1997 Ford Explorer Air Conditioner Problems

My Air conditioner works great when it is on A/C Max

when it is on any other setting it blows very hot air.

Has anyone else experienced this?

I don't understand it... I would think that if A/C Max works then all other modes whould blow cool air as long as my dial is pointing to the cold side right?

Any help would be appreciated.

Also my cruise control is not working. Is there a fuse for this?

Thanks

Frank...

Reply to
Superglide
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What you have is a classic case of "blend door" failure. Basically the blend door which controls airflow is broken and needs to be replaced. The problem is that to get access to the blend door, the entire dash must be removed which is EXTREMELY expensive especially at a ford dealer. Your best option and the first thing you should try is the common blend door fix which can be found on the web if u search for it. It's very effective and restores normal operation to your air conditioning system. Also on a side note, dont use the max ac setting too much because it puts a heavy load on the engine and that generally is not good for an engine. By the way the blend door problem is very common in explorers and u will find a wealth of information on the web pertaining to the blend door issue. Hope this helps.

Reply to
Wraith

Here's a couple links for you re: blend door fix:

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As to "max ac setting too much because it puts a heavy load on the engine", I'd be really shocked it "max a/c" does anything more than move a flapper around inside the duct work to recirculate the inside air back through the a/c system thus cooling it more than "Normal". If anything, Max A/C would put less of a load since you would not be trying to cool the hotter outside air all the time.

dave

Reply to
Dave

What you said about the blend door is accurate, however the stuff about MAX A/C putting a "Heavy Load" on the engine, is pure, unadulterated National Enquirer grade bullshit !

Max A/C closes the fresh air intake vent, so that the air recirculates from the cabin, and gets re-cooled PERIOD!

There is no "turbo mode" or anything that happens to the compressor to load anything down more.

Go ahead and Use MAX as much as you want to. No worries. Hell, I live in Las Vegas, NV and from June to October I pretty much set my A/C's to max, and break off the knob!

Reply to
Chief_Wiggum

Max AC does two things:

  1. opens the recirculate door in the cab so it stops drawing hot outside air.

  1. closes the valve to the heater core so, even if the blend door is broken, the heater core cools off and you get only cooling.

It doesn't put any more load on the engine than the regular AC modes -- that's all determined by the pressure differentials in the AC system itself. (True, the compressor might run a little more, but it will probably freeze you out of the cab, and then you'll shut it off. . . . . . .)

Reply to
Alan Moorman

The fact that the inside air intake opens makes the AC MUCH noisier, but it isn't turbo mode. It's just not muffled the way it is when it's pulling air from the outside.

The only potential problem with that is that, if you drive long enough, you'll eventually breathe up all the oxygen in the car. You would probably never realize it, because you'll fall asleep just before the fatal crash happens!

Reply to
Alan Moorman

Yes, maybe if you drive from New York, to Los Angeles straight through, and seal up the car you could be in danger of CO poisioning .

But since it's not really possible to seal the car up that tight, it doesn't happen.

Reply to
Chief_Wiggum

Huh?

Actually max A/C would put less load on the engine. Max a/c recirculates the air. Normal A/C brings in outside air.

What is more work for the engine? Cooling the cabin air that is already at 75 or cooling the air from outside that is at 95???

Reply to
JaWise

It's easier than that. I was in my ('74 Ford many years ago when it was only a few years old) with my brothers and the wife of one of them. We drove for about 45 minutes, and I noticed that my brother (who was driving) was beginning to wander around on the highway.

I tried to tell him to take the AC out of MAX, but couldn't quite find the words. Since I was in the back, I couldn't open a window.

Finally managed to tell him to move the temp control to the right, and the AC went out of MAX.

We all perked up right away, and opened the windows for a while.

It can happen much more easily that you think if your AC is just recirculating the inside air and not adding any fresh air!

Reply to
Alan Moorman

I think he was hearing the much louder noise of having the recirculating door open, and was thinking that it was is some super-powerful mode!

Reply to
Alan Moorman

Um... yeah... Sure !

Reply to
Chief_Wiggum

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