Oh no! Windscreen demister (and air con) broken in stormy France!

[IanE]

Happily wandering up to Sancerre (where we are now safely camped for the night), all the climate control lights went out, at the same time as the air con stopped working. Oh dear, we thought, we're going to be a bit uncomfortable on our drive to Dunkirk, to get the ferry we have booked on Monday. Then as we're driving along, the storm hit us with torrential rain and we discovered that (not surprising I guess) the fan for the windscreen demister wasn't working, so we're driving with a misted up windscreen. We have breakdown/recovery insurance through the camping and caravanning club so a local garage truck is arriving at 9am tomorrow. Not really what you want on your hols!

 

[calikev]

Let's hope its something simple like a fuse

 

[IanE]

Cheers Kev - fingers firmly crossed!

 

[Hotel California]

Did you check the fuses...?

 

[IanE]

The recovery chap checked the fuses - no faults there. He assured us that the continuously running fan was the ac fan and no damage would be caused by our continuing our journey. He was firmly of the view that the problem was within the van's "computer" (ecu?) and that there was nothing he or his garage could do.

We have decided to carry on northwards ferry bound on Monday. If it rains and fogs up the windscreen, we'll stop till the rain stops. We aren't traveling on motorways.

 

[WelshGas]

If you drive with a window partially open you are much more likely to avoid a misting windscreen when it rains.
Basically the rain cools the windscreen and the higher humidity in the vehicle condenses out on the colder windscreen. With a window open then the ventilation keeps the humidity level within equivalent to outside, rather than higher. Less likelihood of misting.

 

[IanE]

Thanks for that WelshGas - we'll certainly be doing that - and hoping we don't experience anymore of the torrential rain we drove through yesterday. Even slightly open windows in those conditions is a horrid thought! Weird to contrast with the 41.5 degree temperatures, along with intense sunshine, that we had in Puy-en-Velay a couple of days before! Not like Blighty!

 

[Zebedee]

If you are in Sancerre make sure you climb to the top of the tower. Lovely view and reward yourself with a nice glass after! Don't forget to try the red and rose versions of Sancerre for a change. Have you got a de mister pad to hand. They usually have a car section in Intermarche or LeClerk.

 

[IanE]

Thanks all for your advice. We got home ok and the van's booked in at Hadwins, our local VW van garage. All sorts subsequently went wrong with the electrics! Intermittent non functioning of remote central locking, one touch drivers side window not working, Bluetooth not working, right hand side steering wheel controls not working! I fear an expensive bill!

Then, the day before were due to get on the ferry, the wind out awning wouldn't wind back in! After a struggle I persuaded it back, but you can imagine I wasn't happy!

 

[IanE]

Zebedee, thanks but we didn't get up the tower - we weren't really feeling like exploring, though we did have an excellent coffee and croissant in the square!