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Ford Explorer Air Conditioner and Heater Problems

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Comments

  • jl5366jl5366 Member Posts: 1
    When I turn on my heater or air conditioning a faint thumping / clunking noise starts and gradually gets louder and is very constant. The noise is triggered when the temperature guage is turned to max heat or max cold and can be stopped by turning the knob 1/4 turn in either direction. There doesn't seem to be a lot of air flowing out of the front vents - but the heat and air conditioning are both working. Haven't checked out the rear climate controls yet. Any suggestions on what the problem could be would be greatly appreciated...also is this an easy / inexpensive fix for someone with basic auto mechanic skillls or a job that should be left to trained professionals. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    Sounds very much like a stuck Blend Door under the dash. It's not easy, and is expensive, because so much has to come out to get to it, and then be put back correctly. Doubt you can do it, I couldn't and I'm reasonably mechanical. But there is no other choice if you want it to work properly. Sorry to hear you have this problem, it's a big pain... :sick:
  • hthornleyhthornley Member Posts: 7
    We replaced the blend door with one from company on Ebay, was quite a job!
    Works good now- you have to stand on your head to do the job!
    Took us about 4 hours!
  • holderx4holderx4 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2004 Eddie Bauer Ford Exploer. Our AC blows warm/hot air and sometimes cold. The thing is, the cold air will be come through sometimes. We can go for days with it blowing the hot air, then all of a sudden the cold air will start to blow(always while driving). The cold air will last for the duration of our drive and the when we turn the truck back on it blows warm air again and the cycle begins again. Where do I begin to even diagnose where the issue is?
  • hthornleyhthornley Member Posts: 7
    Sounds like same thing as my #378 response---bad blend door--plastic hinges go bad
    on the blend door and will not respond to the heater,air motor control .
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    edited May 2011
    Or, it could be a bad expansion valve. A little $3 part that can raise havic if not working correctly. It's in the hot line some on the passenger fender, along the top.
  • byron8byron8 Member Posts: 1
    I have an F250 diesel, 1999. The A/C will work great at times and blow hot air at other times. I can not find any coorelations to speed, rpm, etc. It will blow cold air for 20 - 30 minutes sitting in a parking lot, when I take off it blows hot air, 5 to 20 minutes later it will blow cold again for a few minutes. Always back and forth. The system is fully charged.
    Any ideas?
  • jspf78jspf78 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 98 Explorer Sport. The Air Conditioner seems to work on short distances, but on long trips, stops blowing as hard and doesn't blow cold. Sometimes when I turn the car off and recrank it, it works fine again. Took it into a mechanic and it wouldn't act up for him so he said he could not fix it. Would love to know what's going on with it. Thanks for your help.
  • chelsita98chelsita98 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 1999 Ford Explorer Sport. My air conditioner works well when it is on regular A/C. But when I switch it to Max A/C, the air flow almost stops completely. Before the problem started, Max made the air flow stronger AND colder. I am guessing that there is a switch not moving a flap that should be moved. Does this sound right, and if not, could you please tell me what it could possibly be.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    Again, could be a faulty expansion valve, a very easy and cheap fix if you know how. Also could be a vacuum problem with your blend door in the dash. A horrible and expensive repair if you know how, and impossible if you don't.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    You are probably on the right track. I'm thinking a blend door in the dash isn't closing properly, or not opening properly. This is a tough and expensive fix as the whole dash will likely need to come out. I had this problem once, and just ran it on normal rather than fix it. But that was just me. If you want to pay to fix it, you need to take it to a mechanic who knows how to do it.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    You have some sort of debris, paper towel, carpet piece, etc, trapped in the cabin air intake behind the glove box. Sit on the passenger side and move your right foot up and to the right as far as you can and your foot will be over the intake duct.
  • chelsita98chelsita98 Member Posts: 2
    Thank you so much. That was the exact problem. The first day it happened, I felt up there a little, but I had NO idea that something could be sooo far up there. It ended up being a produce bag from the grocery store. Problem solved and it didn't cost a penny. You rock!
