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Ford Explorer Air Conditioner and Heater Problems

522 messages,  Last post on Jun 17, 2013 at 2:03 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Explorer, Heating / Cooling, SUV

    

Messages Page 17 of 53

#152 of 522 2006 ford explorer/ no heat/ overheating by iamdugliest

Nov 09, 2008 (12:34 pm)

Hello, im hoping that someone can help, before I get ripped off by the German ford dealer. My wife's 2006 ford explorer does not blow out hot air while it sits at a idle only once we start driving(for a few days it smelled like something died in the vent). sometimes it doesn't blow any and the fan or engine starts winding up and the temp gauge shoots up and the overheat light comes on. we have to play with the air knob on and off and then the fan cuts off temp goes down to normal. this happens almost instantly, does anyone have a clue what this might be. its bad enough im stationed overseas and now i have to deal with a mechanic that barely speaks english. thank you

#153 of 522 Re: Heater Dimentia [hogfan4] by hogfan4

Nov 14, 2008 (8:54 pm)

Replying to: hogfan4 (Oct 23, 2008 6:38 am)
Well, its a few weeks later. Took me a while to get to it. The heating issue initially was a clogged heater. Had it flushed and heat is BACK baby. Now, the bad news. Rear blend door actuator still thump thump. Took it all apart. Pull the actuator out. Looked inside and the gears were stripped. Before monkeying with it, I made notice of the position of the gear. Bought a new one..$50 bucks. Installed it. And I'm getting COLD air???!! What?!! I made sure everything was turned to cold prior to turning on the car. What did I do wrong? How do I get the actuator to blow heat? Thanks... :

#154 of 522 Re: Heater Dimentia [hogfan4] by heatertreater

Nov 14, 2008 (11:05 pm)

Replying to: hogfan4 (Nov 14, 2008 8:54 pm)
If you are getting coolant circulating through the rear heater core, you have heat, just no air flow through the heater core. The blend door regulates the amount of air that is diverted through the core. It sounds like the blend door is not in a position to do this job.
 
The actuator motor is self calibrating and will seek the full open and full closed position and electronically record the information and regulate between the two extents in response to the temperature request. It sounds like the motor is not calibrated and is stuck in the wrong position. If you haven't already done it, you need to force the system to reset to correct the problem(learned this from Bill Gates). You can trace the fuses and pull/replace or just disconnect the battery, wait for all capacitive charges to dissipate, and reconnect. This will force a full system reset and the motor might come to life. If the computer was running with a stripped motor, it is "confused" and will have to relearn the new motor.
 
Information on how to check the operation of the motor independent of the automobile controls has been completed and will be posted this weekend on www.heatertreater.net. This will enable you to check the motor when it is disconnected.

#155 of 522 rear heater thump thump by rsavidge

Nov 15, 2008 (10:08 am)

I have a 2002 Exploere XLT that has a thumping coming from the drivers rear panel. If it is the blend door, How do I get to it?

#156 of 522 Re: rear heater thump thump [rsavidge] by heatertreater

Nov 15, 2008 (12:30 pm)

Replying to: rsavidge (Nov 15, 2008 10:08 am)
On the 02, the actuator motor is located on top of the plenum box and can be seen by fully opening the glove box and look in the upper left hand corner. The motor is crammed in and difficult to get to and remove(Ford never anticipated HVAC failures and there is no engineering provision for access and repair). You can remove the motor, but figure on needing a long screw driver and a couple of bandaids.
 
The clicking sound you are hearing is the gears slipping against each other. If you let it continue, it will eventually strip the gears(see problem above). The gears are plastic and will take some slippage without permanent damage, but will eventually strip. The slippage occurs because the gears are flexing and getting out of planar alignment. The computer control system drives the motor to a stall point and detects the end point by recording the voltage surge from the stalled motor and uses this to "know" the extents of movement and regulate the door position between the two stall points.
 
The most common cause of the gears getting out of alignment is a broken or cracked connection to the blend door. This allows the motor drive shaft to "tilt" and results in the gears getting out of planarity. You can remove the motor and inspect for any damage to the gears by gently prying the motor case apart. You will also need to inspect the blend door connection to the motor for cracks or obvious breakage. You can feel the top of the blend door axle or use a small mirror. Again, this is not SOP Ford diagnostics, so you will have to be a little creative.
 
