De-misting the windows

[mike7]

Hi everyone,

Had my first trip up to the snow in my D4 and is the first time taking it somewhere colder than home. Wanted to ask about de-misting the windows.

I know manual states the widows will fog up in recirc so need to have fresh air coming in. I tried the aircon in recirc as we were getting the cars ahead exhaust and within a very short time the windscreen would fog up so back to fresh and exhaust fumes from the guy in front.

in my previous car (not a LR) I could set a warm temp in the car but have the aircon on as well so the car wouldnt fog up in recirc but it appears I cant do this in my D4. It was either fog up or cop exhaust fumes from the guy in front the whole way, got really frustrating as I had to keep alternating and opening windows to get the exhaust smell out of car.

Is there a trick to this? Am I missing something? I dont have pollution filter etc, its a My11 2.7L D4.

Cheers
Mike

[PJJ]

G'day Mike

Did you try turning the temp. dials down to where the air cond. cut in. Used to work for me in the previous D3 but only trouble is you then get cold :( - clear windows though;)

Phil

[101RRS]

I cannot speak for a D4 but on my D3 equiv RRS when you push the window demist button it also does a cycle that demists the front and side windows as well as the rear window.

What does your handbook say - if in doubt - read the instructions :D

[mike7]

Gday Phill, tried the low temp thingy but still didnt work. Was almost like the aircon wasnt cutting in.

Gday Garry I know about the de-mist button and all that does is turn the fans up and it turns off recirc, it certainly clears up the misting but so does manually selecting fresh air.

Thanks guys
mike

[Graeme]

in my previous car (not a LR) I could set a warm temp in the car but have the aircon on as well so the car wouldnt fog up in recirc but it appears I cant do this in my D4.
This works on my D4. Make sure air is going to the windscreen vents, not just the upper vents.

[101RRS]

I know about the de-mist button and all that does is turn the fans up and it turns off recirc, it certainly clears up the misting

i thought that is what you wanted to do

[Fred Nerk]

I know this won't help you, but I opted for the "cold weather pack" It is one of my favourite luxuries. any one who is tempted I would say "go for it".

The heated windscreen is effective (but don't try to mount an on glass antenna on it which is another story). The heated mirrors clear quickly. Heated seat and a heated steering wheel complete my solution to a cold morning in the hills where I live. The demist button clears foggy windows in seconds.

[discotwinturbo]

i thought that is what you wanted to do

He wants to be able to do the same but recirc on due to following other cars and ingesting others exhaust fumes.

Brett...

[mike7]

You got it Brett, I can de-mist the car but was hoping to do it in recirc to stop fumes. The de-mist button works really well but using fresh air obviously.

Cheers
Mike

[101RRS]

Understand now - I think you are (we are) screwed then as you can turn the "auto" function of climate control off but not climate control itself.

On non climate control cars you can have the A/c on, on recirc and the heater on and the heat from the heater overrides the cold from the A/c so you get heated dehumidified air that defoggs the windows.

With our vehicles switching off the climate control only switches off the auto fan control and auto vent control but leaves auto temp control on so the system will provide a mix of a/c and heat as required. If the temp is really cold switching the temp to the minimum will not do anything (as you have found) as it will still be trying to heat.

So the simple answer is as you suspect - can't be done on recirc.

However - I live in Canberra and have much lower temps than you and have found the same issue. It mainly fogs up when you first start up the car and drive off - I have found that using the demist program clears the screens pretty quick (yes there is outside air coming in) and the switching back to normal climate control on recirc the problem does not come back - if it does normally another go at the demist program does the trick but I only ever have a max of two people in the car.

It is a shame that when climate control is turned off you cannot separately control the A/C and heater.

I thought all D4s had the pollen filter in the ventilation system - it certainly does not stop engine fumes though.

Garry

Garry

[mike7]

Hi Garry,

Thanks for your post, I think you are spot on. I suspected that the aircon was not coming on to dehumidify the air, I was in Canberra by the way. Man were the mornings cold!!! First time ive seen the snowflake symbol in the info display.

Thanks again.

Cheers
Mike

[Graeme]

With our vehicles switching off the climate control only switches off the auto fan control and auto vent control but leaves auto temp control on so the system will provide a mix of a/c and heat as required. If the temp is really cold switching the temp to the minimum will not do anything (as you have found) as it will still be trying to heat.
The temp on the D4 can be switched off by going down 1 more click from 16. The a/c will be turned on, fan speed set to max, recirc set on (IIRC but maybe not) and particular vents opened but all these can then be set as required.

[Mike_S]

Had exactly the same problem on the way out of Mt Buller a few weeks back, the ute in front was belching smoke out as we were stuck behind a coach all the way off the mountain.

I just turned the heated windscreen on.....:p

[TerryO]

Not trying to be a smartarse but the other simple option is not to follow the vehicles in front so closely when heading to the snow.

Cheers,
Terry

[bbyer]

There are two types of pollen filters available for the 3 and 4. The cheaper one is just a particle filter; the more expensive one is for both smell and particles.

