2001 explorer ac from vent and floor only

[stripermaster]

I have tried to trace vacuum line for a leak but can't find one. How do you tell if the vacuum "ball" is working? Thanx

 

[koda2000]

don't think you have a vac leak

I also have a 2001 explorer and i resently had a problem with the a/c switching from vents to defrost anytime i climbed a steep hill. This indicated a vacuum leak as engine vacuum drops when the engine is under a load. Sure enough i found a previous repair near the vacuum ball where someone had tried to plug an extra hole in a "t" fitting with a sheet metal screw. This allowed enough vacuum to leak to make the system switch to its no vacuum state of defrost. It doesn't take much. The vaccum lines are reaaallly tiny.

I know this doesn't address your problem, but it may save you some time in chasing ghosts. The problem may be in your switch or a stuck blend door w/in the housing. Hope this helps.

 

[stripermaster]

still up in the air

Thanks for the response. I had purchased a climate control head on ebay and still no switching from the default defrost mode. I can't see how my original and the one I purchased could bothh be bad. Guess I will continue to look for a leak unless anybody has a better sugestion. Thanx

 

[bobflood]

Thanks for the response. I had purchased a climate control head on ebay and still no switching from the default defrost mode. I can't see how my original and the one I purchased could bothh be bad. Guess I will continue to look for a leak unless anybody has a better sugestion. Thanx

Confused about issue. Is air flow moving among defrost/vent/floor as vacumn changes, or is it coming from one place all the time? Those failure modes point in two entirely different directions.

 

[stripermaster]

I only have air and heat from defrost vents and passenger floor vent no matter what setting I have it on. Thanks

 

[stripermaster]

Any Ideas ????

Still only have air coming from defrost vents no matter what position I have the climate control set on.

I seem to have vacuum in the "ball" because when I pull tube out I have a strong push of air coming out. Since the "ball" seems to be ok does that mean that my issue is inside the truck? (lines go from ball into truck thru firewall)

Behind the glove box is a cylander with an arm on it, does that part ever go bad and cause such symptoms?

Any ideas would be great..... Thank

 

[budwich]

since you have tried two different control units and the result is the same, it would then be a normal assumption that the vacuum actuator/motor isn't functioning / stuck / gearing broken.

 

[stripermaster]

Thanks...... I will try that in the morning and then let you know how I made out.

 

[koda2000]

Air coming out of vacuum ball?

Now I'm confused. You said that you unplugged the vacuum ball and felt a strong rush of air coming out. Am I unstanding you correctly? There should never be air coming out of the ball, only suction indicating vacuum. Was the engine running when you disconnected the ball? My experience with these vacuum storeage systems is that there is a check valve between the engine (the vaccum generating source) and the storage device (the ball). If the engine is running its generating vacuum. The check valve is a "one way" device that is there to make sure the vacuum stored in the ball provides a reserve of vacuum. While a failure of the check valve would allow for low vaccum if would never allow for pressure in the ball unless you had an engine backfire.

 

[stripermaster]

Still no luck

I removed the actuator as suggested and it actually is working just fine... Any other ideas? Thanks

 

[bobflood]

Still only have air coming from defrost vents no matter what position I have the climate control set on.
I seem to have vacuum in the "ball" because when I pull tube out I have a strong push of air coming out. Since the "ball" seems to be ok does that mean that my issue is inside the truck? (lines go from ball into truck thru firewall)
Any ideas would be great..... Thank

My understanding is that "defrost" is the default failure mode for the ventilating system.
I have the same issue as previous poster did re a "push" of air from the vacuum ball - it should never do anything but suck inward.
Unlikey that two separate climate control units would fail the same way - still think you have a vacuum issue. Are you sure all of the vacuum lines are hooked up on the back of the unit? Also, you could rent/borrow a vacuum pump and use it instead of the ball to see if you can get airflow to change.

 

[stripermaster]

Thanks.....I'm off tomorrow and will take another look. I'll update as I hopefully find the ghost that I've been chasing.

 

[stripermaster]

Took actuator motor out and tested . The "arm" moved slightly so I purchased a new one and now I can't get either to rotate when the cord is plugged into them. Is there a fuse that would control power to that harness? Thanks....scott