How to: Cold air in glove box -OR- No air flow from vents on Max AC - Here's a workaround

[domesttuner]

Thanks, I will do contact him. I know exactly what you are talking about on the cowl and intake, I just didn't think it was very common. That makes two so far, I guess.

 

[whagen]

Seems 70K miles is what they last

Happened again, fresh air door sitting in the bottom of the airbox. Last time it was at the 70K-ish mile mark. Now at 140K and think I heard it fall off last week. This time it's on me to fix, warranty ran out long time ago.

 

[mountaineer2004]

After I took over my wife's 2004 mountaineer, I did a thorough cleaning. When I removed the passenger side windshield cowl, it looked exactly like the picture in post #100 , and the car was bought brand new.

Does this mean that the car never actually had fresh air coming in from the ventilation system? Has it been, in effect, always in re-circulate mode from day one?

All responses appreciated.

 

[motc777]

This might be one of my issues. I'll try it tomorrow and let you all know. I can see in there vut cannot tell if it's fallen down or not.

I notice that the force of heat and cold is kind of restricted.

 

[Exproblems]

After I took over my wife's 2004 mountaineer, I did a thorough cleaning. When I removed the passenger side windshield cowl, it looked exactly like the picture in post #100 , and the car was bought brand new.

Does this mean that the car never actually had fresh air coming in from the ventilation system? Has it been, in effect, always in re-circulate mode from day one?

All responses appreciated.

Yes, I would say my vehicle and yours never had fresh air coming in thru the air recirculation door by the way it was professionally sealed up. Why they did this, I'm not sure. I would say yes to the second question, always in Max AC mode or closed off to outside air coming in and recirculating the cabin air over and over making the AC air temp colder. Where I live it doesn't bother me at all. I use heat more than AC majority of the year anyhow and hardly ever use the AC
.

 

[Exproblems]

This might be one of my issues. I'll try it tomorrow and let you all know. I can see in there vut cannot tell if it's fallen down or not.

I notice that the force of heat and cold is kind of restricted.

Look for the air recirc door panel laying on it's side once you split the air box open after you take out those 4 screws. It should be just below the opening of the air box. The panel is approx. 5"high and 11" long and kind of flat.

 

[whagen]

If you are going to fix this yourself, it's really not that bad. I took the passenger seat out and the center console. Then disconnect and drop the steering wheel. Then it's just pull the dash back far enough to get the airbox out. When you pull the dash back sit it on two 5 gallon buckets.

There are more detailed instructions here:
http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog...t-cold-enough/
These instructions are pretty good for doing it without removing the whole dash as Ford would have you believe they do. I think my toughest part was finding all the screws to remove the center console, there are not many, it just seems some are hidden.

 

[mountaineer2004]

Thanks Exproblems for your response.

I went to Home Depot yesterday and saw one of our generation Explorer's parked in the lot, so I went over and looked into the passenger windshield cowl. The hole there was also covered up with the same shield, exactly like your picture.

This is odd...is there maybe another way for the interior to get fresh air? I can't see why the hole would be covered up otherwise in these vehicles.

 

[whagen]

I think it's the way it is to prevent rain and water from falling into the HVAC system. If you pull off the cowl that is under the wiper it gives you access to the fresh air intake.

 

[mountaineer2004]

I think it's the way it is to prevent rain and water from falling into the HVAC system. If you pull off the cowl that is under the wiper it gives you access to the fresh air intake.

Are you sure, because what I'm seeing is the fresh air intake, but covered up, just like the pic in post #100 .

 

[Exproblems]

Thanks Exproblems for your response.



This is odd...is there maybe another way for the interior to get fresh air? I can't see why the hole would be covered up otherwise in these vehicles.

Your welcome and I don't think so. I removed my broken air recirc door completely and never re-installed it and I do not get a rush of cold air coming into the cabin on the front passenger side foot well from behind the glove box. That plastic cover you see in my photo is blocking any incoming outside air. Other people who don't have that plastic cover plate as mine and had their air recirc door fail, said they felt cold air rushing in under the passenger side foot well area. That's about all I know on this.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015 TO ALL!

 

[justanother1]

Happy New Year to all.

It has been said multiple times but a big Thank You on this. I have just removed the recirculating door that has fallen. Also, like someone has mentioned needed to move the temp knob 1 line off of max to get maximum air flow for defrost.

Don't want to highjack this thread but we have had another issue and is not related to removing the door. There is air coming out of the vents on the side of the center console on defrost. Is this normal? If not what is the issue?

