VermontGT Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 One of our warehouses had several people call in on the same day, so I was tasked to drive ~45 minutes down the interstate to help out on Friday. As I was setting the cruise control and getting ready to zone out for 35 miles, I noticed smoke coming out of my center console vents No, I was not smoking. And no, I didn't notice if it was only the center vents or all four of them. At first I thought I had imagined it, until it happened again maybe 10 miles later. Both times it only lasted for 2-3 seconds before dissipating. Air conditioning was on. I pulled over to make sure everything under the hood looked kosher once I convinced myself that I wasn't imagining things. Shut off the AC, started driving again. No smoke. Got curious and brave, turned on the AC. Immediately smoke comes out. Shut off AC. Thoughts? I used the AC all weekend with no repeat performance. I am stumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katalyst Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 my guess is that it's just vapor from humidity in the system, no funny smells or anything right? i would say it's probably nothing to worry about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 its frost. it happened to me that the evaporator completely froze shut and bearly any air came out of the vents. i then turned off the a/c for about a minuit untill air started flowing again. and then ac back on there is a sensor in the air box that is suposed to prevent this it turns off the compressor when air temps below 34deg f to prevent freezing . it may be jsut covered in lint or some thing so it didn't read temps correctly. Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VermontGT Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 katalyst - No noticeable odor, but I pulled over anyway since I recently posted about not burning any oil and figured this was probably some sort of karma. frank - Saw your response in the other (recent) "ac/na" thread and was wondering about this. Do outside temperatures have any effect on the icing syndrome? Friday wasn't particularly warm...80 degrees maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fullmonte77 Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 My Impreza does this all the time.I have had other cars do it also.It's normal but not all cars do it.It's just vapor like katalyst said.It comes from the cold air hitting the warmer air in the passenger compartment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 has to do with high humidity, also i was able to reproduce it while i was driving to michigan a month ago in 90's deg heat. if i drove ( 2.5i wagon 2005 ) with fan on setting 1 with recirculate for 5 -10 min and then switched to out side air and keep fan at setting 1 and wait 2 -3 min it would do it over and over. its the evaporator ( cooler core ) is getting below freezing temperatures why .. dunno maybe as i said the temp sensor is bad or dirty . or maybe influenced by the heater core ? or some under dash heat source. my 2.5gt i never seen it do it. Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHiway Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 I'll jump in on the "harmless" water vapor side. It's happened once or twice in the Legacy and went away about as quickly as it showed up. In a different car, the evaporator drain line was partically clogged which led to the same problem but, just about everytime I used the AC. Blowing out the line cured this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users paintpollz Posted August 22, 2011 Mega Users Share Posted August 22, 2011 happens to me once every couple of months "Remember Danny - Two wrongs don't make a right but three rights make a left." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ster Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 aprently the new refrigerant is mostly propane. Now that's thinking out of the boxer! fyi all 05 + legacy's have built in code reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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