Ford Windstar Climate Control Problems
Last summer during a trip 1 and 1/2 hours away to take my daughter to her specialist my air conditioner quit working after finally getting in to the Ford dealer I had to have the air conditioner compressor(?) replaced. I think that is what it's called. Now this summer my rear air has quit working. Don't have the money to have hooked up to the machine? Any suggestions or ideas what may be wrong? My husband thinks it may be the thermostat control. Can we possibly repair ourselves without having to spend a ton? Thanks!!
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mikandjen, "Ford Windstar problems" #2477, 11 Jul 2006 4:47 pm
Thanks
chance4
Thank You
It's amazing how they can find the smallest of places to put things.
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Thanks for the info.
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Jude
My next issue is that my radio stopped working...I change all the fuses(I lost the owners manual so 2 be safe I changed them all) well other things I didnt know weren't working started working but the radio never came back on so, I got another ford radio and it doesnt work either..got any suggestions....I puzzled :confuse:
I had proper engine temp, coolant levels, and heat from the rear blower, but only cold from the front. By moving front climate control from 'warm' to 'cold' I could feel absolutely no difference in air temp. This indicated that the problem was with the 'blend door' which separates hot air from cold air.
Since time was short, I wound up having to take it in to the dealership which didn't turn out too bad. The mechanic said that he sees this problem frequently and there are (2) possible problems. First the 'actuator' could be bad. This is the part that control the blend door. If this is the problem, the part is about $60 and is located directly behind the radio. A complete description of how to reach this can be found by searching on Wikianswersdotcom for "How do you find and replace an actuator for a 1999-2003 Ford Windstar LX climate control switch"
The second possibility is that the actual blend door is broken so that the actuator is no longer moving it at all. (Apparently the default position for the door is 'cool', so if it breaks, cool is all you will get even if you haven't moved the control lever.) If the door is broken you are looking at a $500 part (because the have to replace the entire unit, not just the door) plus it takes a professional mechanic about 8 hours so the labor is going to be astronomical.
In my case, the door is broken. However, the mechanic did not replace the door which is why I began by saying that I sort of had this problem fixed. Instead of replacing the door, he was able to lift the door by hand into the 'warm' position and then run a couple of long screws into the casing to hold it in place. THIS IS ONLY A TEMPORARY FIX because I cannot change it to cool air now, but until summer I can get by.
Did you experience any of this before your heat was giving you any issues?
Thank you,
Tracy
You should not need to worry about the trim. The radio pops right out with a couple of special tools. A complete description of how to reach this can be found by searching on Wikianswersdotcom for "How do you find and replace an actuator for a 1999-2003 Ford Windstar LX climate control switch". I have been told that the radio removal tools are available at Walmart, but I have not looked for them there.
The detailed information in the postings should give almost anyone the confidence to do this repair themselves - I did and was my wife ever happy with me - nice feeling :shades:
I have also seen a fix for a truly broken blend door - it's a kit that replaces the OEM part and avoids taking the entire dashboard out! I haven't had to use it, but the idea behind the process sure seems solid - Blend Door Fix Kit
Scott
that moves a blend door between the heater core and AC evaporator coil.
This is a major defect in Windstar heaters and a diy fix is available at:
Wiki.answers.com Then enter "Windstar Temperature Fix" and find
"Heater Treater" for a description of the fix and parts.
I'm not sure, but this old discussion may be relevant to your problem:
venturanomad, "Ford Windstar Problems" #1798, 2 Jun 2005 8:59 pm#MSG1797
Any help or suggestions would be welcome.
Thanks
They are a pain to get to,to replace!
1. open the glovebox and squeeze it til you can pop it down.
2. right behind it is the keyless entry controls but to the left you see a outline in the plastic and a bolt (its in tight in mine). Take a knife and cut a small rectangular hole into the plastic and take a screwdriver and lift the blend door from the down position to the up position and it will start blowing hot air.
3. You can either tape it up or use something to keep it up...I have found however that if you dont put your heat on full blast it, at least on my 2001 windstar, wont fall back into the cooling position and even if it does it just takes a second to take the screw driver and lift it up again (since the small hole is already in the panel) you can use duct tape or something to cover the hole if you wish.