1990 Honda Accord smells musty windows fog

[markp]

I just bought a 1990 Honda Accord EX. On my way to work this morning the windows fogged up so bad I had to pull over and wipe them off. I also had a musty smell coming from the vent.

Is there something I should check or anything I can do?
Thanks!

[sickhonda]

Originally Posted by markp

I just bought a 1990 Honda Accord EX. On my way to work this morning the windows fogged up so bad I had to pull over and wipe them off. I also had a musty smell coming from the vent.

Is there something I should check or anything I can do?
Thanks!

Check if you can detect any water leakage behind the center console area, on the firewall and your carpet. This normally occurs when the heater core is leaking.

[maxhonda50]

stab in the dark,sounds like your a/c unit musky smell common problem and fogging occurs when the air vents are closed check your vent switches on the dash good luck

[Smilepak]

I seem to see that a lot on Honda recently. I have 3 accords at home, 1992, 2000 and 2003. All of which have similar problem.

When A/C is on, everything is nice and dandy, but turn of the A/C, man the place fog up and sometimg smell bad too...

I don't see that on Camry though..

[jetmech]

Hey,
Just bought a '90 accord. Last owner masked musty smell with spray.
After awhile noticed musty smell. Found rear tail lights leaking water into trunk area. Pull up trunk mat and spare tie after a nasty rainy day and check entire trunk area for standing H2O. If found look from inside trunk at the taillight focusing on the bottom part of the inner foam seal. Should spot water lying in this area of the seal which then migrates down into the trunk area jst stinkin' up the place. Good luck...

[jetmech]

Hey,
Just bought a '90 accord. Last owner masked musty smell with spray. After awhile noticed musty smell. Found rear tail lights leaking water into trunk area. Pull up trunk matt and spare tire after a nasty rainy day and check entire trunk area for standing H2O, or sit there with a garden hose and and blast the back half of the car for a good ten minutes. If water is found, look from inside trunk at the taillight focusing on the bottom part of the inner foam seal. Should spot water lying in this area of the seal which then migrates down into the trunk area just stinkin' up the place. Good luck...

[markp]

I've noticed after a rain or when I go through a car wash and then open the trunk I have water dripping out of the left tail light. Is there any way to seal this up?

[jetmech]

Yes, but it does take time. One main question I have is, where exactly is the water coming from? Is it coming from within the plastic lens assembly or is it coming from between the mating surfaces of the lens assembly and the body of the car?

[Maple50175]

Yes me and my friends accord does this also the trunks leak water im not sure if its from the taillights or from the trunk.. if from the lights i belive its from the light assembally to the car. Also ive been wanting to get in the trunk and have someone water down my car with a hose and see if i can see the water leak in.... I should try that when the good weather is here heh

[jetmech]

If water is coming from the tail lights like mine did you'll need to get access to the left and right taillight assembly to remove them and then reseal them. This is done by removing the trunk trim panel which starts at the left tail light and runs all the way across to the right tail light. Start removing the panel by first removing the one nut each at each taillight location. Then you will have to remove two plastic clip covers on the top of the panel as viewed from standing outside the trunk, and looking in and down at the top edge of the panel. From here you'll have to remove a couple of more clpis on the inside, front facing, part of the panel. Once all the clips are removed reach inside and grab the panel at the bottom and pull forward popping the panel free from the body surface. This all takes time but once you get the panel removed the taillight assemblies are now exposed from inside allowing you to remove them. As I said, I found mine leaking from the black foam gasket located between the light assembly and the tailight body opening. To make a new gasket I used a flexible rubber product I had left over fom when I installed a skylight in my roof. One might find this product at a home improvement store or auto body parts store. It is rubbery, flexible, and somewhat sticky. It comes on a roll, is about a quarter of an inch wide and an eighth inch thick. I pealed off enough of the product and applied it to the edge of the body opening making sure to go around the scew holes. Then all you do is reinstall the light assembly (minus the old foam gasket) tightening down each nut a little bit at a time untill it's drawn against the body and won't tighten any more. The whole process is a real pain but getting rid locker room smell is worth it unless you like smelling stinky old socks.

[markp]

On my '90 Accord, the water seems to come into the left light that is on the trunk. When I open the trunk, water comes out of the light and falls into the trunk. Looked like a real pain to take this off and since I live in SD, I'll probably have to wait til it's warm in the spring to mess with it.
Would I just need some kind of gasket around this light?

