White smoke (fog like) from air vent. Please help!

[rumburak]

Hello all,

Saturday while going on the highway at about 130km/h I observed some white smoke caming out from the central air vent hole. It only was caming out from that hole, was not smelling of smoke and was kind of a wet smoke, much alike some kind of fog. It was very little traces of that, in fact was practically dissipating while caming out (at about 10 centimeters from the air vent hole there was no trace of that smoke).
I stopped the air conditioner and let only the ventilation on, the smoke disappered. After a while I sterted the air conditioner again and a little smoke came out again but after selecting a lowev air vent speed (manual clima) it stopped and after that had no problems at all. Up to now I saw that smoke three times on Saturday morning, but no more smoke in the afternoon (when it was much hotter outside and had the air conditioner on making the same road as in the morning in the opposite way).
The air cames in very cold, at lower vent speeds there is no trace of that smoke.
Any idea of what could it be? I have to make a long jurney in about 2 weeks (1500km) so I would not like to remain without clima on the way. I think it might be some of the compressor gas leaking but will it be enough to have a refill or something alike, or I have to have changed some piece?
My car is a Seat Cordoba Vario GT 1.9 TDI of 1999, surely out of warranty...

 

[Husbandofstinky]

Sounds like aircon. I'd get it re gassed if i were you depending on how long it was since it was last gassed. The liquid installed tends to be dyed (normally green) and should indicate where the leak is coming from.

If it has been regassed in the last two years or so, I would suggest getting an aircon technician to have a look at it to see if there are any tell tale marks of leaks.

Either way I reckon an aircon technician is the first place to start. Regasses in the UK are about 60 - 80 euros.

 

[rumburak]

Thanks, I will have it regased. I bought the car 4 years ago and have never regased. I think the previous owner never regased it either (when I bought it it was 5 years old).
On some italian newsgroups I found other people indicating that it happened to them too when going at high speed in places with hot and very humid air. They indicate it some normal thing (the humidity doesn't make it do condense inside the aircon and go out through the normal ways if the humidity of the outside air is very high and quite hot, so it practically produces some condense in the air caming out from the air vents). They say it is only water vapor and should not worry too much since this happens some times (specially if you shut off conditioner on manual ones and start it up after a few minutes as I did).
However in order to be sure I have it checked by an aircon technician. Already checked and regass is about 50 euros here in Italy.

 

[Husbandofstinky]

Good luck and hope you get it sorted.