 

[Jobe]

After reading this thread it got me thinking because my heat has not been that great lately and my wife is always complaining about cold air on the passenger side. Sure enough I pulled the fan out and there was the door laying on top on the fan intake. Removed the door and covered up the intake on the inside of the truck to stop air from blowing in from outside. I figured that the only time the heating/cooling system closes off the outside air is when its on max AC and I rarely ever turn the dial to that. Without the door in there, there is nothing to stop the outside air from just blowing in behind the glove box

 

[motc777]

Thanks once again to the OP. My door in fact had fallen down as described in this thread. Removed it, and problem solved. Also, I wanted to point out like some others said that there was no punch out on my 2004 Mountaineer for the outside air, so question is, why was that door in there in the first place?

 

[thinger62]

I know this is an old thread, but I have to say thank you. I had both problems, the lack of air flow and the blend thing not working. I just fixed the first thanks to this thread and can't believe the difference. The blower actually feels like a regular vehicle now. My outer vent was factory sealed also, so I don't think removing that little door will do any harm, in any season. Thank you very much! I'll save my faulty blend actuator thingamajig for another day.

 

[explorerjosh]

I'm taking note of this.

 

[tomballpkr]

Thanks, this guide worked well for me. Instead of tape over the inlet air I did this:
- Used wood shims on both sides to keep the box as open as possible
- Pushed the door back up into place with a screwdriver so it was covering the inlet air grate
- Used an electric screwdriver with long magnetic extension and phillips bit to drive a screw through the plastic door and into plastic housing behind it.
- Did a 2nd screw also

Door is covering inlet air and everything works well now. I'm in Texas and don't need hot air coming in.

 

[Electriceyeguy]

THIS...is a great thread, thanks Curtis! Simple, yet effective!

The problem with mine is slightly different. I dropped the glove box and looked up in there and can see my recirc door move when I switch it to MAX A/C. Switch to normal and it brings in outside air as it should.
Problem occurs at random and without any reason I know of. Will have MAX A/C blowing on a hot day through the vents and all of a sudden it stops flowing out of the vents and comes out the floor vents? As we drive along a bit further it switches back to the upper vents...all by itself. Has anyone here seen or heard of this one before?

Driving the wife crazy, which in turn makes me even crazier. If that's possible, that is. ; )

 

[WaterBrat]

I don't know how common it is for other Explorer owners not having their outside air recirculation door vent, under the passenger side, windshield cowl punched out by the factory, but mine is not. In the link I provided, look at post #15 and then the first two pics in that post. You'll see the under the cowl vent opening in those pics, not mine though. If I get around to it and feel like removing my cowl again this summer (just re-painted it 2 weeks ago), I'll take a picture of mine and post it in here. I would have done it before but I didn't think it was a problem for anyone else but me. It's really not a problem for me and I could always cut it out myself.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=377401

On the vacuum line diagram, see forum Moderator "Bigrondo", fairly certain he has the vacuum line schematic for our Explorers.

Edit: Here is the photo of my missing outer air recirc door intake that was never cut out on my Explorer. The pic view is from the under side of the passenger side windshield cowl cover. There is a riveted, rounded plastic cover over the fresh air intake opening and I have no idea who put that there. Possibly one of the two previous owners or a drunk Ford factory line worker?

On my 05 EB I have a metal piece in the same location as this pic. Under the driver side cowl it is completely open around the wiper motor. I do not see any way to block the outside air so I will see if I can fix the door.

 

[WaterBrat]

Actually made a complete repair on the recirc door without pulling the dash. If you have the door in your hand you will see along one edge a pin and the other a keyed hole. This edge goes up to the top with the pin on the right. The lever is attached to a brass looking vacuum canister and just slides into a hole at the top of the plastic tent, keying to the door. By breaking through the debris screen above the blower fan, the door can be held in the proper position while the lever is reinserted. There are 2 8mm screws (1 on each side PITA) holding the canister. They will need to be removed to replace the lever. It seems there are 3 states of the Vac canister. The extension to the lever is longest at rest. Once the AC is on the extension pulls down, and on recir the extension pulls further. I positioned the lever to the door so the door closes the outside air when the AC is on. I wanted to do this as I am in the Tropics and did not want to have to remember the recir button each time. Project time start to finish was just under 2 hours. I am a skinny guy with small hands (You know what that means) so I was able to get to all the screws. I can only assume the door came loose because of the number of toppes (speed bumps) here. My guess is I will have to do this again and if so I will remember the camera. Thanks to the OP for alerting us to a fix. I did not realize there might be a problem until I read this thread.

Skipper in Mx