A/C only blows thru Defroster Vents

[kennyholmes46]

You guys are Awesome! The Dowel worked fine.. I'm adding a small knob to the end so it looks like it belongs there! Thanks for the Fix! Just Amazing!

 

[TowingExplorer]

In my '06 LTD V8, on very hot days (90+ degree and black interior), I've noticed likely this door inside the center is not moving to put A/C out the main vents. It sometimes opens a little, causing the passenger far vent by the door to be cooler and the passenger side of the center to be a bit cooler than hot. I usually end up turning it on and off several times before it finally blows cold on the driver's side.

Is this just vacuum activated? I'm a little concerned about doing longer term damage if I have to switch it off/on 3 or 4 times on those hot days.

Regular days it works just fine.

 

[08EddieCA]

Fixed my vent problem with the new check valve. I consider myself lucky. I bought the generic brand check valve from O'reilly's. I think it was $4 or $5. I was using a dowel created from a wooden spoon, which worked.

 

[Ruano]

Fixed this with a new vacuum check valve. No guesswork.

Purchased for $10 here : http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=380402&jnid=2&jpid=0

It is located here:

Just pull it apart and replace it with the new one installed in the same direction and its done. 5 minutes including the test drive.

Hi, That hose goes to the motor but i don't se where, can you help me? The mine is broken

 

[snakester]

Hi, That hose goes to the motor but i don't se where, can you help me? The mine is broken

I wish I could. I don't have that vehicle anymore.

 

[Ruano]

I wish I could. I don't have that vehicle anymore.

Thanks man, I found it and solve it

 

[Larry M945]

My truck is a 2007 XLT with 53K and was built in Feb 2007, so it is just out of warranty. Just started blowing A/C air out of the defroster vents, with a small amount coming out the center console and the left and right upper vents near the side windows. I took it to the dealer for diagnosis and was told I had a cracked evaporator case around the center door pivot behind the center conslole. Cost to repair was going the be $1565 for a new evaporator case and labor to pull the dash. That cost me $95 for the news.

Came home and got on the site and read everything I could find on no air flow out of the center console vents. I tried a new Vacuum Check Valve for $15 from the dealer. Same problem. Used the info on the site to remove the center console cover around the radio. Very helpful thankfully. Noticed that there is another swinging door behind the center console vents. It didn't seem to be controlled by anything and just swung easily front to back depending on the direction of air passing over it. I then removed the plastic trim on the drivers side below the center console, the trim around the steering wheel and under the steering wheel and some steel supports under that to get a good look at the vacuum powered actuator.

I powered up the truck and observed how the arm on the actuator responded when I selected Max A/C, defroster, outside vent, regular A/C, etc. The arm moved OK, but had no effect on the position of the door and air never was passed to the center console vents. However, when I had the system set to Max A/C or reg A/C and I manually pushed the door to the rear, there was enough suction (especially when the fan speed was set to 3 or 4) to hold the door back and air now flowed out the center vents and to right and left side window vents.

To get the defroster vents working I moved the control knob to off, the suction holding the door to the rear was released and then I selected Defroster and the door was blown forward and the air was sent to the defroster vents under the front windshield. Turning the fan speed down to the 1 or 2 position would probably release the door too, and then you could then select the defroster position.

So being a cheap Charley, I now use a quarter inch diamater dowel cut the the right length sticking thru the left vent to push the door back when I need front console A/C. Air pressure keeps it in position until I turn off the engine or the system or turn down the fan speed to 1 or 2.

Never could find any crack in the evaporator case, but I'm sure that door should be controlled by the adjacent vacuum actuator. In these tough economic times "in the field repairs" are a necessity to keep the wheels rolling. A/C to the People!!

What a great fix! My 2010 Explorer just quit pushing the air through the front vents. Just simply inserting the dowel about 10" into the middle of either front vent, and voila, the air comes through great. This car has about 200k, not worth spending a grand to fix this problem for now. Thanks, owe you one.

 

[gdgiordano]

My 02 Explorer Limited 4.6 started doing this a few weeks ago, but got real bad yesterday. Mine only does it under load, above 40 mph. Driving in town it never does it, but as soon as I get on the highway and gun it she starts to act up. A/C goes from the dash vents to the defrost vents. It was taking up to 20 seconds to come back.

After reading this post I think I have a vacuum pressure leak somewhere. I went to Home Depot and picked up a dowel that will fit inside the vent and it stopped doing it. I'll use that and then at payday I'll replace the EGR valve and other components. Glad I found this thread.

My 2010 switches modes when the engine revs up in both heat and AC. I think I need to try the check valve. It seems to be a pressure issue.

