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[Andy H]

Regardless of recirc etc, after two miles the engine, and therefore heater, should be capable of chucking out enough heat to keep the screen clear...

It doesn't though

I have had it happen to me as I left a motorway services - the engine was still hot from before we stopped & the heater belted out heat when I turned the temperature setting up.

[terry paget]

I think Marks DTM nailed it in his "reply no11' on the old site

Field Remedy: 1417
Subject: Electronic air conditioning ECC - Window fogging after engine start
Models: Engines:
Option:
Omega-B 2000...2002 All ECC
Complaint: The windscreen will suddenly start to become fogged at inner side caused due to increasing humidity inside the car.
Cause: At outside temperatures of 5 ° C and less with a battery which is not fully charged, recirculation flap is switching to recirculation mode if the supply voltage drops below 9 V for short time.
Production: As of VIN W0L0VBF6921013332 a corrective action has been introduced in production.

Remedy:
In case of customer complaints see the following instruction. This failure can be identified when the problem disappears after switching-on and off the air recirculation function. Procedure: First switch on Auto mode, switch-on the air recirculation by pressing the button A once (3 round arrows will be indicated, without "A" in the middle). Now the ECC will recognize the correct flap position. Wait 1-2 s and then switch-off the air recirculation by pressing the button A again.

FunctionalGroup: D - Heating/Ventilation/Air conditioning
Complaint Group: 13 - No/Poor Function
Trouble Code: Non

For some reason the recirculation flap will sometimes go to recirc (without the button lighting up). This usually happens to me if I stop at a Motorway services in the middle of a long journey. If it is going to do it then it will fog up just as I am about to filter into the traffic off the slip road 

If I realise soon enough I switch recirc ON for a few moments and then OFF again. This resets the recirc flap to the off position.

Thanks Andy. Mine is certainly a 2000 car, VIN no. WOLOVBM35Y1166231. Battery is in good condition, I have no reason to imagine voltage should have fallen below 9v without my noticing other symptons. Fascinating how you and Sir Tigger both suggest involvement of the recirculation flap, something I have never used, on this car or any other, though four of my Omegas are facelifts and one (an ex-plod 3.2) I have owned for almost 10 years.
Clearly more tests needed.

[05omegav6]

Regardless of recirc etc, after two miles the engine, and therefore heater, should be capable of chucking out enough heat to keep the screen clear...

It doesn't though

I have had it happen to me as I left a motorway services - the engine was still hot from before we stopped & the heater belted out heat when I turned the temperature setting up.

Sounds like quite a specific set of circumstances then just an unfortunate blend of temperature and humidity both in and out of the car... Trial and error to sort... Whack the heater up, open the rear windows a crack and close the centre vents.

There's a paragraph about this regarding the climate control on the Merc W140... If I can find the handbook for it I will post it up.

[05omegav6]

Also Please read the manual, especially pages 130 and 133.

[henryd]

My Touareg is a sod for steaming up its windows(aircon currently fubar),I bought a bottle of Rain X antimist which is applied with a cloth to all interior windows then buffed off,drove from Folkstone to Cornwall today in attrocious weather and it didn't steam up at all

[Andy H]

I think Marks DTM nailed it in his "reply no11' on the old site

Field Remedy: 1417
Subject: Electronic air conditioning ECC - Window fogging after engine start
Models: Engines:
Option:
Omega-B 2000...2002 All ECC
Complaint: The windscreen will suddenly start to become fogged at inner side caused due to increasing humidity inside the car.
Cause: At outside temperatures of 5 ° C and less with a battery which is not fully charged, recirculation flap is switching to recirculation mode if the supply voltage drops below 9 V for short time.
Production: As of VIN W0L0VBF6921013332 a corrective action has been introduced in production.

Remedy:
In case of customer complaints see the following instruction. This failure can be identified when the problem disappears after switching-on and off the air recirculation function. Procedure: First switch on Auto mode, switch-on the air recirculation by pressing the button A once (3 round arrows will be indicated, without "A" in the middle). Now the ECC will recognize the correct flap position. Wait 1-2 s and then switch-off the air recirculation by pressing the button A again.

