'98 406 Coupe Moisture Issues

Hey all,

I've had a trawl through the archives and couldn't find the answer to my
query, so here goes:

I recently noticed that that the air in my boot was very moist. I looked
under my spare wheel and there was a two-inch deep pool of water. I emptied
it out and have been keeping an eye on it since, and can see that beads of
moisture are gathering around the well where the wheel is kept.

There doesn't seem to be an obvious leak, and like I say, there are beads of
water which suggests it's just moisture in the air that's condensing on the
metal of the well and gathering at the base (in much the same way an aircon
works I suppose).

Also (and I have seen reference to this elsewhere in the newsgroup), often
when I've been driving the car from cold for a few minutes, the windscreen
gets very very misty. By throwing the heater on full power helps, but it
struggles.

I suppose that rules out a damaged heater matrix, as it's clearing the
screeen, as opposed to making it worse, and it's looking like the two issues
are connected. What might also be contributing to the problem is the
knocking noise that I hear when I try to switch between interior air
circulation or exterior. I've read about it elsewhere on the net, and it
suggests that the switch is having difficulty switching between the two.

Could all this moisture really just be down to poor circulation in the
cabin?

Thanks in advance,
Jett

 

Is the boot carpeting all dry?
I had this problem when I bought my 406 last year, I took the spare and the
tools out and cleaned them all (I have the cleanest spare wheel in the uk!),
dried it all out but the carpet was dry, I put it all back in and kept an
eye on it for a few weeks, but it didn't happen again, so I put it down to
them shampooing the boot carpet, it hasn't happened since.
Check the seals around where the boot lid contacts when closed, make sure it
all contacts properly; it could be that rain may be getting in and down into
the spare wheel well.
As for the heater making noises, I haven't a clue, as I haven't had this
bother.
hope this helps, regards, Mark

 

Also check that water isn't coming past the rear light seals, a common
problem. Reseal if nec. The noise is the recirc motor, and the only
cure is a new one. Not a difficult job, just a bit fiddly.