 

[gdgiordano]

Fixed this with a new vacuum check valve. No guesswork.

Purchased for $10 here : More Information for MOTORCRAFT YG360

It is located here:

Just pull it apart and replace it with the new one installed in the same direction and its done. 5 minutes including the test drive.

Thank you for this. I am going to try this tomorrow.

 

[firepiper46]

Fixed this with a new vacuum check valve. No guesswork.

Purchased for $10 here : More Information for MOTORCRAFT YG360

It is located here:

Just pull it apart and replace it with the new one installed in the same direction and its done. 5 minutes including the test drive.

2005 EB 4.6 with push button controls for vent selection..

AC only through defroster (problem arrived summer months - didn't check heat)

Following leads gathered from here (and other forums) checked the mechanics behind glovebox and found that the actuator rod had some slight movement when buttons were pushed to change vent source (very small movement, and not on all buttons)
apparently no broken plastic ...so I went to check this valve as indicated..

Found valve without issue, but discovered the tube had cracked at the boot through the firewall..

after an amount of frustrating digging with a dental pick was able to dig out the broken nub from the boot...

slid remaining vacuum tube which was attached to this valve into the boot and all selection options working

no dowel necessary...

you may find it easier to access the boot location if you remove the three looms from their places (passenger fender close to firewall)

(sorry no pics at this time...I'll try adding them later

 

[Asha'man Curtis]

Air only blows through defrost vents.

I hate to necropost as my first interaction in the community, but do you have a part number for the mode actuator?

 

[Old289Guy]

Had the same issue with my 2010 Limited. Noticed it during this last summer. Cold air would blow thru dash vents (when selected), then randomly start blowing thru defroster vents. Apparently this (blowing thru the defroster vents) is Ford's default when there is not enough vacuum to keep whatever the current user setting is. Makes sense but it's irritating. This re-routing of air flow would also occur during acceleration, then drift back to dash vents after a while. Hard to diagnose at 75 mph due to noise in the cabin, but I began to take notes and figured out what was happening. At first thought it was compressor, recharge or temp control unit. Researched on net and was planning to tear apart all that stuff under the dash (not looking forward to it) when I found some posts on the vacuum check valve under the hood. Also read about someone who replaced the vacuum check valve with 3-way, added a vacuum canister (found one on ebay) ran another line to that vacuum reservoir (reservoirs are present on earlier Explorers, but absent on 2010s). Finding a spot for the canister was a big part of the work involved. Ended up sliding a skinny, rectangular box-shaped Ford unit (after dremeling off the ears) between the engine compartment wall and the existing (round) AC canister located near the upper firewall against the left side of compartment just under hood. All in all, the fix was a lot of research finding the right parts, but the job itself was easy. Apparently the old girls begin leaking just a small amount of vacuum after a few years, and just need a little help (in the form of a vacuum reservoir). Ford used to put these things in all the older models, but quit doing it (year unknown, but my 2010 lacks the reservoir, ego the problems I had). Now my temp settings are held solid and everything works beautifully.

 

[Islandguyhere]

I love this forum. From a guy who has 10 Explorers this site has saved me $1,000s

Took me more time to read this thread then it did to get a dowel, pit it in, paint it black and walla cold air thru dash vents.

This place rocks!!! Thank you everyone.

 

[Gespinoza]

My truck is a 2007 XLT with 53K and was built in Feb 2007, so it is just out of warranty. Just started blowing A/C air out of the defroster vents, with a small amount coming out the center console and the left and right upper vents near the side windows. I took it to the dealer for diagnosis and was told I had a cracked evaporator case around the center door pivot behind the center conslole. Cost to repair was going the be $1565 for a new evaporator case and labor to pull the dash. That cost me $95 for the news.

Came home and got on the site and read everything I could find on no air flow out of the center console vents. I tried a new Vacuum Check Valve for $15 from the dealer. Same problem. Used the info on the site to remove the center console cover around the radio. Very helpful thankfully. Noticed that there is another swinging door behind the center console vents. It didn't seem to be controlled by anything and just swung easily front to back depending on the direction of air passing over it. I then removed the plastic trim on the drivers side below the center console, the trim around the steering wheel and under the steering wheel and some steel supports under that to get a good look at the vacuum powered actuator.

I powered up the truck and observed how the arm on the actuator responded when I selected Max A/C, defroster, outside vent, regular A/C, etc. The arm moved OK, but had no effect on the position of the door and air never was passed to the center console vents. However, when I had the system set to Max A/C or reg A/C and I manually pushed the door to the rear, there was enough suction (especially when the fan speed was set to 3 or 4) to hold the door back and air now flowed out the center vents and to right and left side window vents.