[wwest]

Originally Posted by foggingup2003

we have a 2003 nissan quest, when two adults and four children get in the car the interior foggs up and it is difficult to clear up. Van has been to dealer already, they found no problems, used ac with heat, read manual with their suggestion, still didn't help. this problems only happens in the cold weather. any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Anybody incounter this problem also?

Given that your vehicle is of Asian/Japanese origin the climate control system is most likely of NipponDenso, Denso USA, design. With the change-over to the new less efficient non-freon refrigerant several design changes were deemed necessary.

First, the A/C cooling evaporator, heat exchanger, was made a lot more dense and complex. The more chilled surface area for the air to flow over, the higher will be the efficiency of the heat transfer.

The second issue is more directly pertinent to your problem. The slower the air flows over the evaporator's cooling surfaces the more it will be cooled and the more it is cooled raises the likihood that it will be simultaneously DEHUMIDIFIED.

Another benefit of the lowering of the incoming airflow rate is better MPG, something I'm sure the automotive manufaturers haven't over-looked. Almost all modern day passenger vehicles are very well sealed against atmospheric outflow for these reasons.

The way NipponDenso has chosed to keep the evaporator airflow as low as possible is by restricting the cabin atmosphere OUTFLOW. The result of that is that during the cooler months it will be really easy for the passenger cabin to become extremely humid, so humid that the windows and windshield interior surfaces, cooled continously by exposure to COLD outside atmosphere, begin to fog over.

My suggestions...

If it is possible to completely disable the A/C during the winter months then do so. My 01 RX300 has C-best options which allowed the dealer to "unlink" the automatic operation of the A/C in both "normal" and defrost/defog/demist modes. ON a previous 92 LS400 I fooled the system into thinking the OAT was below 32F by adding a resistor in series with the OAT sensor. I have also, on occassion, simply disconnected the A/C compressor clutch electrical circuit. My 01 Porsche has a switch added within the glove box that does that.

If you park the vehicle inside it will help to leave a window or windows open so the cabin can more completely dry out. During A/C operation the ~10,000 square inches (92 LS) of evaporator surface area will become saturated, clogged, with mositure and while much of that will drain away via the provided drain a lot will remain and then evaporate into the A/C plenum and thus into the passenger cabin at the first start of the system blower.

My most common occurance of intermittent and spontaneous windshield fogging was about 5 miles into my morning trip to the office during the cooler months. That instance was cured, mostly, by leaving the windows slightly open during the night in the garage.

Another instance is that the A/C compressor will oftentimes shut down spontaneously, without any indication to you, if the OAT declines to near or below freezing. A few minutes after that happens the condensed moisture remaining on the evaporator will begin to evaporate into the airflow entering the passenger cabin.

Be VERY CAREFULL, this can be a very HAZARDOUS situation.

If you are traveling in a colder climate and begin to see wisps of condensation on the interior surface of the windshield DO NOT ACTIVATE the defrost/demist/defog function before you turn the system heat all the way to MAX!

Those wisps of condensation might be indicative of the A/C compressor having previously shut down due to low OAT and now if you activate the defrost/defog/demist function the COLD windshield will become suddenly opaque from condensation due to the moisture bomb building up with the A/C plenum.

The best procedure to use if you sense that the humidity is to high within the passenger cabin is to lower the rear windows slightly and quickly purge the humid atmosphere from the cabin.

While I remain a strong advocate of the use of A/C to dehumdify the incoming cabin airflow and thereby help to remove windshield condensation and prevent it's formation, I don't understand why, other than the slight discomfort one might feel, the defrost/defog/demist airflow isn't also HEATED.

Wwith Outside Air Temperatures, OAT's, below about 55F it is impossible to predict whether or not the the A/C can be efficient enough to be of any help. The A/C's dehumidifcation efficiency is a function of the relative humdity of the incoming airflow. The lower the temperature of the incoming airflow the lower is the probability of efficient dehumdification by the A/C until at about 35F it is practically non-existent.

[Hondaman56]

The answer is very simple. Assuming your windows are clean, during cold weather, make sure the A/C button is ON, and the Air Recirculation button is set for FRESH air. With those buttons set this way you adjust the heat with the hot/cold knob as desired. This solves that problem. ALL A/C systems have musty odors, some more than others. This is indicative of water sitting in the evap box. Make sure the drain tube that allows the condensation to escape is not plugged up. Having that water sitting in the evap box makes the situation worse.