[FW_in_OKC]

I guess I should be thankful that this is all I have to bitch about, but whenever it rains, my windshield and side windows fog up worse than on any car I have ever driven. I have to constantly cycle the defogger switch on and off to keep them clear. With the defogger on, the air coming out of the W/S vent is very warm and once the W/S is clear, I turn it off.
On other vehicles, there is a split setting to run a trickle of air over the W/S to keep it clear rather that having to select full defrost.

Am I missing something? Is there a setting to allow both heat and defog?

Fred

 

[dgs]

You probably aready know this, but setting control to recycling air instead of fresh air will cause your windows to fog pretty quickly.

There should be a split defrost/floor setting too. I can speak for the LX, but my EX does. Keep hitting 'Mode' until the arrow on the little guy points to the floor and the defrost symbol showws up too

.

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D Schaefer
99 Odyssey EX
93 Escort LX
60 Thunderbird Conv.

 

[daringdave]

Try using the A/C, it will keep the glass from fogging up quite nicely. You can set the tempature anywhere.

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'02 EP Odyssey EX
'92 Accord LX
'86 CIVIC Si

 

[errol]

Hi ya folks,

I thought the A/C kicks in automatically when the defogger is activated. Yes? No?

Thanks,
Errol

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Keohi Web Design
Keohi HDTV

 

[Joe Bowen]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by errol:
Hi ya folks,

I thought the A/C kicks in automatically when the defogger is activated. Yes? No?

Thanks,
Errol

</font>

Yep, and it's not good to run the AC below a certain outside TEMP.

My ODY fogs up like a steam room. Very annoying.

 

[FW_in_OKC]

In the light of day I found that the first MODE is a split mode that solved the problem. I guess I really need to bone up on the owners manual concerning the heat & air system and their controls. It would have saved me from the embarrasment of submitting a unnecessary string.
But heck, look at all the wonderful replies I got!
Thanks everybody.
Fred

 

[RonD]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Joe Bowen:
Yep, and it's not good to run the AC below a certain outside TEMP.

My ODY fogs up like a steam room. Very annoying.</font>

I think the owners manual says that the AC should be run at least once a week, with no comment on not using it when it's cold. The once a week keeps the seals, etc. lubed.

 

[2002EXODY]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">" think the owners manual says that the AC should be run at least once a week, with no comment on not using it when it's cold. The once a week keeps the seals, etc. lubed."</font>

Consumer Reports same. You should run the heat sometimes during the summer and the AC during the winter to keep the fluids flowing so to speak.

[This message has been edited by 2002EXODY (edited 02-01-2002).]

 

[Sylvain]

Hi, just got my Odyssey 2002 EX last night

Why would the A/C start when I switch to 'Defrost' Normally (ie, in my other cars), when I used Defrost, it's to bring HOT air to the windshield to melt the thin ice/frost on it. Not to freeze it! I read the owner's manual last night (front to cover, yep I'm one of those ) and all it says about defrost is was I've read here (ie, turns on the A/C). Am I missing something?

Thanks

 

[DavidGSR]

The A/C comes on when you hit the defrost button because it provides not only cool, but also dry air. The temperature switch can overcome the cool air to get warm dry air for the defrost. This along with not using the recirc button would provide the optimal condition.

 

[adam1991]

Hi, just got my Odyssey 2002 EX last night

Why would the A/C start when I switch to 'Defrost' Normally (ie, in my other cars), when I used Defrost, it's to bring HOT air to the windshield to melt the thin ice/frost on it. Not to freeze it! I read the owner's manual last night (front to cover, yep I'm one of those ) and all it says about defrost is was I've read here (ie, turns on the A/C). Am I missing something?

Thanks

Go breathe on a window or mirror. See the fog? That's condensed moisture from your breath.

That very same moisture coming from the occupants of the car will condense on the inside of the cold windows, which fogs them up--and you can't see through the fog. You need to get rid of the moisture.

A little known fact: the air conditioner in a car isn't meant to give cool air so much as it is to give DRY air. Dry air allows your body's natural cooling mechanism, sweat, to work.

Dry air also gives room for the natural moisture from your breath to evaporate. So, to get rid of the moisture that's condensing on the windows, you need to evaporate it with warm air and that warm air has to be dry. Moist warm air won't evaporate the moisture from the windows. Moist warm air directed at the windows will do nothing but put more condensation onto the inside of the windows, and cause *more* problems seeing through them.

So you need the air conditioner year-round, because your body is 97% water and all that moisture causes problems whether it's summer (you need to get rid of the sweat to feel comfortable) or winter (you need to keep the moisture from your breath from condensing onto the cold windows).

Air that's been through the A/C doesn't have to be cold. Just heat it back up again with the heater by turning the heat up.

Moisture is everywhere about a human being, and enclosed spaces are uncomfortable for that reason. (Ever pull the covers over your head in bed and try to stay that way for any length of time? Uncomfortable, isn't it? If you had air conditioned--dry--air circulating under the covers, you wouldn't be uncomfortable. Even better if that air was first dried and then heated to a comfortable temperature.)

 

[Sylvain]

Thanks for your reply. Here's what I used to do in the past...