To get the defroster vents working I moved the control knob to off, the suction holding the door to the rear was released and then I selected Defroster and the door was blown forward and the air was sent to the defroster vents under the front windshield. Turning the fan speed down to the 1 or 2 position would probably release the door too, and then you could then select the defroster position.

So being a cheap Charley, I now use a quarter inch diamater dowel cut the the right length sticking thru the left vent to push the door back when I need front console A/C. Air pressure keeps it in position until I turn off the engine or the system or turn down the fan speed to 1 or 2.

Never could find any crack in the evaporator case, but I'm sure that door should be controlled by the adjacent vacuum actuator. In these tough economic times "in the field repairs" are a necessity to keep the wheels rolling. A/C to the People!!

So Craig772, do you mean push the dowel through the left vent immediatly left of the steering wheel, or the left of two main vents on the center of my otherwise pristine 2005 Explorer XLT? Thanks in advance!

 

[Gespinoza]

My truck is a 2007 XLT with 53K and was built in Feb 2007, so it is just out of warranty. Just started blowing A/C air out of the defroster vents, with a small amount coming out the center console and the left and right upper vents near the side windows. I took it to the dealer for diagnosis and was told I had a cracked evaporator case around the center door pivot behind the center conslole. Cost to repair was going the be $1565 for a new evaporator case and labor to pull the dash. That cost me $95 for the news.

Came home and got on the site and read everything I could find on no air flow out of the center console vents. I tried a new Vacuum Check Valve for $15 from the dealer. Same problem. Used the info on the site to remove the center console cover around the radio. Very helpful thankfully. Noticed that there is another swinging door behind the center console vents. It didn't seem to be controlled by anything and just swung easily front to back depending on the direction of air passing over it. I then removed the plastic trim on the drivers side below the center console, the trim around the steering wheel and under the steering wheel and some steel supports under that to get a good look at the vacuum powered actuator.

I powered up the truck and observed how the arm on the actuator responded when I selected Max A/C, defroster, outside vent, regular A/C, etc. The arm moved OK, but had no effect on the position of the door and air never was passed to the center console vents. However, when I had the system set to Max A/C or reg A/C and I manually pushed the door to the rear, there was enough suction (especially when the fan speed was set to 3 or 4) to hold the door back and air now flowed out the center vents and to right and left side window vents.

To get the defroster vents working I moved the control knob to off, the suction holding the door to the rear was released and then I selected Defroster and the door was blown forward and the air was sent to the defroster vents under the front windshield. Turning the fan speed down to the 1 or 2 position would probably release the door too, and then you could then select the defroster position.

So being a cheap Charley, I now use a quarter inch diamater dowel cut the the right length sticking thru the left vent to push the door back when I need front console A/C. Air pressure keeps it in position until I turn off the engine or the system or turn down the fan speed to 1 or 2.

Never could find any crack in the evaporator case, but I'm sure that door should be controlled by the adjacent vacuum actuator. In these tough economic times "in the field repairs" are a necessity to keep the wheels rolling. A/C to the People!!

You mean the left of 2 vents on the center console and not the vent left of the steering wheel right? And what appx lenght and angle do you oush for the door I cannot easily see through the vent flow adjusters. Thanks!

 

[94Eddie]

You mean the left of 2 vents on the center console and not the vent left of the steering wheel right? And what appx lenght and angle do you oush for the door I cannot easily see through the vent flow adjusters. Thanks!

Have you replaced the vacuum check valve? I had this problem and it was the valve causing the issue. A link to this part is below. It take just 1-2 minutes to replace it.

More Information for MOTORCRAFT YG360

 

[07EddyB]

You mean the left of 2 vents on the center console and not the vent left of the steering wheel right? And what appx lenght and angle do you oush for the door I cannot easily see through the vent flow adjusters. Thanks!

You want to insert the dowel in either on the center dash vents. I haven't done it but I would imagine either would work considering the size of the door. When I had this problem it turned out that an actuator moves this vent and the plastic had broken where the linkage between the motor and the door connect. The best was to see this is to remove the glove box - that will give you the best view. In my case, I was able to drill a hole in the remaining plastic on the tab and use a zip tie to reconnect the linkage. It's been several years now and it's still working. I know another member posted about this also - let me see if I can find the link.

Edit - here is the link: Broken AC vent door arm

 

[tchamps]

'08 XLT here with the AC blowing through the defrost vents. Thanks for the thread, really helped narrow it down. The dowel rod quick fix worked and is fine for now, but I'll want to fix the root problem myself if I can.