Additional information and pictures of what to look for are available on heatertreater.net. The standard dealer fix is to remove the dash, steering column, and plenum box to access the motor and blend door. Figure 8-12 hrs labor at whatever the going rate is in your area plus parts and new refrigerant and anti-freeze. The HeaterTreater fix is done without removing the dash and is well within the range of most shade tree mechanics. You can do a $1k+ repair at 1/10 the cost of taking it to the dealer....and end up with better components that won't break again.

#157 of 522 Re: rear heater thump thump [heatertreater] by rsavidge

Nov 15, 2008 (12:53 pm)

Replying to: heatertreater (Nov 15, 2008 12:30 pm)
The noise I hear is from the rear of the vehicle and no where near the glove box. The thumping is coming from the drivers rear some where near the auxilary blower. I could not see any moving partd when I looked. Please advise.

#158 of 522 2003 explorer heater (front) not working. by goldezz

Nov 16, 2008 (7:44 am)

ok people, this is the link for good advise and good pics.
 
http://www.heatertreater.net/Ford%20Explorer%2002-08.html

#159 of 522 plastic piece by jkgilliam1

Nov 18, 2008 (1:54 pm)

I have the same piece in my hand and was thinking the same thing as you today at about 2:00 in the evening freezing in the cold. Knowing i have about an hour before picking up the kids I know now I am where I started from last night when I read about the lever and an easy fix, guess not . As i was about to go purchase this piece i decided to check this site 1st and here I go again at the beginning. I was just wondering if you found out your problem , or did you take it to the dealer. Me, i cannot afford it no way no how. Any advise

#160 of 522 Re: plastic piece [jkgilliam1] by apachebird

Nov 18, 2008 (2:08 pm)

Replying to: jkgilliam1 (Nov 18, 2008 1:54 pm)
no i havent been able to get it fixed as of yet, and its still freezing cold, i tried the fix heater treater suggested but that wasnt it so i go to the next step tonight if i have anyluck i will advise asap

#161 of 522 Re: plastic piece [apachebird] by heatertreater

Nov 19, 2008 (12:52 am)

Replying to: apachebird (Nov 18, 2008 2:08 pm)
I think the broken lever is a symptom of, not the cause, of loss of heat. The lever is connected to the blend door axle and it's position is set relative to the blend door. The lever actuates a vacuum switch when the door is rotated to the full max AC position. The switch applies vacuum to a heater hose valve that is activated to shut off coolant flow when the button is pushed by the lever. The idea is to increase AC efficiency by shutting off hot water flowing through the heater core and remove any radiant heat from the plenum box.
 
The lever that pushes the button is on the passenger side buried deep under the dash panel. Even my wild-child youngest son couldn't kick it and break the lever. The question is why the lever broke in the first place. It would be possible if you really tried to physically break it, but it would take a contortionist in a frenzy.
 
Two things to check:
 
1. The lever itself has no effect on the heater, only the opposite concern of making the AC more efficient. If the problem is related somehow to the lever, it would have to be that the switch is also damaged and stuck open and shutting down coolant flow. You can locate the vacuum actuated valve under the hood and see if the heater hoses are hot on both sides of the valve. This would indicate that the valve is open(fail safe mode) and heat is reaching the heater core. This doesn't explain how the lever broke, only tracing symptoms that could be related to the lever.
 
2. The blend door can break off from the axle, allowing the axle to spin past the point that it would normally stop at. If the axle is turning past the normal stop point for max AC, it would also torque the lever harder against the vacuum switch and has enough force to break the lever. If this is the case, the door could be broken off an lying dormant in the bottom of the box, blocking any air flow through the heater core. This would explain the broken lever and lack of heat. If the heater hoses are delivering hot water through the firewall into the heater core, this would be a likely explanation.
 
What we need to know is whether heat is getting to the core and if it is hot, why the blend door is not allowing air flow through the core. The actuator motor is located under the driver's side dash and is tricky, but possible to get to. You need to locate the motor, remove it and examine the motor side of the blend door axle. You should be able to turn the door with a flat angle bracket piece of metal and manually switch between AC and Heat by positioning the blend door differently. If the door is OK, the motor has to be suspected. Check the HeaterTreater web site for information on how to check the motor with a 9V snap battery. If the door is broken, you have a choice of paying the dealer an arm and a leg to repair it, or do it yourself with the HeaterTreater fix. It's not easy since Ford did not anticipate HVAC failures and access to the components was not planned as a standard repair operation. That's why the whole dash has to be removed for the dealer approved repair. The HeaterTreater takes a little "creative persuasion" and a couple of bandaids, but it can be done, and once done you have metal components that will never break again. heatertreater.net

Messages Page 17 of 53

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