I have the activated charcoal filter and it got tested one day following a cattle truck. With the windows rolled down, it was most unpleasant, rolled up, one could not smell anything.

Then when I passed it, the cattle trailer lurched and "fluids" flowed out and sprayed the side of my 3 - good that the windows were up.

In other words, with the activated charcoal HVAC filter, I do not think that you would smell vehicle exhaust in the cabin. For what it is worth, I have not noticed any.

Any yes, the windows fog up as soon as the snow has melting from our boots and clothes etc and the defogger fan works OK - the electric windscreen is more for melting ice off the exterior - at least that is what I use it for.

[ososlo]

Years ago we were travelling on the Auckland "motorway" at the time and the wife had her window open as we passed a stock truck...the cattle inside decided to let go as we passed and straight throught the open window...a new kind of window fogging!

Ha

[mike7]

Thanks for the suggestion Terry but try that in the practical world, driving around Canberra in peak traffic etc.

Cheers
Mike

[101RRS]

Was explaining the issue to my Toyota Troopy driving neighbour who offered a practical solution - he said what is wrong with wiping the condensation off the windscreen with a rag kept on the dash like he does in his troopy and like we all had to do in the the good ole days before modern mod cons.

Garry

[discotwinturbo]

Was explaining the issue to my Toyota Troopy driving neighbour who offered a practical solution - he said what is wrong with wiping the condensation off the windscreen with a rag kept on the dash like he does in his troopy and like we all had to do in the the good ole days before modern mod cons.

Garry

I think a modern troopy owner still needs to do it the old fashioned way. ;-)

Brett...

[sniegy]

There are two types of pollen filters available for the 3 and 4. The cheaper one is just a particle filter; the more expensive one is for both smell and particles.

I have the activated charcoal filter and it got tested one day following a cattle truck. With the windows rolled down, it was most unpleasant, rolled up, one could not smell anything.

Then when I passed it, the cattle trailer lurched and "fluids" flowed out and sprayed the side of my 3 - good that the windows were up.

In other words, with the activated charcoal HVAC filter, I do not think that you would smell vehicle exhaust in the cabin. For what it is worth, I have not noticed any.

Any yes, the windows fog up as soon as the snow has melting from our boots and clothes etc and the defogger fan works OK - the electric windscreen is more for melting ice off the exterior - at least that is what I use it for.

Hey Bbyer,
Do you have a P/no. by chance? Would be interesting to see if we have them here?
I doubt it tho'
Cheers

[TerryO]

Thanks for the suggestion Terry but try that in the practical world, driving around Canberra in peak traffic etc.

Cheers
Mike


Mike in your original post you only spoke of this problem happening the once when you were driving up to the snow for the first time in low temperatures that your not used to.

While Canberra can get snow it hasn't happened recently that I know of so I guessed you were only driving through to get to the snow fields.

In the practical world I often drive in Canberra in peak traffic in winter and I find it quite easy not to follow closely, so I rearly get to smell others exhaust fumes strongly.

Good luck with finding a solution to the problem for your next trip via Canberra in winter.

cheers,
Terry

[bbyer]

Hey Bbyer,
Do you have a P/no. by chance? Would be interesting to see if we have them here? I doubt it tho' Cheers

Below are the part number for both types of pollen filters. I would think that LR Australia has them both.

There is a standard filtration version and a high end scrubbing filter that takes out all microscopic particles plus most smells.

JKR500010 Standard, dust only
JKR500020 High end, dust and smell

The jpg below is of the activated charcoal filter I recently removed. The filter was in service for about half a year.

Air flow is from the top down into the fan.

The filter being used in the pdf is what I call the good filter, the activated carbon one with the charcoal in between the filter elements, part number JKR500020; the cheaper no charcoal filter is part number JKR500010.

I think the activated carbon filter is worth the extra money as while I do not notice it, others do. Riders have said the vehicle smells fresh inside. It took me a while to figure out that what the riders were noticing was that the air within was fresher, and hence there was a difference between inside and outside - kind of like after a rain. The carbon bit was removing smells etc as the filter cloth was removing dust.

A jpg in the pdf shows the little flap arrow pointing down and that is correct. It is tricky as the flap is such that one could have the filter oriented correctly and the flap such that the arrow is pointing up.

The purpose of the flap is to provide a tighter friction fit of the filter. Also the filter, once inserted, is to be tipped / pushed up so that you do not see the arrow. This is the trick, as otherwise air tends to bypass the filter.

With Land Rover, it seems that there is always a technique to getting it right. Also I write on the outside edge of mine with felt pen, the date of install and mileage.

One of the jpg's below shows the arrows on the folding tab of the factory filter; the other jpg is of a removed dirty filter, the dirty top side showing. I write mileage and date on my filter each time and usually install a new one twice a year but I live on the prairies which can be dusty summer and winter and the 3 is a daily driver.

My wife has a similar dust and smell style of filter in her 4Motion Passat and that we only change about once a year due to reduced usage.

[Scouse]

JKR500020 High end, dust and smell

It supercedes to LR023977 & they have them available.