Passive Air Flow

[afvincent]

I've had my Fusion Energi for two weeks now. During those two weeks I've confirmed what everyone had told me: climate control eats battery power, and fast. This is fine, actually. With judicious use of Go Times and a willingness to have cold hands I'm able to commute my 20 miles to work without turning on the heat and do it entirely in EV mode.

 

But there is one problem: my windshield fogs.

 

When climate control is off there is absolutely no airflow through the cabin, which means that my breath slowly but surely fogs the windshield. I can turn on the front defogger and it goes away without a problem, but having the fan blowing burns battery and, quite frankly, the lowest fan setting is much too high for what I'm trying to accomplish.

 

Does anyone know if there is a way to tell the climate control to let air passively flow through the vents? That would be more than enough to solve my fogging problem and would save me the battery burn. Or has my hope of maximizing MPGs gone too far?

[tseibel76]

I have the exact same issue. I don't know if it will work for you, but I put the rear passenger side window down about an inch and then vent the moonroof. Clears it right up. If you don't have the moonroof, the driver's window works too. It does get cold in the cabin.

 

I have not figured out a way to have air move through the vents without turning on the climate.

[shaggy314]

tseibel76 beat me to it. That's the option I use for the two weeks of fall and spring that Texas gets.

[SD Diver]

Hmm...  I make sure that recirc is off, and using the MFT climate screen select the defrost icon (the white box goes away) and select the fan speed (again, the white box that indicates auto goes away).  Is this what you are trying?  the fan on low uses hardly any power (nothing shows up in the climate graph)

[afvincent]

Thanks, everyone. I'd vented the moonroof, but that hadn't quite done it; I'll have to try cracking a window as well. SD Driver, I've found that using "defrost" turns either my heater or my AC pump on (depending on the weather), which is what uses the power. You're right that the fan doesn't seem to use much at all.

 

I "discovered" this morning that selecting the "face" or "floor" vents, instead of the "defrost" vent, with the temperature at or around the outside temperature will help clear things up without using a lot of power. The fan is still a bit more than I need, but it is an okay compromise. That'll just be rough when the outside temperature dips down into the 30s again. Woo!

 

If anyone else figures out passive air flow, please let us know. Thanks!

[frbill]

I am running into the same problem defogging my windshield. I put on the Defrost and lowered the fan to 1 and I lost 7 miles of EV range. I will try the face and floor vent the next time I need to. Opening the windows wouldn't work because it was raining heavy last night. I hope one of the above mentioned strategies work because I would like to go all EV unless I have to go more than 30 Miles from my home. Because of the 7+ mile reduction last night I had to use (gasp) the hybrid mode for the first time in a week. ;)

 

Thanks for the hints, tips and strategies all.

 

Peace,

 

Father Bill

[Dag]

same issue here - I turn the climate on just to defog the window, then back off...

[tseibel76]

I experimented a little bit yesterday afternoon on the way home. It was in the low 40s. Afvincent, just as you found, face and floor, with low fan speed and temp, draw no "climate" power, just a little "other". However, as soon as I put defrost on, my range drops and the climate power graph goes way up. I had the system on manual and made sure the ac was off.

 

I'm guessing the system is programmed to run ac/heat, no matter what, in defrost mode. I'll try just using face/floor to see if that will keep the windshield clear. It's usually only an issue in the morning because the sun typically does its work in the afternoon.

[Dag]

For what it's worth - last night I cleaned my windshield and rear window on the inside with windex. This morning on my way in, with a preconditioned cabin and the climate control off my window didn't fog up. There were a couple of spots in the corneres where I didn't clean it good enough but that was it. The outside temp was 45 this morning. So perhaps, a clean window doesn't fog up. I dunno. Just passing along an observation.

Edited November 4, 2013 at 01:39 PM by Dag

[Russael]

Since Thursday, I've had an extended commute in to downtown Detroit at the Ren Cen/Cobo for a convention that I like to attend annually.  The building is around 20 - 24 miles away (depending on the route) and because I've become completely obsessive about not running the ICE, I managed to make my way there and back on batteries only.  And like everybody else who's having a fogging windows problem, add me to the list.

 

The parking garage I used has about 16 charging stations, all free, so I jacked in each day I arrived.  Except on Friday when all the GM employees were there.  Every one of them had a Volt sitting in the spot. :)  I just waited until 2pm to go back out there and there were some spaces open at that point, so I moved my car and plugged in.

 

Anyway, I would precondition my car when I'd leave the house and when I'd leave the parking garage.  Early morning temps are mid 30's to low 40's and were the same temps when I'd depart at night.  I'd get the car warmed up, unplug, and head out with no climate on.  Without fail, within maybe 10 - 15 minutes in to my commute, all of my windows would start fogging up.  I got around it by cracking a window about 1/2".  Made it really cold in the car, but it balanced the humidity and my windows would clear up after about 5 minutes.  Close the window and it'd start fogging up again a lot sooner.

 

I do drive with the heat on when I'm going to and from work (that's only 5.3 miles one way), so there's no risk of running out of battery.

[murphy]

Be careful when cleaning the windshield with a product like Windex. 

If it gets on the dash it is bad for the surface. 

Cover the dash with thick cloth towels to protect it.

[Dag]

Be careful when cleaning the windshield with a product like Windex. 

If it gets on the dash it is bad for the surface. 

Cover the dash with thick cloth towels to protect it.

Is there a safer alternative?

[SteveEnergi]

The manual lists these products, of course they are all Motorcraft.  I imagine there are better products on the market.

 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

For best results, use the following products or products of equivalent quality:

Motorcraft Bug and Tar Remover (ZC-42)

Motorcraft Custom Bright Metal Cleaner (ZC-15)

Motorcraft Detail Wash (ZC-3-A)

Motorcraft Dusting Cloth (ZC-24)

Motorcraft Engine Shampoo and Degreaser (U.S. only) (ZC-20)

Motorcraft Engine Shampoo (Canada only) (CXC-66-A)

Motorcraft Multi-Purpose Cleaner (Canada only) (CXC-101)

Motorcraft Premium Glass Cleaner (Canada only) (CXC-100)

Motorcraft Premium Quality Windshield Washer Fluid (Canada only) [CXC-37-(A, B, D or F)]

Motorcraft Premium Windshield Wash Concentrate with Bitterant (U.S. only) (ZC-32-B1)

Motorcraft Professional Strength Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner (ZC-54)

Motorcraft Spot and Stain Remover (U.S. only) (ZC-14)

Motorcraft Ultra-Clear Spray Glass Cleaner (ZC-23)

Motorcraft Wheel and Tire Cleaner (ZC-37-A)