Anyone know what the likely problem is when you get smoke coming out of the air con?

There's no smoke in the engine bay and it doesn't smell of much - my guess is that it's air con fluid evaporating somewhen in the system. Only does it when cooling, not when heating.

For info it's a 2002 Verada GTV, although I wouldn't expect that's too relevant for this kind of problem.

Sorry but i wouldnt be hangin round long enough to find out if smoke was comin out of the AC Vent.. I would of just got the **** out of there..:)

Are you sure its smoke?

Its not unusual for excess condensation to form in the air as it comes out, its basically "fog".

Happens a lot at this time of year with the weather changing.:D

define smoke please!

whatever it is, it shouldnt be happening. not into the cabin

It'll be fog. The cool dry air from the air con is hitting warmer moist air in the cabin causing the moisture in the air to rapidly condense thus creating fog, which is essentially a cloud but closer to the ground lol

Edit: as an afterthought, the refrigerant used in cars is usualy R134A (Tetrafluoroethane) which is colourless and odorless so it would be unlikely that you would notice it coming out the vents. It's also non-toxic.

i've never seen a cloud or condensation inside the cabin. except from out of my mouth

i've never seen a cloud or condensation inside the cabin. except from out of my mouth

It is more common in high humidity climates, it used to happen to me all the time when I lived in Port Douglas.

I've never seen it in my car before, but I know the camry does sometimes, its fog, not smoke lol If it were smoke I would have evacuated the car before I knew what was causing it.

Why have you got the air con on at this time of year anyway! If anything I'd have the heater on!

your vents are doing teh burnouts..

your vents are doing teh burnouts..

Fully Sik uleh, aircon's running 30lbs of boost! :bowrofl:

Fully Sik uleh, aircon's running 30lbs of boost! :bowrofl:
Man thats a standard GTVi extra :shifty:

Yeah, wouldn't mind some of that...

To answer a few of the comments:

I live in QLD about 300k north of Brisbane so it's plenty warm enough in the day to need air con!

I did say "smoke" because I wasn't concerned that it was the burning kind!

I guess it is a bit more like a fog coming out of the vents. Only happens when cooling, not heating or maintaining a constant temp. It does seem to be getting worse though - initially I just caught a glimpse of it, now there's quite a lot of it. I'd guess that the comments about the condensation could be right, but it's odd that it's only been happening over the last couple of weeks. As was said, must be the change in the weather...

Hopefully, nothing to worry about then!

It happened to a mate of mine ill ask him what he did to get ride of it.

i told it was nos lol

mike

it happens in my dads calais. I'll turn the air-con on at 18 degrees (lowest) and turn the fan rught up and you'll see patches move along the windscreen (when it's set to windscreen mode). Nothig to worry about, I'm not dead yet. lol. My bet is it's fog as it happens in the pathfinder aswell. I'll have a look in the owners manual tonight to see if there's any mention of it in there.

I live in QLD about 300k north of Brisbane so it's plenty warm enough in the day to need air con!

!

No ****................. I'm in Bundy :D

had the same problem with my GT starlet turbo.. but that was before i removed the AC... i came to the conclusion it was just the cold cold air hitting the hot moist air.. it only did it on hot humid days.. it goes away if you slightly put the heater on.. doesn't do it much if anything once the car is cooled down though.. well it didn't in mine..

Mine actually had smoke coming out, smelt like burning leaf, and the aircon didn't work for a day. Works good now though, a bit low on gas as it cuts out after 2-3 hours use.

Why have you got the air con on at this time of year anyway! If anything I'd have the heater on![/QUOTE]



:nuts: ....because running the airconditioner in conjunction with the heater produces warm dry air and doesnt fog up the windows...l use my air con all year round....and adjust the temp accordingly...:cool:

as everyone else said, its normal operation.

you pretty much made clouds in your car - woot goo you - being all good to the environment and the like! lol

yeah its just the cold dry air hitting the warmer and moist air that is in the cabin.

its cool to watch when its coming out of the vents too.

oh for the record as well - i live 1100kmm north of brisbane, and there are others that live further north still.
i know here in mackay im rarely using the aircon atm, but it rarely used to cloud up my interior, unless it had just finished raining and the sun had come back out all that warming moisture everywhere + aircon = clouds :D lol super fun.

i think your owners manual even says about the dry air and warm moist air mixing creating clouds..

or check under your carpet for green water.... if there is green crusty stuff on your floor it will be your heater core..

Either way doesn't sound good, get it checked out bro...

Yeah change in weather recently had my vents doing the whole fog machine thing ... its cool ... makes me think damn my aircond is good! lol

Totally normal don't stress

It is more likely fog as others have stated, have never seen it happen in my magna but used to happen in my work van scared me the first time it did it but then realised it was something to do with the change in the air temps.:D