Vent control issue - only dash/floor or defrost/floor

[fr0st m0nkey]

I have the same issue as jchristian79. Can't just have one direction of air flow, must be dash & floor combo. I've looked at the motor behind the glove box in the upper left. Everything is still attached but it only moves when you switch it to dash & floor option. Any solutions without removing the dash. I am not capable or willing to do that after 12 years and 210,000 miles. Thx Wanda

Same problem but a lot less miles on my explorer. The actuator behind the glove box looks to move for most of the settings but air comes out of the dash and floor when you have it on feet only or any other settings (defrost, etc). I took the dash apart and unplugged all of the HVAC connections then plugged them back in to see if there was a loose wire or something but it didn't affect anything.

 

[CHAD HEDRICK]

my issue was very poor airflow to defrost vents, but lots to floor even though heater set to full defrost setting

ok after working on this problem for a while I've figured it out. I work at a ford dealership in Chilliwack BC in the parts dept. one of the techs diagnosed it for me. there are 2 vacuum actuators on either side of the heater plenum behind the radio/ heater control panel. the drivers side actuator rod was broken off the plenum ford basic part # of 18471. very hard to see even with radio out, we used a high tech camera to see the broken plastic rod in there. when we cycled back and forth between defrost and dash setting we could see the rod moving awkwardly and that led us too the issue. so I have to pull the dash and replace this air vent duct asy. 5L2Z 18471 AA is the part # for my 02 explorer, manual a/c. retail price in Canada is about 425 $$$ close to a full day job for a experienced ford tech basically with this rod broken that door that its attached to in the heater unit that directs all the air up to the dash vents for defrost isn't moving to do its job, with the broken rod the air isn't going up to the dash or at least not the full shot of air flow.

 

[CHAD HEDRICK]

Dont know if you have gotten this problem solved, but i seem to have the same issue. i did however find the problem i just do not know how to go about fixing it. It appears that the airflow door motor that is behind the radio and to the left is broken which does not allow the airflow to change to the defrost, so it always blows out the floor, or both the floor and the defrost. this motor is similar to the 2 that you can find when you drop the glove box down and look to the left. I have no idea how to get to the motor back behind the radio. Has anyone figured out away and is there a write up for it?

 

[CHAD HEDRICK]

ok so my problem is exactly the same as yours. gotta pull the dash and replace the heater plenum as per my previous post

 

[BRFamou5]

ok so my problem is exactly the same as yours. gotta pull the dash and replace the heater plenum as per my previous post

So, there's no easy fix for this? No way to makeshift/engineer it?

I "fixed" my blend door (stopped the clicking) by adjusting the thermostat and jamming a plastic fork on the lever to keep the blend door open (or closed... whichever way it was to make the heat stay on).

Today I was lucky enough to find that the wire that connects to my AC clutch was disconnected... saving me quite a bit of time trouble shooting as well aso avoiding putting it in the shop. I was able to get a charge, but I'm noticing the clutch is not staying engaged - it goes on and off pretty frequently... though I've known for awhile that I don't have proper airflow - I'm really wanting to get it fixed now that the full heat of summer is upon us!

 

[CHAD HEDRICK]

So, there's no easy fix for this? No way to makeshift/engineer it?

I "fixed" my blend door (stopped the clicking) by adjusting the thermostat and jamming a plastic fork on the lever to keep the blend door open (or closed... whichever way it was to make the heat stay on).

Today I was lucky enough to find that the wire that connects to my AC clutch was disconnected... saving me quite a bit of time trouble shooting as well aso avoiding putting it in the shop. I was able to get a charge, but I'm noticing the clutch is not staying engaged - it goes on and off pretty frequently... though I've known for awhile that I don't have proper airflow - I'm really wanting to get it fixed now that the full heat of summer is upon us!

my a/c works great. a/c cool air comes out of the front of the dash not the top. only issue for me is very poor airflow to the windshield for defrost in the fall & winter. no easy fix unfortunately. I have to pull the dash soon before fall and replace the broken heater plenum (vac motor is fine). my heater inlet door is also broken as well, above the blower motor which I'm gonna fix at the same time my dash is out. will update once repair is done.

 

[BRFamou5]

my a/c works great. a/c cool air comes out of the front of the dash not the top. only issue for me is very poor airflow to the windshield for defrost in the fall & winter. no easy fix unfortunately. I have to pull the dash soon before fall and replace the broken heater plenum (vac motor is fine). my heater inlet door is also broken as well, above the blower motor which I'm gonna fix at the same time my dash is out. will update once repair is done.

My AC is working now. Just can't change vents - or I guess I should say when I try to change vents, nothing happens. I read elsewhere there was some Rod that needed to be repaired. I'm assuming that's the same as the plenum?

 

[CHAD HEDRICK]

OK SO LAST WEEK MY FORD TECH & MYSELF @ THE FORD DEALERSHIP WHERE I WORK PULLED THE DASH ON MY 2002 V8 EXPLORER XLT. EVERYTHING WENT SMOOTHLY WITH THE HELP OF A SEASONED VETERAN TECH. WE REPLACED THE AIR VENT ASY (5L2Z 18471 AA) TO THE DEFROST WHICH HAD A BROKEN PLASTIC ROD. VOILA I NOW HAVE A TONNE OF AIRFLOW FROM MY DEFROST VENTS ON TOP OF THE DASH. PULLING THE DASH WASNT AS SCARY AS 1 WOULD THINK. HAD TO FIX IT AS THERE WAS NO QUICK FIX BECAUSE THE BROKEN PART WAS HIDDEN WAY UP UNDER THE DASH

 

[xianavixen]

I've searched the forum quite a bit but haven't found anything that quite matches what's going on. I apologize if I've missed something!

2005 XLT 4x4 V8 with manual climate controls. I just picked this up 3 weeks ago. The blend door actuator was broken and I replaced that via BigRondo's thread. Now I have heat, which is great!

The next problem I ran in to is with the air flow through the vents, but it's not quite like anything else I've read on here. I haven't had occasion to really use the air until it got cold this last week. That's when I noticed this. Here's what's happening.

When the air flow selector is set to dash and floor, dash only or max a/c, the air flow always comes out of both the floor AND dash vents but not the defrost vents. It doesn't matter which of the three it's set on, the air always comes out the floor and dash vents.

When the air flow is set to floor only, floor and defrost or defrost only, the air always comes out of the floor AND the defrost but not the dash vents. Once again, it doesn't matter which of the three it's set on, it comes out defrost and floor vents.

So basically, it's not allowing me to select just the dash, just the floor or just the defrost.

The blower has strong airflow through all the vents and the fan speed selector works just fine and I can control the force of the air, so I don't believe it's the recirc door that I've read about on here. Every other post states that the airflow is stuck on just one of the settings and won't change. I am able to change them, but I can't select just one.

Could this be a vacuum issue? Control switch issue? Where should I start looking? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Same thing in my 06