General Curiosity question - vent type thing on dash?

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General Curiosity question - vent type thing on dash?

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So what’s this lil fella for then?
IMG_0357.jpeg
 
Yep… cabin temperature sensor for cars with climate control.

Auto climate control? I've manual air con so no sensor presumably?

BTW, there's another one on the roof above the windscreen, I just thought that was a small speaker, so is that another sensor?

Fiat Panda Hatchback 0.9 TwinAir [85] Wild 4x4 [Touchscreen] 5dr

 
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@AndyRKett Correct: The one by the interior light is (when fitted) the mic for the phone/Bluetooth (and used by the 'talk' button on the steering wheel for voice commands). (if you have the twin spotlight interior light, the mic is built into the light unit itself)

@Jamie KC On cars with auto climate control a tiny fan sucks air in through that little vent on the dash and over a thermistor (temperature sensor) to monitor the cabin temperature. Over time, that becomes less effective as fluff fills the vent! On my Multipla (many moons ago) I cleaned out out and it made a big difference to how well it regulated temperature. The Climate system also has a sunshine sensor on top of the dash (and turns up the cooling if the sun's streaming in), and may have a humidity sensor too (on my Volvo and now Skoda this is on the back of the interior mirror) which it uses to sense if the windscreen is likely to steam up. And yes, if manual aircon, that grille has nothing behind it.
 
So what’s this lil fella for then?
View attachment 427939
I note the fan switch is set to off. In that setting, practically no air comes into the car at all. Modern cars are designed to need the fan on all the time - the 'ram effect' that used to force air into cars when moving is non exist in most more modern designs. But you might already know that. On my Panda, teh first speed is so gentle even that has little effect and it's nearly always 'on' on speed 2 to stop it getting stuffy. (The air con will only work if the fan is not on 0)
 
I note the fan switch is set to off. In that setting, practically no air comes into the car at all. Modern cars are designed to need the fan on all the time - the 'ram effect' that used to force air into cars when moving is non exist in most more modern designs. But you might already know that. On my Panda, teh first speed is so gentle even that has little effect and it's nearly always 'on' on speed 2 to stop it getting stuffy. (The air con will only work if the fan is not on 0)
On some cars when the fan is turned off it actually closes a flap over the point where air enters the cabin completely sealing the car against any air coming in. Though I suspect this isn’t the case on a panda many bigger cars do. So for that reason it’s worth keeping the fan on, even a low setting to prevent damp and to keep air flowing in the car
 
On some cars when the fan is turned off it actually closes a flap over the point where air enters the cabin completely sealing the car against any air coming in. Though I suspect this isn’t the case on a panda many bigger cars do. So for that reason it’s worth keeping the fan on, even a low setting to prevent damp and to keep air flowing in the car
Sounds about spot on. In my Galaxy about 5 mins or so after the engine is switched off you can hear various flaps in the dashboard closing up. The Panda had a load of condensation on the inside of the screen this morn in the sun.
 
Sounds about spot on. In my Galaxy about 5 mins or so after the engine is switched off you can hear various flaps in the dashboard closing up. The Panda had a load of condensation on the inside of the screen this morn in the sun.
The Panda doesn’t close anything up…
But, if there’s loads of condensation, search for the posts about blocked scuttle drains: I bet they’re clogged and that’ll be the cause of the condensation
 
Sounds about spot on. In my Galaxy about 5 mins or so after the engine is switched off you can hear various flaps in the dashboard closing up. The Panda had a load of condensation on the inside of the screen this morn in the sun.

Mine had moisure on the inside too..

Climatics having an effect.. ;)


I try to run the aircon ( once the motor is warm)... as its far from powerful

The 500's seems more effective

Of course there is less volume of air in a 500 cabin so cools quite well
(noticable contrast 500 /panda/ punto)
 
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