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A/C Problem

grtlf82

New Member
Joined
August 17, 2012
Messages
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City, State
Jacksonville, Fl
Year, Model & Trim Level
2000 Ford Explorer
I have a 2000 Explorer. When I start up there is a clicking sound coming from behind the glove box. I'm assuming some sort of relay. When I crank the A/C it blows cold for a few seconds and the clicking becomes more rapid. Then a small pop and it blows hot air. Any ideas? I've tried looking behind the glove box and can't find anything. There is a big black box but I can't figure out how to open it. Thanks.
 



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You may have a problem with the system that blends hot and cold air in that box you found.

Doing a search for blend door fix will take you to lots of posts about the problem, it's cause, and the fixes.

Hope this helps you out.
 






Will do. Thanks for your help.
 






Its more than likely a broken gear in the motor/harness that operates the blend door. Sits right behind the glove box. Remove/lower the glove box out of the way and listen carefully and you should see the little square black box sitting on top right behind the glove box on the left hand side. Its a little tricky getting the 4 screws out but you just have to be patient. You can separate the black box carefully not to break the fragile tabs(well i could on mine anyways) I have an automatic climate control so manual may be different - and inside you will find two gears. On mine the small gear had 3 broken teeth - hence the clicking. Went to the junkyard and found 2. So now i have a spare in case.

Take a small flat head and pry open that black box. You will find stripped gears Im betting.

If the gears are fine then the blend door will be broken and dislocated from its socket. That little black box on top is the motor that rotates the door. so its either one or both of the two. My blend door was fine so i left it. Yours may be broken and needs replaced and as the previous poster said, there are many posts about it. Good luck.
 






Yes, it was the blend door actuator. I replaced it about a week ago. Sorry, didn't reply with my news sooner. I did open the old one and, sure enough, broken teeth on one of the gears. But new problem! I cranked the truck up after I replaced it -- ice cold air! Nice! So I was thinking everything was great. A few days later it was raining, rolled the windows up, and cranked the a/c. At a stop light (idle) it blows cold, but when accelerating or driving it starts blowing heat. I checked the refrigerant level with a gauge and added some 134A. Everything looks good. Pressure at idle is 35, but when accelerating it drops to 25. Any ideas?
 






OK, so this is how I stand now. I pulled the actuator back out, but left it plugged in. Cranked the truck, but the actuator doesn't move. So just to test if it was bad, I plugged in the old one, which I know worked but just had broken gears. Didn't work either. I checked the fuse and that was good. I did open the blend door and cranked the a/c. Blows ice cold. So I know it's the actuator not opening the door. It's staying in the closed position, so that's why I was getting heat. Any more ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 






So I did more research through the forums and figured out Dorman actuators will not work. I did manage to get the old one to work by resetting the system (pulling fuse 36). Have to head to the local Ford dealership to try and get the correct part. I can't figure out what is the correct actuator on fordparts.com or rockauto.com.
 






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