On my vehicle, AC seems to blow equally distributed between defrost and dash vents on startup at AC level 1. However as I increase the AC to 2nd or 3rd setting, it moved to the windshield vents and stays there. I popped the dowel in the open the dash vents and it works.

Two different mechanics recommended the blend door actuator which I bought for $20, but didn't install. As I understand it, this has nothing to do with the vent doors, it's about temp. And temps are ok. So skipping that for now. I also bought a vacuum check valve and will replace that simply because it's cheap and easy. I'll see if that does it.

If not, next will be pulling down the glove box and checking the arm to see if it snapped off as recommended by @TexasArmadillo. If so it's the zip tie method.

After that I get into the vacuum actuator behind the center console that @TechMike talked about. That one I don't think I want to try to do, so if I end up there it's probably permanent dowel rod. But hey, the AC blows out the front vents as summer is coming up, and that's what I needed.

Thanks all. Good stuff.

 

[tchamps]

'08 XLT here with the AC blowing through the defrost vents. Thanks for the thread, really helped narrow it down. The dowel rod quick fix worked and is fine for now, but I'll want to fix the root problem myself if I can.

On my vehicle, AC seems to blow equally distributed between defrost and dash vents on startup at AC level 1. However as I increase the AC to 2nd or 3rd setting, it moved to the windshield vents and stays there. I popped the dowel in the open the dash vents and it works.

Two different mechanics recommended the blend door actuator which I bought for $20, but didn't install. As I understand it, this has nothing to do with the vent doors, it's about temp. And temps are ok. So skipping that for now. I also bought a vacuum check valve and will replace that simply because it's cheap and easy. I'll see if that does it.

If not, next will be pulling down the glove box and checking the arm to see if it snapped off as recommended by @TexasArmadillo. If so it's the zip tie method.

After that I get into the vacuum actuator behind the center console that @TechMike talked about. That one I don't think I want to try to do, so if I end up there it's probably permanent dowel rod. But hey, the AC blows out the front vents as summer is coming up, and that's what I needed.

Thanks all. Good stuff.

I don't think anyone is still in this thread, but if you are, I'm still working on the AC defroster vent issue. Using the dowel rod method which works fine, but trying to solve problem itself.

Here's the issue and my progress:

AC is cold, but defaults to defroster vents. Dowel rod works fine. Once the vents are open, I can pull the rod and the vents will stay in place AS LONG AS THE AC IS ON 3 or 4, anything under that and the flow moves back to the defrost vents (which I read in this thread is the default for Ford when there's not sufficient suction to hold them open).

1. Swapped out the vacuum check valve.
2. Replaced the blend door actuator (one on the drivers side near the steering column, tucked up against the center console.

Neither fixed it yet.

Next I'm going to drop the glove box and check the articulating arm and connector fix that @TexasArmadillo used.
If that's not it either, then I'm thinking it's a vacuum problem which it seems to be anyway the way it the problem behaves. I did notice when replacing the check valve that the tubing seems to have been heavily taped with electrical tape, telling me there might be a crack in the tubing.

If anyone's still following this thread and has any ideas, they're welcome. Thread has been super helpful saving me time and $$ already.
Todd

 

[tchamps]

I don't think anyone is still in this thread, but if you are, I'm still working on the AC defroster vent issue. Using the dowel rod method which works fine, but trying to solve problem itself.

Here's the issue and my progress:

AC is cold, but defaults to defroster vents. Dowel rod works fine. Once the vents are open, I can pull the rod and the vents will stay in place AS LONG AS THE AC IS ON 3 or 4, anything under that and the flow moves back to the defrost vents (which I read in this thread is the default for Ford when there's not sufficient suction to hold them open).

1. Swapped out the vacuum check valve.
2. Replaced the blend door actuator (one on the drivers side near the steering column, tucked up against the center console.

Neither fixed it yet.

Next I'm going to drop the glove box and check the articulating arm and connector fix that @TexasArmadillo used.
If that's not it either, then I'm thinking it's a vacuum problem which it seems to be anyway the way it the problem behaves. I did notice when replacing the check valve that the tubing seems to have been heavily taped with electrical tape, telling me there might be a crack in the tubing.

If anyone's still following this thread and has any ideas, they're welcome. Thread has been super helpful saving me time and $$ already.
Todd

Dropped the glove box and checked the vent control arm. It is intact, and I was able to see it when switching the AC mode, and it moves correctly. So that's not it either. Now I'm thinking it's a vacuum leak somewhere else. Or EGR valve? Running out of ideas.