A/C not cooling

[gbsb]

I have a 2002 bird with 120,000 miles on it runs geat love the car. Had an accident in Dec. had to replace the a/c condenser. Just had freon checked said it was good. The a/c will pull the temp down to 49 degrees going down the road at 60 mph. At idle will only pull down to 70 degrees. Its hot here in Texas but its allways hot here this time of year and it cooled last year.. any ideas what the problem might be. Hate to take it to dealer not a lot of confidence in them. Thanks in advance for any help. GBSB

Moderator Note: 2020- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...ne-side-2002-2003-2004-2005-thunderbird.9446/

 

[dchamb9414]

there is a feature that operates the tempature control that i don't like (my 02 is also inconsistant). when you adjust the thermostat up or down, it opens or closes a a baffle to let in warm air to mix with the cold air to raise the tempature, this is operated by an auger type devise that turns to move the baffle. it is all tied in with the computer system, and doesn't always do what it should. i have found its best to set the temp all the way down and not change it inl winter. when its not cooling at all it will give a code, and if you reset it, it usually works ok for a while.

 

[George]

gbsb:
Did some digging in my files and came up with a few that had hot air coming from AC. Heree's their comments:
"AC kept blowing heat -PROBLEMS WAS - HEATER CONTROL VAVLE CC42....VALVE WAS REPLACED."

"Several months ago all my vents were blowing very hot & my mechanic confirmed that the Coolant Control Valve was faulty. This repair is a $450 job but Ford agreed to pay 80% of the cost since I was only one week out of warranty."

"I have also had this problem. The mechanic replaced every valve, doodad, whatnot and gadget attached to the ac system and yet, the problems continued on. The mechanic's last ditch effort after talking to the mucky muck engineers with Ford was to trace every single wire that was in any way connected to the ac and all its components and he found a wire at the end of the last line he looked at that had shorted out. Fixed that and the ac works fine now."

Hope this doesn't confuse you - More to follow:

 

[George]

Try this first!!!

“The vents on the passenger side blow very HOT when the AC compressor is on, while air blowing out of the driver side vents is cold. I understand that the likely culprit is the Blend Door actuator. My local Ford dealer said labor alone is more than $900 to repair.”

“My car did that once and once only. You may have already tried this, but this is what I did. I turned both driver and passenger temp controls all the way up as high as they would go, then down as low as they would go. I could literally hear the vents / doors in the dash opening and closing. Has been fine ever since. You make also try changing from defrost to A/C as that typically opens and closes the internal vents and doors. If there is a cable or something like that which has come loose or is binding, this may not work. However it's a good starting point. Like I said, mine did the same thing and that's all I did, and no problems since. I mentioned it to my service manager, he said possibly since living in Florida and never using the heat, that when I did actually use the heater or defroster, the door was being used for the first time in a long time and dust or debris have it wedged as they have a seal that is relatively tight.”

“Your advice was right on target. I just ran an errand & in the process followed your instructions. I had already tried moving the temperature back & forth on the passenger side, but not both driver & passenger simultaneously. I'm hoping that I will continue to have good fortune just as you have had. I'll let you know if I have that problem again.”
So this is better news for you-Something to try

 

[gbsb]

Thanks for the input I will give it a try. can't hurt at least it works good going down the road at road speed. Driving between Texas and Tennesse every third weekend. agin thanks will take it my mechanic first chance I get. GBSB

 

[dchamb9414]

hey george, i think you described the problem as i did, only a lot more articulately. i have used he same remedy successfully several times, but it keeps re-occuring. "blend door actuator" huh, now i know what to call it.

 

[George]

Yes Dave, but it is expensive if you get it replaced. Thanks for the compliment, but I just pass on info I read elsewhere to be sure we all keep informed. Especially our new members

 

[dchamb9414]

i do appreciate the research time it must take to keep us all informed. some of these issues ARE expensive to have repaired at a shop. i have found the info garnered on this site more accurate than that of the ford or lincoln mechanics. regrettably, a lot of the little nagging problems we just have to learn to live with (cd's not ejecting for one).