  • kristinaclkristinacl Member Posts: 1
    I haven't used the a/c in quite sometime. When I had turned it on it was making an odd clicking noise and made the engine sound very rough, and no cold air. Being the woman I am, I asked a couple of the guys what I could do rather than visit the mechanic. I was told to buy the can of freon and one of the guys put it in for me. Wonders of Wonders, it worked beautifully, lovely frigid air and no more clicks and the engine ran GREAT.....for 140 miles one trip. LOL loved that. The mass conclusion is that i have a leak....really?! LOL Anyways, any suggestions on how I can home fix this? Thanks for your help and this is really a Godsend of a forum! :shades:
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    You probably do have a leak, but it could be anywhere from the seal on the compressor shaft to the evaporator, to the condenser, to the hoses and anything in between. It needs a leak detecter installed and a close inspection to find it, then some part will need to be replaced or fixed. You can't easily do it at home, unless you know a pretty competent shade tree mechanic who does A/C routinely. Could be expensive, or cheap, depends upon what it is. However, it's not a big problem to charge the system once a year, if it will run all summer with the one charge. If it were mine, I would wait until it runs warm again, and if that's next year, I'd not worry about fixing it, I'd just charge it again for the summer. OTOH, if in a month, it's broken again, you'll need to have somebody look at it. Good luck!
  • sss914sss914 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2002 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer. Recently I noticed that the air conditioner will automatically rotate the output of airflow from the dash to the floor to the windshield every 30 seconds or so. It doesn't matter if the A/C is on automatic or on manual and I am attempting to tell the A/C to blow out of the dash, the floor, etc. What could possibly be malfunctioning and what $$$ am I looking at for repair?
  • bayouboy60bayouboy60 Member Posts: 1
    edited June 2011
    I have a 2005 Ford Explorer, XLT 4wd. About a month ago my A/C pumped out cold. Now its jut blowing air with hardly any pressure. Although I can hear the fan at full blast the emitting air has low pressure, and the air is ambuient. Could you please give me a possible whats going on.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Mouse nest on the A/C intake air fliter..??
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    Depending upon whether the blend door that controls the direction of the output is electric on that model, or vacuum driven, you either have a bad switch, or a vacuum leak that is letting the door cycle. Neither are a really simple thing to deal with, unless you get lucky and find either the switch on the dash, or a hose leaking under the dash that is easy to find and get to. Otherwise, you may need help.
  • rogbakrogbak Member Posts: 2
    Did you get this resolved? I may have a similar problem with my 2005 Mercury Mountaineer. Air is loud when fan speed is turned up to 4 (max), but it doesn't seem to blow out as strong as one would expect.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    How many miles on the Mountaineer?
  • rogbakrogbak Member Posts: 2
    edited June 2011
    70K miles on the mountaineer. I did not notice a filter in there.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    There is no filter on these cars. What usually happens to these, because of the ABSENCE of a filter, the evaporator coil clogs up with dust and grime from the airflow, although not usually until a bit later in life. Some cars, you can get a hose in there and clean it out. I dont' know if that's possible on these or not, I never tried. My 03 did the same thing, but it had 140,000 miles on it when I sold it, still running strong, by the way. It's also possible to have a blend door not functioning properly, or an obstruction in the intake.
  • clwill82clwill82 Member Posts: 1
    CLUSTERBUSTER IS RIGHT!!!!! Pop the glove box down and look at the vacuum cylinder (brass or aluminum) in the upper left part of the void left by the box. There should be a lever attached to the plunger of cylinder, THAT IS THE FLOW CONTROL VANE OPERATING LEVER. Moving the lever changes the flow location. The CRAPPY TIN METAL LEVER ARM on the flow control vane broke and wasn't attached to the cylinder, SO I ZIP TIED IT THE CYLINDER PLUNGER (it has an eye at the end) AND VANE LEVER TOGETHER, ran some tests, adjusted the zip ties some, and VIOLA!!!! $200 MY [non-permissible content removed] SUMMERVILLE FORD!!!
  • dstumpmandstumpman Member Posts: 1
    edited July 2011
    THE A/C IS COOL WHEN AT IDLE, AS YOU REV UP THE ENGINE THE AIR GETS HOTTER, THE LOW AND HIGH SIDE PRESSURES LOOK OK, THE LINES UNDER THE HOOD ARE VERY COLD TO THE TOUCH???
