2004 Tbird air conditioning blows hot air

[Bailey]

My 2004 just started blowing hot air out of the air conditioning. I just bought this car! Does anybody know what it could be or have the same problem? Thanks!

Moderator Note: 2021- Check out this detailed thread for troubleshooting tips- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...ne-side-2002-2003-2004-2005-thunderbird.9446/

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[red]

This might help from a 2008 and 2017 Thunderbird Forum posts:

"Don't jump and spend money on something that may not be correct. I just checked on another owner that had the same problem [Tbird A/C blowing hot air]:
He said, "The coolant control valve is located on the passenger side of the radiator shroud. You will find three hoses connected to it, two of those hoses running to the heater core, the other routes to the upper radiator hose. This coolant control valve has two electronic actuators that divert the coolant in the appropriate manner. When they malfunction you will get only HOT air blowing from your vents regardless of which temp you set, whether A/C is on, or where you direct the air to come from. The part can be ordered from Direct Ford Parts for $102." -
Installed it himself. Not sure if this is your problem, sounds like it. But, always refer to the search function.....There's a wealth of info there for you."

Retrieved 5 July 2017, from http://forums.fordthunderbirdforum.com/threads/a-c-blowning-hot-air-help.3549/#post-30456

See also, Doering, R., Horne, T., Horne, T., & Horne, T. (2017). 2005 T'Bird AC Only Blows Heat. Ford Thunderbird forum covering all models 1955-2005. Retrieved 5 July 2017, from http://forums.fordthunderbirdforum.com/threads/2005-tbird-ac-only-blows-heat.5280/#post-32648

 

[tlfmd]

My 2004 just started blowing hot air out of the air conditioning. I just bought this car! Does anybody know what it could be or have the same problem? Thanks!

Feel th e hoses/tubes coming from compressor. IF one is cool, go for the electronic switch. IF not, try the rechagring idea.
BE sure the compressor clutch engages and the compressor is running

 

[Bailey]

This might help from a 2008 and 2017 Thunderbird Forum posts:

"Don't jump and spend money on something that may not be correct. I just checked on another owner that had the same problem [Tbird A/C blowing hot air]:
He said, "The coolant control valve is located on the passenger side of the radiator shroud. You will find three hoses connected to it, two of those hoses running to the heater core, the other routes to the upper radiator hose. This coolant control valve has two electronic actuators that divert the coolant in the appropriate manner. When they malfunction you will get only HOT air blowing from your vents regardless of which temp you set, whether A/C is on, or where you direct the air to come from. The part can be ordered from Direct Ford Parts for $102." -
Installed it himself. Not sure if this is your problem, sounds like it. But, always refer to the search function.....There's a wealth of info there for you."

Retrieved 5 July 2017, from http://forums.fordthunderbirdforum.com/threads/a-c-blowning-hot-air-help.3549/#post-30456

See also, Doering, R., Horne, T., Horne, T., & Horne, T. (2017). 2005 T'Bird AC Only Blows Heat. Ford Thunderbird forum covering all models 1955-2005. Retrieved 5 July 2017, from http://forums.fordthunderbirdforum.com/threads/2005-tbird-ac-only-blows-heat.5280/#post-32648

Thank you so so much! I really appreciate it! I certainly don't want to dump money into a problem and it doesn't get resolved. As a woman of limited knowledge of this, Mechanics sometimes try to take avenge of me. Thank you!

 

[Wolfe]

I JUST BOUGHT A 2002 T BIRD WITH ONLY 8K MILES ON IT. THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AS I PULLED IN FOR THE TITLE TRANSFER AND NOW MY A/C IS NOT PUTTING OUT COLD AIR ANYMORE. RUNS GOOD OTHERWISE. THEY TOLD ME IT WILL BE AN 8 HOUR JOB TO FIX THE A/C. ANY ADVICE?

 

[tommyc]

I JUST BOUGHT A 2002 T BIRD WITH ONLY 8K MILES ON IT. THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AS I PULLED IN FOR THE TITLE TRANSFER AND NOW MY A/C IS NOT PUTTING OUT COLD AIR ANYMORE. RUNS GOOD OTHERWISE. THEY TOLD ME IT WILL BE AN 8 HOUR JOB TO FIX THE A/C. ANY ADVICE?

Sorry to hear about your bad turn just as you bought your car! Some of what you described here is covered very well in the various threads on this forum. They're organized very well.

My suggestion would be to search on "AC" or "air conditioning". Without knowing your specifics, there are some known problem components in these AC systems and you may just need a less expensive part to get things going again. Regarding the time to make the repair, I understand the entire dash has to come out to access the AC so they may not be too far off.

Likewise, if you search "power steering" you will find numerous threads with others' experiences and helpful info. Some of the power steering problems folks encounter have more to do with an electronic module (search "FEM"). May not be the steering at all.

Good luck, and I hope you get things straightened out. 8K miles is sweet!

 

[lenny]

My 2004 just started blowing hot air out of the air conditioning. I just bought this car! Does anybody know what it could be or have the same problem? Thanks!

yes i have same problem

 

[edward301]

A good way to check if it is low on Freon, or stuck coolant valve, is start car when engine is cold and
run ac. If air is good and cold, Freon charge is ok, and coolant valve is stuck.

Once car warms up, if air gets warm, you got it figured out.

 

[jmichelich]

yes i have same problem

My 2005 just started same problem, blowing only very hot air. Dealer says the entire electronic controls system must be replaced, cost of over $2200! Has anyone had a similar problem? Does anyone have any experience requesting some help from Ford Motor Company for the cost of this? My car only has 30,000 miles!

