Heater control

[Retired Iw396]

New to forum. Just got a 1966 Explorer and the heater control does not work. Its on high all the time. Is this just a replace the control with fix?

 

[vroomzoomboom]

do you have one thats a electric, or one with knobs. if you have one with knobs, i am going to say you might have a problem with the resistor that goes under the heater motor under the hood. pop it off (two i think 8mm bolts) and see if it looks burnt or the plug going to it isnt burnt

 

[lobo411]

New to forum. Just got a 1966 Explorer

Be careful with it...it's a classic!

And if it's the manual version with the knob, it's probably a broken blend door.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

And if it's the manual version with the knob, it's probably a broken blend door.

i think he meant was fan speed was on high. if he means he is either getting hot or cold air, i would agree with the blend door.

 

[Retired Iw396]

Three knobs on the dash. Where is the blend door? If you turn the heat knob (dial?) down nothing happens except high temp heat. Doesn't matter what speed the fan is on. To turn the heat down
you have to turn the heater off instead of just turning the temp down.

 

[lobo411]

Three knobs on the dash. Where is the blend door? If you turn the heat knob (dial?) down nothing happens except high temp heat. Doesn't matter what speed the fan is on. To turn the heat down
you have to turn the heater off instead of just turning the temp down.

There's a door in the fan box (plenum) that determines whether and to what degree air moves through the heater core. The more it's open the hotter air will come out of the vents, and when it's fully closed you don't get any hot air. Eventually, the door or the actuator breaks and you can't control how open/closed it is anymore. This thread covers it:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183742

 

[Retired Iw396]

Thanks to lobo411. It seems doable for me. Ill get what I need and proceed. Thanks again.

 

[koda2000]

Thanks to lobo411. It seems doable for me. Ill get what I need and proceed. Thanks again.

somewhere here, there's a thread with photo's on how to do a quick fix on the blend door. Dorman makes a replacement blend door, but installing it the right way requires removing the dash (definitely not worth it). the quick fix requires cutting a hole in the heater plenum, behind the glove box, replacing the broken blend door and then resealing the hole. how you reseal the hole is up to you, lots of options (I like the metal tape they use on home HVAC ducts). I'll see if I can find the thread and post the link for you.

here's the link...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183742

 

[lobo411]

Thanks to lobo411. It seems doable for me. Ill get what I need and proceed. Thanks again.

No problem...it's a relatively easy fix. Make sure you check the actuator first because that would be the best scenario (then it's just a few hard to reach bolts...no cutting anything). Just remove the actuator, power up the vehicle so the fan runs, and then sweep the temp control from hot to cold or vice versa. The actuator motor should move.

Probably it's a broken "D" on the blend door itself, which means you have to cut a big enough hole in the bottom of the plenum and wedge the old door out. It's a little harder to squeeze the new door in, but it's doable. Here's the one I used:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001SGIACU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I only used the door and tossed the other hardware. It was cheaper to buy the whole kit than just the door alone.

 

[Turdle]

Whoa--back up

Blend door controls temperature of air entering cabin

Blower motor resistor controls blower motor speed.



For clarity [MENTION=276754]Retired Iw396[/MENTION] which of these is your concern?

 

[Retired Iw396]

I guess I wasn't very clear. It's the temperature of air entering cabin.

 

[koda2000]

if the blend door actuator has stopped working it wont open the blend door to allow warm air to flow into the cabin. if the blend door is broken (common problem) then it mu be replaced. the only way to know what's happening is to dive into it starting with the actuator.