A/C Vent Doors Update

[Collin Lyon]

When I got the dash taken apart, I didn't find this part:



[Broken External Image]:



What I found were cylindrical & hydraulic(?)



[Broken External Image]:



So, can anyone confirm the cylindrical part is the 'actuator' that operates the vent doors?



On a side note, I unplugged and replugged the hoses for these cylindrical parts (4), and for the last few days, the A/C has been running great.

 

[Mark Stadnicki]

Interesting, when I ordered an actuator for my 2010 with auto climate control I received the vacuum actuator. But when I look under the dash I have the square electronic actuator. I threw the vacuum one out.



Did you pull the entire dash out?

 

[Lou M]

Wonder if you just had a slight leak and fixed it when you unplugged and reinserted the hoses? Maybe replace all of the hoses and button her up?



LouM...

 

[Collin Lyon]

Hi Lou - did the vacuum actuator look like this? I think you may be right. Working fine since I plugged/replugged the hoses. I think the air should come out colder, though.



I was told last month, if there is no freon leak, I would never have to recharge it, being an "enclosed system". Does that sound right? I'm no expert, but that didn't sound right. I've never recharged the system since brand new (7+ years).

 

[Yardsale]

It is a sealed system, but things happen. You would not see a Freon leak, but you would notice the air isn't as cold as it once was. As it leaks, and the pressure drops, atmospheric air will enter the system bringing in moisture and oxygen. You can see this as bubbles through the evaporator sight glass.

 

[scott degroot]

The directional position (floor, defrost etc..) are controlled by vacuum actuators, one of them is shown in your second picture. For temperature control the system uses an electrical actuator of which you have a picture. If you have dual climate control there will 2 of these actuators, one on the left side and one on the right side. The actuators are located towards the bottom of the heater case where it goes down to the floor. On the right side you will remove the forward most panel of the center console (where your left foot would be if you were sitting in the seat) Once you remove that you should see the actuator. These really only take about 10 minutes to change.



One thing you can try before you replace the actuator is to reboot the hvac control module (this is the indash control panel that you control the hvac system with). Remove the module and leave it unplugged for a few minutes. Next reinstall it and turn the key on but do not start the engine. Next push any button on the controller EXCEPT for off. The module should now start to recalibrate all of the hvac sensors and also the electricial actuators. This should only take a minute or so. After a couple of minutes has gone by turn the key off and then start the vehicle and check the operation of the system. If it still does not operate correctly then we can check and see if there are any trouble codes in the hvac module.



This procedure should also be followed after replacement of the electricial actuators.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Fords never have as cold of A/Cs as many other makes because they use a fixed orifice before the evaporator in the refrigerant circuit instead of an always-adjusting thermostatic expansion valve like other makes use. With the orifice, especially at idle speeds and weaker flow across the condenser will result in diminished cooling. Add the very high dew points that exist in many areas of the country, and the poor Ford A/C struggles to remove any sensible heat, as most all of its cooling efforts are going to removing the latent heat from the intake air. Switching to recirculate can help quite a bit as the cabin air contains less humidity after a while.