  • vato03vato03 Member Posts: 1
    You are correct again. I read your post and the other guy/lady's question and response about the ac. I had the same problem with the ac not working. My wife and i had a argument about taking it in. She just wanted to take it in this afternoon and i wanted to wait and think things out. i wanted to think things out because there are other things we need done to our 2K Explore, brakes, and transmission checked. She had a jerk reaction and i told her i wanted to think about it, the big picture not just the ac. She set up an appointment and I looked on line and you had the solution and saved me some money!! And my credibility!!!! Thanks.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    Sounds like a vacuum leak in the control system. A reduction in vacuum when you accelerate is allowing a blend door to open to the hot side of the system, and overcoming the cool side. May be a little hard to find, listen for a hiss, may lead you to it. Could also be the actual control panel leaking air as well. However, I THINK these controls are electric on this car. Could be wrong.
  • acv123acv123 Member Posts: 1
    I have an 02' Explorer and the ac works best while driving down the road. Once I stop the air gets just barley cool. any ideas what this could be? Thanks.
  • christinacosbychristinacosby Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 Ford Explorer XLT V6 4WD, the front air blows cold but the rear only blows air. The heat works in the rear, just not the a/c. Does anyone have a clue what could be wrong?
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    Most likely low refrigerant.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    Easy clue. This car has two evaporator units, one for the front, one for the back. The expansion valve for the rear unit is plugged. Not a hard, or expensive fix. If one knows the location of the expansion valve. It's in the line somewhere before the evaporator.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Often when you have two evaporators but only one compressor there is an EPR valve in each line to prevent a single evaporator from "stealing" all of the liquid refrigerant.
  • teamster445teamster445 Member Posts: 2
    Hi - Seems like a popular problem, but I haven't been able to find the solution, hopefully someone here can steer me in the right direction.

    I have a 2006 Ford Explorer 4x4 Eddie Bauer IV Generation 6cy with rear aux heating and cooling. The A/C is only blowing out the defrosters in the front. Rear AC works fine. Temperature control is working, I have both hot and cold air with no thumping or clicking noise when I turn the control knob. So it doesn't sound like the blend door. I checked the blend door actuator on the lower driver side and its working. I checked the vacuum lines behind the vent control knob and behind the glove box and all connections seem ok. I can reach through the vent and push the door open that blocks the front vents but but it's not opening or staying open on it's own. I also checked the metal arm that attaches to that flap from the vacuum reservoir in the back and it's intact. Seems like maybe a vacuum issue. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!
  • teamster445teamster445 Member Posts: 2
    I found the leak - it was a hose under the hood.
  • drew89drew89 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1997 explorer and two days ago when I went to drive it the ac would only blow cool air when i was moving. When I was stopped it would blow hot air. Then yesterday it wasn't even blowing cool air when I was moving. I don't know what the problem is. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    Engine is tending toward overheating at idle or refrigerant leak.
  • willjkwilljk Member Posts: 3
    Thank You albert911, without your knowledge I would of never found my same problem as you found with your Ford Explorer. I fixed mine a little different. I puled on the actuator and was able to get all vents at once with air coming out. So I took off the vent control knob and replaced that with a piece of plastic that I made round to fit in the space and velcroed it so that I will never turn the control knob and loose my air vent again.
  • johnjack2johnjack2 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2006 explorer Limited, same problem. dealer wanted 600.00 to put in a new blend door. I decided to check the vacuum diagram for my explorer. I found a vacuum hose on top of engine near the firewall, it was melted and had a hole in it, I started the car and turned on the air and then i held my hand over the hose and the blend door opened and now it works great. just needed a little duct tape. Its worth a try, hope it works.
  • mariamflmariamfl Member Posts: 1
    edited August 2011
    I have a 2003 Ford Explorer, and the AC after driving for 5 minutes, starts blowing minimal/warm air, and then cools again. Have taken to repair, and they replaced the compressor, but continue to have the same problem. Have taken back to the repair shop many time, but they cannot find the problem. They checked for leak with a blue dye, and indicating it's not leaking. They did fix some seals, but still, the problem persists. Any suggestions, before I continue to spend more $$$ on this SUV without fixing the problem. Ive already been advised that I may wish to seek a 2nd opinion, as they can't find the problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    That sounds just like a faulty, or dirty Expansion Valve in the line. It should have been replaced with the new Compressor, however, lots of shops don't bother to do that. So: If they did replace it when they changed the compressor, it's likely bad. IF they didn't replace it, it's likely plugged with debris from the lines. Either way, I'd have it replaced. It's very cheap part, and half an hour to replace. Not a big deal.