 

[BluByeU]

Don't know what tests your Dealer did to arrive at this conclusion. I do think that they are wrong.
A very common problem with the 02-05 Birds is the air conditioning system suddenly putting out nothing but hot air. When the cabin temp is set to a temperature the system holds that temp by mixing hot air with the ac air. The correct amount of hot air is controlled by how much & how long hot water from the radiator mixes in the heater to hold the cabin at your pre-selected temperature.
This is done by the dual control heater valve which is located on the passenger side about half way down on the radiator. You can see it clearly by just looking down in that area. You will see a wire harness & 3 small hoses going into this valve. This valve fails; sometimes always closed, sometimes always open. In your case it has failed open allowing hot water to pass into the heater all the time.

If you have some mechanical/tool usage experience you can change this valve yourself, it isn't difficult. Just a awkward place to get into as well as many sharp edges. If you take it to a mechanic it should be about a 2hr job and the valve can easily be located at most auto parts stores as well as a Ford or Lincoln dealer.

Lincoln dealers know more about the engine, cabin temperature controls & transmission than most Ford dealers as the 02-05 T-Bird has many common parts with the Lincoln LS.

 

[Merry Dale]

My 2005 just started same problem, blowing only very hot air. Dealer says the entire electronic controls system must be replaced, cost of over $2200! Has anyone had a similar problem? Does anyone have any experience requesting some help from Ford Motor Company for the cost of this? My car only has 30,000 miles!

I think they are trying to rip you off. Car Care clinic is trying to charge me $250 for parts for a heater control valve and 370 labor plus 80 for diagnosis

 

[BluByeU]

Well we here already did the diagnosis for Car-Care. Just tell them to replace it. Or better still go buy the part your self & have any good local mechanic/ independent shop change it out for you. This too will be less expensive than Car-Care

 

[Fran]

hello all i have a 2003 t bird and the air conditioning just stopped the other day i do not have a owners manual for the car and am reaching out if there is anyone out there that may know of a fuse or relay that goes bad the system is holding a charge the compressor will not kick in , i want to take the car to the woodward dream cruise next month so it needs to be fixed any help would be great .

 

[bobk250]

Hi Fran,

There are a number of things it could be but I wanted to alert you to watch out for erroneous information on YouTube regarding how to recharge the compressor where the person mixed up the high & low connections. I also ran into another issue where besides being low on refrigerant, it was switching from blowing cold to blowing hot air. This baffled several "experts" until one steered me to an old Radiator repair shop where it was fixed with a relatively inexpensive part from Ford. (that guy's mother owned a retro bird like ours) Strongly suggest you get a copy of the manual for the simpler stuff.

 

[Steve809]

hello all i have a 2003 t bird and the air conditioning just stopped the other day i do not have a owners manual for the car and am reaching out if there is anyone out there that may know of a fuse or relay that goes bad the system is holding a charge the compressor will not kick in , i want to take the car to the woodward dream cruise next month so it needs to be fixed any help would be great .

Hi Fran,

Just had the same problem with my 2003. The local Ford dealer diagnosed the problem as a bad compressor. After replacing the compressor the a/c works great, unfortunately at a cost of $1200.

 

[cdbintexas]

hello all i have a 2003 t bird and the air conditioning just stopped the other day i do not have a owners manual for the car and am reaching out if there is anyone out there that may know of a fuse or relay that goes bad the system is holding a charge the compressor will not kick in , i want to take the car to the woodward dream cruise next month so it needs to be fixed any help would be great .

Fran, My 2004 AC did the same thing before hot weather arrived in Dallas. Coincidently I replaced the radio which necessitate unpluging the AC/Heat Control panel. That reset my MCU and the AC now works like a champ. Your mechanic can look up the self test error codes reported by the control panel when you press OFF &FLOOR at the same time followed by AUTO within 2 seconds they will be displayed. The online manual will tell you what each means. Have Fun!

 

[Fran]

Fran, My 2004 AC did the same thing before hot weather arrived in Dallas. Coincidently I replaced the radio which necessitate unpluging the AC/Heat Control panel. That reset my MCU and the AC now works like a champ. Your mechanic can look up the self test error codes reported by the control panel when you press OFF &FLOOR at the same time followed by AUTO within 2 seconds they will be displayed. The online manual will tell you what each means. Have Fun!

sir i tried to see the test error codes , hit the buttons the way you said and zip did it with car running and off and also with key in on pos ???

 

[CBBIRD]

My 2004 just started blowing hot air out of the air conditioning. I just bought this car! Does anybody know what it could be or have the same problem? Thanks!

Yes, I had to replace the compressor and control valve two years ago on my 05 to get my air back. I was not happy, but the car is 15 years old.

 

[junebugtpa]

My check engine light was on so we hooked up code reader
it said gas cap leak. The gas cap leak light wasn’t on. We bought new cap. we Turned off check engine light off since we replaced what code reader suggested was wrong. When we turned car on the A/C blew hot air!

 

[BIRDSALL]

My 2005 has been doing the same thing for the past 2 years or so. I had it recharged 2 years ago. They tested everything and found no leaks. That charge lasted about 6 months. I had some issues that Ford needed to repair and I had them recharge the system, again no leaks detected. I was driving one day after that and hot air started blowing when it should have been cold. I decided to bring it back to Ford a couple of days later and while on the drive it was blowing frigid air. Once again it is blowing warm air so I’ve decided to order and replace the DCCV. What’s another $67 dollars! I’ll keep ya posted....