Start the car, heat at max, fan at max, slider set to defrost and recirculate. Leave the car and let it run like this for 2 to 3 minutes. That was enough to warm the inside of the car (even from -10C). Having air recirculating warmed the car faster because it didn't have to try to warm up cold air from the outside but the same air it managed to warm up a bit. I want to emphase I left the car running with no one in so condensation was NOT a problem...

Wonder if I can do the same with my Odyssey...

 

[Killroy]

The A/C comes on because the A/C acts as a dehumidifier (the cause of the fog is the moisture trapped inside the car when opening and closing the door or your breath). That's why when you turn on the defrost, the A/C comes on, to clear the moisture. The temperature of the air coming in and out of the A/C doesn't matter other than when it's warm, you don't freeze your patooty!!!

I don't know why it has taken car manufactures so long to figure this out. I've been running the A/C to defog my windows since my dad taught me that trick when I started driving. It's nice that Honda finally figured it out .

Killroy
2002 - RRP - EXL

 

[RonD]

Most likely your previous cars also ran the air Condiitioner when you had defrost on. You just weren't aware if it. That's the way most cars work. The fog or frost on your windows is caused by the moisture in the air. The air is first passed through the air conditioner to remove the moisture, then through the heater to warm it. The end result is better than could be obtained by using only the heater and ending up with moist warm air, which would fog when it hit the cold windshield.

 

[RonD]

Yep, and it's not good to run the AC below a certain outside TEMP.

My ODY fogs up like a steam room. Very annoying.

Where in the owners manual does it say the AC should not be used below a certain outside TEMP? All I found in my owners manual was a recommendation to run it atleast once a week to keep things lubricated.

 

[TarHeelGG]

I think the owners manual says that the AC should be run at least once a week, with no comment on not using it when it's cold. The once a week keeps the seals, etc. lubed.

I agree with Ron. I used to feel a little guilty of wasting energy when turning the A/C on in winter to defog but then I realized that the times you need it usually work out just about right for taking care the weekly "exercise and lubrication" run that every A/C system needs through the winter. For many years now I've been doing that in my Hondas and it works great - the heat control easily overcomes the coldness and the dry immediately defogs the windows and is comfortable.
-TarHeelGG

 

[Sylvain]

My other cars didn't have A/C

I'm basically talking about the frost that appears on the OUTSIDE of the windshield as you take your car in the morning, not the inside frost. My main goal is to warm up the car the fastest.

I'm confused about one thing, if you have air going 'through' the A/C to dehumidify it, the A/C will also COOL it right? So you gonna take cooled air and then try to warm it. To me, this is not as efficient as taking the same air and warming it over and over.

Here's a example that might explain my point... Which water will boil the fastest?

1. Take a saucepan and pour four cups of cold water. Leave the saucepan on the stove at high until it boils

2. Take a saucepan and pour four cups of cold water. Put the saucepan on stove at high. Every minute, replace the water with four cups of cold water. Do this until it boils (will it ever )

Most likely your previous cars also ran the air Condiitioner when you had defrost on. You just weren't aware if it. That's the way most cars work. The fog or frost on your windows is caused by the moisture in the air. The air is first passed through the air conditioner to remove the moisture, then through the heater to warm it. The end result is better than could be obtained by using only the heater and ending up with moist warm air, which would fog when it hit the cold windshield.

 

[GeoHawk]

There is no need for the A/C compressor to run if you are trying to defrost (vs defog) the widows, however there is no way to get around having the compressor run if the climate control (CC) is set in the defrost position (on cars with A/C).

I remember some older Fords that used to have a "Compressor Off" switch that would let you turn off the compressor if the CC was set in the defrost position, but this was 10-15 years ago.

I need to read all the way through our owners manual because it seems like the compressor runs on our Ody all the time, unless the CC system is completely off. I can hear the compress click on just after the engine starts.

 

[dgs]

You CAN override the AC

I remember some older Fords that used to have a "Compressor Off" switch that would let you turn off the compressor if the CC was set in the defrost position, but this was 10-15 years ago.

FWIW, I think the Japanese started the trend of having an A/C button to run the A/C regardless of where the air is comming out. My Escort (engingeered by Mazda) has this as di my wife's Nova (Engineered by Toyota) and my Saturn.

On the Ody, you can prevent the A/C from running or force it to run if you want to. I'm not familiar with the LX conrols, but on the EX I believe there's an AC button that will toggle from AC on ('AC ON' indicator), to AC off ('AC OFF' indicator) to auto (no indicators). I may be wrong on the exact control operation (i'm not in the Ody and don't have the manual here) but I know it's possible.

 

[RonD]

There is no need for the A/C compressor to run if you are trying to defrost (vs defog) the widows, however there is no way to get around having the compressor run if the climate control (CC) is set in the defrost position (on cars with A/C).

On the EX you can touch the A/C Button to toggle the air conditioning ON/OFF. Everytime you touch the defrost button it turns the A/C on, but you can then toggle it off with the A/C button.

On the LX there is also an A/C button to toggle the air conditioning, however the owner's manual says you cannot turn it off when in the defrost mode.