  • granadojlgranadojl Member Posts: 1
    Can you show us the hose that you found to be faulty? thank you.. I have a similar issue, just not as extreme as you.
  • stjimmstjimm Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2002 Explorer. The A/C and Heat control works fine. Cold air when I want cold and hot air when I want hot. But the air will only blow through the cabin vents. If I turn the controls to floor or defrost, the air stills flows through the cabin vents. The controls do not change the direction of the air flow. I recently replaced the motor blower resistor and the blower speed control now works as it should. Can anyone give me some insight on what the problem may be. Thanks
  • willjkwilljk Member Posts: 3
    Hi stimm I have a 2004 Ford Explorer but yours could be the same. Open your glove box ans gently push the back sides in to each other and then your glove box will drop down some more.Then look with a flash light right in the left top corner behind the glove box. You will see a vacumm rod that is suppose to slide into your vent changer, that could be broken. What I did was pull gently on the rod and try my vent dial , when i could get my rod to give me all vent air. I then pulled off the vent dial in that posistion and put a piece of plastic that I made round to fit so that I would not turn that dial for defrost, floor or center vent. I am getting air condition this way and also all vents are on. I know this is a major problem with Ford Explorers but i read that Ford is not fixing it. willjk
  • stjimmstjimm Member Posts: 2
    2002 Ford Explorer.

    Symptoms: AC and heat controls work fine. Fan speeds work fine. But air flows only through front vents. When I attempt to change air flow to floor or defrost, the air continues to flow through the front vents.

    Observations: There is a flow control valve located to the upper left of the glove compartment box. When I turn the flow control switch on the front panel from floor to vent to defrost, the valve rod moves in and out as it should. The valve rod though is to be connected to a plastic lever arm that pivots a flow control door or flapper. This plastic lever arm has broken and is not connected to the valve rod. Can anyone tell me how I could replace this plastic door and reconnect it to the valve rod.? Thanks
  • willjkwilljk Member Posts: 3
    Hi Stimm You would have to remove the console and part of the dash to get to the plastic control. Look up Youtube on how to remove dash on your year. I left mine alone because of the cost, I was able to pull on the control valve and keep trying your flow control switch. I was able to get air from all vents at once. So I pulled off the flow control switch and cut a piece of black plastic and placed sticky tape inside and placed round piece of the black plastic disc that I made to cover that opening so that I would not use the vent control and my vents are fine, as long as I don't touch that flow control switch again. I also get air condition through all the vents also.
    Willjk
  • berto8berto8 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2008 Eddie Bauer with 3 rows of seats, 4.0 liter engine with 43,000 miles and my A/C is blowing hot air. I brought it to a dealer who told me the that the "lines to the rea rA/C unit need to be replaced" The cost is out through the roof. 1) Is this a common problem with the ED "rear A/C unit and 2) can I simply seal off/plug off the rear A/C unit as no one ever sits in the 3rd row of seats.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    That's ridiculous! There surely is a leak, but very very doubtful it's the lines to the rear evaporator unit. Go somewhere else and get another diagnosis. I think you're getting taken for a ride. Those lines should last 20 years.
  • daver31daver31 Member Posts: 1
    A/C works fine. Blower works fine, and when I change from defrost to floor all works fine. BUT No heat! HELP!
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    First, check your coolant level. Sounds like you are low, and not getting any water to the hot water lines. If it's not that, there may be a valve under the hood that is stuck closed preventing the hot water to get to the inside coil. Not sure about that. And could be a blend door stuck under the dash, that's the worst scenerio, because it's the most costly. Also, could be in the electronic controls, broken and not demanding heat. If it's full of water, you're going to need someone to look at it.
  • ilndhprilndhpr Member Posts: 1
    Please help, I have a 2000 Limited and just had my Blower Motor stop working. I thought it was the Blower Motor that was bad, but once I took it out and hooked it up to a power source it began to work. This leads me to believe that the Blower Motor Resistor is bad. Is there anything else that could be wrong? I have checked the fuses, wiring, etc... I am stationed in Italy so finding a ASE certified Mechanic that knows Fords is pretty difficult. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Signed,
    Melting in Italy!
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