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SUVs Ford Explorer Ford Explorer AC and Heater Problems
126 messages, Last post on Oct 04, 2008 at 7:58 PM
You are in the Ford Explorer Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
| I own a 2002 Explorer. I’ve noticed a clicking sound coming from the rear heater / AC control box that’s near the driver’s side rear fender. The clicking occurs even when the heater / AC is off. While trying to locate the problem I noticed that the black plastic box housing the rear controls is getting hot, most likely due to whatever is causing the clicking. I’ve read some other questions on this site that address the same problem, but I couldn’t find a solution other than stop using the rear controls. Does anyone know what causes this clicking sound and how to fix it? One person told me that it could be a stuck solenoid or other electrical problem; does anyone know if this is true? My biggest concern is that the box unit is getting hot because of the clicking or stuck part / solenoid. Thanks for any help you can provide. | |
Hi every body, My problem is that the heater is staying on even when the hot cold dial is on cold. It is that bad that if I wear thongs on my feet, my feet look like cooked lobster and sore to boot. It is getting on summer here in Australia and need a fix urgently. I have tried to take off the dash but am stuck with the wiring loom on the drivers side having only little flexabiltiy.
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Replying to: 7287glenn (Oct 04, 2008 1:23 am) The door can be replaced without removal of the dash. Assuming that your Explorer is RHD, the configuration of the replacement door has to be the mirror image of the LHD version. The problem is the same with all models of the Explorer, but the solution is different dependent on the drive configuration. Follow my user name to our private area for a pointer to a web site with more information and pictures. cgallen
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Replying to: harkess (Jan 28, 2008 8:42 am) |
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The plenum box in the Explorer was changed for the 03 model, so discussions on 02 and earlier models do not apply on 03 and later models. The first observation was the ability to press down on the top of the motor and stop the clicking sound. This is an observation for 02- models. What is happening is that the gears are out of alignment and are slipping against each other, causing the clicking sound. The actuator motor is trying to calibrate itself by driving to a stop point and recording a resistance value on an internal variable resistor. Since the gears are slipping, the motor never finds the end point that it is looking for and just clicks until the car is started 20 times which kicks off a new calibration cycle. Sometimes pressing on the right pressure point on the motor housing will cause the gears to temporarily catch, stalling the motor and allowing the computer to make it's resistance reading and move on. However, just stopping the clicking is only a temporary fix since the motor will get into a position where it slips again and start the routine over again. If this is allowed to continue, it will strip gears on the motor and it will have to be replaced. The root cause of the problem is that the blend door is out of alignment with the motor. The gears in the motor have to be planar to operate correctly. If the drive axle breaks, the motor "tilts", causing the gears to no longer be planar and they slip against each other. While it's possible for the motor to fail and reach the click stage on it's own, more commonly, the blend door axle is cracked or broken. This happens every day on thousands of Rangers, Explorers, Mountaineers, Mazda trucks, etc. It is a wear-out mechanism in the system and not a rare occurrence. Follow my user name back to our CarSpace and follow the link to a web site with more information and pictures. The 03+ Explorer is a different beast altogether. On the 02- the blend door is on a vertical axis and the actuator motor is found on top of the heater box. On the 03+ the door is on a horizontal axis that spans parallel to the dash across the center of the console. The actuator motor for the single control version is on the driver's side of the box and can be seen if you remove the skirt next to the transmission tunnel and crane your neck. It also clicks, but for a different reason. The lever described in a previous post is on the passenger side of the box and again, you have to remove the skirt on the passenger side and "double crane" your neck to see it. It is connected to the end of the axle which is driven by the actuator motor on the other side. This lever presses down on a vacuum switch which controls a valve under the hood which shuts off coolant flow through the heater core. The idea is that when the blend door is in the full down position(max AC), the lever pushes a button that shuts off heat to the heater core. This maximizes AC efficiency. Observation of the clicking sound being reflected in the vacuum switch lever is again just a symptom of a different root cause problem. As in the 02-, the gears in the actuator motor are getting out of plane and slipping against each other. However, the cause of the mis-alignment of the blend door to the axle is a design flaw in the system. This is very difficult to explain with out pictures and arrows, so you will need to go to our web site for a full technical explanation. The point is that the problems are different for the the two generations of Explorer and the fixes are different. Follow my user name to our CarSpace and pointer to our web site for more information than can be typed into this little box. cgallen |
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Replying to: heatertreater (Oct 04, 2008 10:32 am)
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Replying to: 7287glenn (Oct 04, 2008 7:47 pm) |
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