No AC just heat - help

Hi Friends,
My 2002 is blowing hot air in all settings. Had the AC serviced and tech said its full and showed me icy cold plumbing and then touching the top of ducting under dash was air conditioned cold. He declined to do anymore stating its a known ford problem. So I started my own diagnosis based on what Ive read here and TCA forum. Took radio out, its still connected. Took out blend door actuator and adjusted from heat to cold, it moves about 1/3 a turn and goes full direction every time, its also turns strong, not the problem. Next looked at blend door, the door has a fully cut "D" slot and it seemed to fully seat and hold the blend door actuator shaft. I can manually force the door to full up and down positon by pushing the linkage. It makes no dfference its still hot air coming out in all settings. When the door is rotated up and held for a few minutes I can feel icy air coming from seams in the duct, but no ac coming to vents. The blend door was always 30 seconds to respond but I lived with it. In past month it would thump up or down (noise is normal)a few times at startup but then no more till engine was shut off for a while; stil had no ac. I don't think blend door is problem since I can manually move it and nothing happens

What am I missing? Is there linkage or vacuum somewhere that can be wrong? Thanks for helping

Do you have electronic or manual controls

Mike
:dunno:

On your heating/air conditoning the blend door is vacuum operated. On some settings such as defroster heat the air flow goes through the A/C evaporator before it goes through the heater core. This is to get the moisture out of the air so that it gets the moisture off the windshield. On some of the other heatiing controls the A/C comes on also with the heat. I don't think the door is closing all the way on the blend when just the A/C is on. Either that or the switch on the dash is not working right. I'd check the vacuum hose for looseness but, when the vacuum is not present at all the system goes to heated defrost as a default. Your A/C is all right (you know this). Off hand I'd say you aren't getting enough vacuum or the control on the dash is bad.

Agreed. You need to make sure the blend door is working properly, along with the A/C Evaporator Case Damper Door. In the case of your Taurus, the blower motor always blows air through the evaporator core, regardless of setting. From there, the blend door adjusts how much air flows through the heater core. The damper door also helps meter the air through the heater core.

If you have the electronic controls as mwt47 suggests, you can have the controls perform a self test and possibly alert you to the issue.

Just out of curiosity, how high is your instrument cluster temp gauge getting?

-Rod

Hi all, thanks for responding. I have manual controls, and the temperature stays in the mid range all the time. The blend door actuator covers kinkage that goes to a lower door, i think its the secondary blender door? I found that by pulling upward on this lower door it would get colder out of the dash vents but not much. I'm going to try some damp soapy water arond the vacuum lines on the functions switch looking for lair leaks

The linkage probably connects to the evaporator case damper door. The damper door is located lower in the case relative to the blend door. Nearly straight below the blend door.

-Rod

Hi All, I have a 2000 Taurus with electronic controls and have the same problem. It always blows full hot air no matter what the selection.
Does any one know if there was ever a service bulletin issued by Ford for this problem? Thanks:banghead:

I have a 99 sable that had the same problem. I'm not aware of any tsb on this. You can try resetting the control head. Press off & floor simultaneously then auto within 2 secs. If there are trouble codes they will display. mine displayed 888 which the service manual states that system is OK. Mine has worked correctly since resetting. Good luck!

dougyfd,

I actually tried the reset procedure yesterday (read it on another forum). I also got the same code 888, but never got a chance to run the car until today. Guess what, the whole system reset and works good as new!
I can't believe it. Do you know how long I have been putting up with this.
This forum rocks and you people rule!

Thanks so much!

I have a '99 Taurus, ~ 106K miles, with the same problem. I did what Dougyfd said, and it's fixed!! No code displayed, just dashes.

Thank you!

Actually, it worked when I tried the reset the first time but now its back to the same old same old. It displays either code 024 or 025; usually 024, and blows nothing but hot air.
So what now, do I fix it myself and if so is there a good manual I can use or do I take it to the dealership.
I understand there is a TSB out for this problem 02-23-6.

Thanks for the help.

I don't find a LFC of 025, but the 024 is "Temperature Blend Door Failure or Short."

-Rod

Due to everyones great help on this forum I know what the problem is.
Its the fix now. How do I solve the problem?
Can I do it myself or does it need to go to the dealer?

Hi All, myTaurus still has a problem. When the weather turned cold, the AC seems to partially work. Its a medium AC cold, and can switch between heat and cold. I tried it in closed garage and sure its really AC working and not just cold weather. My car has manual controls with no codes. I did check the vacuum lines connected to switch (ac, vent, heat -selector) and none appeared to leak. I was using warm sopy water at switch connections looking for bubbles, none found. When swithch was turned, you do hear the sound of vacuum applied. I did not follow the lines to the end, perhaps vacuum switch is failing.

Are you saying you're sure the A/C is working just based on temperature, or did you confirm that the A/C compressor is engaging? Do you have your Defroster on by chance? The defroster will engage the A/C compressor to dehumidify the air. As long as the ambient temperature is above freezing, the compressor will still be able to kick in if requested.

-Rod

Hi Rod, thanks for replying. MY AC clutch does engage when I set to cold. The shop that looked at it checked the freon levels and said they were OK. They said blend door and told me to go to ford. When you feel the upper duct, its icy cold as is the lines from the AC compressor. Have been dealing with problem since summer, AC still works with same symptoms.

So here's the latest:
After living with a heating/air conditioning system that only blows full hot air, for the best part of a year, I've decided to get this thing fixed once and for all.
I took my 2000 Taurus SEL to the local Ford dealership to have the blend door fixed. Part, 10 bucks, labor 285 bucks. After pulling the whole dash apart and replacing the blend door the system was still not working. Troubleshooting indicated that the EATC controller was also not working. Cost of EATC controller: 400 bucks. I get the car back today; we'll see how it works now.


So here's a little synopsis:
My original engine (V6 3.0 L DOHC) ate itself at 19000 km and had to be replaced by a new one (thankfully on warranty).


Heat/airconditioning blend door and EATC controller replaced (not on warranty).


Brake pedal lights shorted out twice having to be repaired


Recalls include: gas pedal/brake pedal clearance problems.
front coil springs replaced due to possible failure
electrical short circuits


There is also a TSB for oil pan mod due to leaks. Guess what my car is leaking oil.


All this to say; in my opinion, this automobile is a design disaster.
As well, it seems that Ford is short on accepting some of the responsibility for repairs when it comes to issues that are clearly caused by poor design.


I had a Chrysler product (not on warranty) which had a head gasket problem. Chrysler had a modified gasket and kicked in half the cost of repair. This goes a long way in terms of customer appreciation.


This will be my last Ford product.