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Intermittent A/C


Sully
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Need some a/c help please. On my 2012 Fusion, the a/c has started crapping out. I don’t use it much but do especially when it’s raining. Recently, after starting my car, the a/c usually works but sometimes it just blows hot air. I’ve been able to shut the car off and turn it back on and it’s fine. Yesterday When it was raining I left work the AC was working fine, stopped at a store, went in got a few items, came back out and started the car. The AC worked for about five seconds and then changed to hot air. I tried shutting the car off and restarting it several times and it would do the same thing. This morning get in the car started drive to work and have a Sue the entire time.

Anybody have any ideas as to what could be causing this?

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My ‘07 Civic had the same symptoms and the compressor clutch was wore out. It would work fine, then as it warmed up it would start slipping. Let it cool down (go into a store, let it sit overnight) and it would grab again.
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See if the compressor is engaged and running while you are getting hot air.

 

If not, then you can look for issues like:

*Is the compressor being commanded "on" by the car BCM/PCM?

*Is the system properly charged?

 

If so, then you can look for issues like:

* Is the system properly charged?

* Are the blend doors operating properly?

 

If you actually get cold air sometimes, the compressor and charge MAY be OK and you may have an issue with either blend doors or the compressor not being commanded on because the module isn't "seeing" some piece of data properly and shutting it down.

 

(Just went through a similar issue with a '05 Silverado, cold a/c on passenger side, hot air on drivers side. Shut off/restart sometimes solved the issue. Compressor and a/c system was working fine, blend door would not shut off hot air from heater core. In this case, bad control head in dash - your results may vary)

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Thanks for the replies so far. I read something about the blend doors and module being the most likely culprit on these cars with this issue.

 

This latest instance was Tuesday evening. Since then, the A/C has been fine. I have a feeling the compressor and charge are ok.

 

I believe the least expensive thing to check is the blend doors, but at this point, I have no clue how to go about checking or replacing those.

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Thanks for the replies so far. I read something about the blend doors and module being the most likely culprit on these cars with this issue.

 

This latest instance was Tuesday evening. Since then, the A/C has been fine. I have a feeling the compressor and charge are ok.

 

I believe the least expensive thing to check is the blend doors, but at this point, I have no clue how to go about checking or replacing those.

 

If they operate "intermittently" then the blend door motors are likely OK. More likely a control issue (PCM/BCM, grounds, or a sensor providing "bad data" - i.e. ambient air temp as mentioned).

 

A good scan tool (Not your favorite retail stores) can scan all the modules for codes. There are likely codes in one of (the many) modules Ford used for this "malfunction" (A/C commanded on as dash and then not happening).

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Oddly enough, the battery in my car died yesterday. The battery was only 2 years old. When I took it out of the car to have it tested, we noticed a decent bulge on the side of the battery. It was replaced free of charge, but now i'm wondering if this could have somehow been linked to the A/C not working intermittently. Maybe the battery was too weak at times to allow the A/C to work. I could be way off base, but perhaps wishful thinking. I haven't had to run the air yet this week, but I'll be checking it occasionally.
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Well, it wasn't the battery. I was driving the car today sitting in traffic enjoying the a/c, then all of a sudden it switch to hot air. I read something about turning the dial to hot, then very slowly, one click at a time, turning it back to cold. I did this and the air gets cold for about 20 seconds, then goes back to blowing warm air again. I did this several times and it did the same thing each time. Knowing this, what should I be looking at now?
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