove box?

Something else to consider, but the foot wells have vents in them all hooked up to heater, and in my car there is a vent that sucks somewhere in the passenger footwell when you recirculate the air. This is just a thought, but if your car has a simillar set up, it could be sucking wet air into this pipe from everywhere in the car, and then when you turn it off, the water could be condencing and leaking out.

You should get a repreive in the coming week, as it will be too cold for it to form in the firstplace.

If you can get hold of one, uses a rug doctor or simillar to remove all the water and clean the carpets, then if you're not using the passenger side, get some card or paper and cover as much of the footwell as you can and leave it in place for a few days, it might show you where the water is coming in.

My wife car Mondaeo 06 model had this problem on 3 out of the 4 doors. Eventually I gave in and took it to Ford. They had it for a week drying the car out apparently some sort of foil in the window seal that when it fails causes this problem. Hope this helps.

Not spilt anything have you?

Once had similar issue when a bottle of water got lodged under the passenger seat. I think moving the seat split the bottle which leaked into the carpet under the rubber floor mat. Took forever to dry it out.

Thanks guys, all good ideas, and no i havnt spit anything!!
as it must of been a 50 gallon drum!!
as half an aqua vac full of water removed this evning, in the dark! and both left hand front and back carpets are still sodden

It is going to have a couple of holes stuck in the floor tomorrow

I guess keep going with the drying and then see what happens.

My mondeo had a problem with the rear wash pipe becoming disconnected, so that water would just go down the inside trim and not down the back window. That kept things damp for a long time!

It's coming out of the heater box, the drains are blocked as I noted before.

You have the A/C on, this condenses outside air which fills the heater box when the drains are blocked, it ends up spilling out the lower vents and soaking the carpet, you are driving a dehumidifier !

Check the drain channels on the doors especialy front doors, i heard someone having this problem on a recent mundano.Channels were leaking into car saturating the carpets, it also coincided with a crash which needed a couple of windows replaced.

Stupid idea.. but..
Is the control switch/slider set to re-circulate or fresh outside air?

No fresh air = steamed up windows

I've replaced all the door seals on ours and the tailgate seal but still it 'steams' up. Did notice a little bit of damp under the front passenger seat and in the boot yesterday but cannot see where it's getting in. Does seem that damp in mondeo's is quite a widespread problem looking at the number of results google throws up on the subject:-(

Hi Seen this problem before, could be that the aircon drain pipe has become misplaced or blocked, when using air con moisture (Water) is produced and should be got rid of through drain tube going through bulkhead.
Also as long as you are not losing any coolant you can disregard heater matrix leak.
Hope this helps Mike

How about the above scenarios+ a leak arouind windscreen as well?
Just a cheery thought, you could test with hose fairly quickly.
Happy huntong
Atb
Mike

My neighbour has a SEAT which soaks the footwells back and front - It used to be garaged at night so wasn't a problem before. He 'googled' around and found a common problem on these generic cars is the seal around the inner-door panel hardens and goes brittle, eventually failing. It's the detachable bit that holds all of the gubbins for the window-winders, etc.

He got a length of sealant (similar to draught excluder) and applied that all around the panel, bolted it all back up and now problem solved.

Excess water was getting in through the window seals - the ones that press against the glass as it raises and lowers. The image below shows the inner door panel where the seal needs replacing . . . .

My Clio has had the same problem recently.

Front and rear drivers side foot wells full of water.

When I took the drivers seat out then all the carpet up there was 1.5 inches of foam under the carpet.

This was saturated, I cut it out and am drying it as I type, the problem with the foam in my car is it is sort of sealed so hold the water in tight.

There was a drain under the bonnet, behind the suspension mount right next to the windscreen that was blocked.

I cleaned it out but was still getting water in but not as bad.

After removing the wheel and inner arch I found another drain for the sunroof which was also blocked.

Fingers crossed its fixed now but am waiting to see.

I would check there aren't any drainage holes under the bonnet full of silt.

remove all your carpet etc in the affected area and get the hose on it and see where it is coming in or you will never get rid of all the water be it with a vac or dehumidifier.