FunctionalGroup: D - Heating/Ventilation/Air conditioning
Complaint Group: 13 - No/Poor Function
Trouble Code: Non

For some reason the recirculation flap will sometimes go to recirc (without the button lighting up). This usually happens to me if I stop at a Motorway services in the middle of a long journey. If it is going to do it then it will fog up just as I am about to filter into the traffic off the slip road 

If I realise soon enough I switch recirc ON for a few moments and then OFF again. This resets the recirc flap to the off position.

Thanks Andy. Mine is certainly a 2000 car, VIN no. WOLOVBM35Y1166231. Battery is in good condition, I have no reason to imagine voltage should have fallen below 9v without my noticing other symptons. Fascinating how you and Sir Tigger both suggest involvement of the recirculation flap,  , on this car or any other, though four of my Omegas are facelifts and one (an ex-plod 3.2) I have owned for almost 10 years.
Clearly more tests needed.

I occasionally use mine as I pass a sewage works on my route to work

The fact that the recirc flap can operate without an indication on the heater controls does make it unnecessarily difficult to pin down the problem.

FWIW when I have had the problem the battery would have been fully charged because we had been driving for 2 hours before stopping so I think the reference to 9v is a red herring

[terry paget]

Also Please read the manual, especially pages 130 and 133.

Thanks Al. I presume you are referring to Haynes, section on defroster air valve servo motor. On a Senator I suffered a failed heater servo motor, that was tricky to correct. As you say, more experimentation called for first. Yesterday affet 12 miles it worked perfectly until my airport stop.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Also Please read the manual, especially pages 130 and 133.

Thanks Al. I presume you are referring to Haynes, section on defroster air valve servo motor. On a Senator I suffered a failed heater servo motor, that was tricky to correct. As you say, more experimentation called for first. Yesterday affet 12 miles it worked perfectly until my airport stop.

No. He's referring to the Vauxhall manual. 

[Broomies Mate]

Given the weather, you've probably got a fair amount of damp in when you've got in with wet coats.

Ensure exhaust ports in boot clear.

^^ This.  It took me over 2 years of Omega ownership to realise that all my lovely polishing cloths stuffed in that neat little cubby hole in the boot were causing the car to mist like a barsteward.

[TheBoy]

Is the recirc fixed with a software update, or is it a different ECU.  I know there was a change of ECU during the life of FL's.

[terry paget]

Given the weather, you've probably got a fair amount of damp in when you've got in with wet coats.

Ensure exhaust ports in boot clear.

^^ This.  It took me over 2 years of Omega ownership to realise that all my lovely polishing cloths stuffed in that neat little cubby hole in the boot were causing the car to mist like a barsteward.

I do not understand the intended air circulation in my Omega estate. The air intake is the grille at the base of the screen, hopefully a high pressure region. The air then passes through the heater into the cabin. Fine so far. But to maintain a steady flow through the cabin while the car is in motion, it has to exit somewhere else, presumably at the rear in a region of reduced pressure. This appears to be in the boot cubby holes on saloons and at the back of the boot behind the jack on the estates. But these spaces are below floor level and lack access to the boot. How does the air flow from the cabin to these exit points?

[Andy H]

Given the weather, you've probably got a fair amount of damp in when you've got in with wet coats.

Ensure exhaust ports in boot clear.

^^ This.  It took me over 2 years of Omega ownership to realise that all my lovely polishing cloths stuffed in that neat little cubby hole in the boot were causing the car to mist like a barsteward.

I do not understand the intended air circulation in my Omega estate. The air intake is the grille at the base of the screen, hopefully a high pressure region. The air then passes through the heater into the cabin. Fine so far. But to maintain a steady flow through the cabin while the car is in motion, it has to exit somewhere else, presumably at the rear in a region of reduced pressure. This appears to be in the boot cubby holes on saloons and at the back of the boot behind the jack on the estates. But these spaces are below floor level and lack access to the boot. How does the air flow from the cabin to these exit points?

I think there is a long slot in the parcel shelf that lets the air pass from the cabin into the boot - it is a long time since I last had a close look though so my memory is a little hazy.

[05omegav6]

You'll note the vents in the light covers on the estate... iirc the saloon boot sill panel has slots moulded into it... The rear structure of both is a common airspace from one C pillar right rouund to the other

[TheBoy]

The flow to the exhaust vents ins't great on the Omega, hence the tendency to mist up. Thus, they need to be kept very clear, as obstructions can reduce it to the point of not working at all.