Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Section for discussion of Chinook interior and appliance issues, repair or installation.
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grantandash
Posts: 30
Joined: June 18th, 2020, 7:40 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by grantandash »

Hi all. We're halfway through a cross country trip, hit the road yesterday and there is no air coming out the main vents in the vehicle AC. Fan turned to max, the upper vents on the dash near the windshield are blowing and blowing cold, so I know the AC is working, but I suppose the fan that blows the main driver/passenger vents is not. Wondering if anyone can give me an idea of the cause and estimate of the repair expense, and perhaps some advice/options for getting it fixed on the road. Currently in FL, headed to CA. Thanks!
2003 Concourse XL Dinette, 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10
dougm
Senior Member
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Joined: June 7th, 2016, 9:25 pm

Re: Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by dougm »

Could be a bad vaccuum actuator motor which are used to switch vents by moving the doors inside the heater plenum, or it could be a bad vent selector dial. Another common issue on the ford vans is for the vaccuum reservoir under the heater plenum to go bad causing the vent motors to not properly actuate when you turn the dial. When you accelerate heavy, does it have any effect on the vents or volume of air coming out of the dash? It could also be as simple as a vaccuum line disconnected between the engine and the vaccuum reservoir.
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sm350bl
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Location: Santa Cruz

Re: Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by sm350bl »

Kinda sounds like the typical vacuum reservoir problem. The hvac systems on most your modern ford econoline's default to defroster in the event of vacuum loss so visibility is retained. Does the conditioned air only come out of the defroster vent or some times conditioned air will come out of the dash registers then simply going uphill or applying throttle will reduce the vacuum supply enough to default the system back to defroster.
Rich
2000 Concourse 7.3L Powerstroke 4X4
Jlfchinook
Posts: 76
Joined: March 20th, 2020, 6:06 am
Location: Port Lavaca TX

Re: Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by Jlfchinook »

You tube has several fixes for this problem, if it was mine I would run a new hose until I could get parts for a new fix. To replace factory canister is a very costly fix.
2000 Concourse, 2001 premier
grantandash
Posts: 30
Joined: June 18th, 2020, 7:40 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by grantandash »

We have a winner, vacuum reservoir it was. Cost me $470 out the door. Thanks for the info, gave the mechanic a head start ;)
2003 Concourse XL Dinette, 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10
chin_k
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Re: Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by chin_k »

They should give you a discount with the info!
2000 Concourse dinette, on 1999 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10 Chassis
grantandash
Posts: 30
Joined: June 18th, 2020, 7:40 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by grantandash »

For my own delusional peace of mind I'm going to pretend there was one (google estimated the repair at $700-900) :P
2003 Concourse XL Dinette, 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10
deppstein
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Joined: July 13th, 2015, 7:07 am

Re: Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by deppstein »

We had the same issue on our trip out to CO in March...as stated, this is a common issue with our Rigs, and the fix is quite simple. It involves by-passing the original AC vacuum reservoir (which is located in an impossible place and would cost more than a $1000 to replace). Replacement canister and hoses with needed adapters costs only about $30 as I recall. Really very simple to do yourself...lots of good Youtube videos on this. I've attached link to my favorite and most useful. I've had fix in place for months now and driven a couple thousand miles with no issues. AC works perfectly again. Other questions, let me know. Good Luck.
David
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddcZnubJJgc&authuser=0
Save $1000 Ford Van AC Stuck in Defrost During Acceleration - Fixed!
deppstein
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Re: Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by deppstein »

Grandtandash--I see now that I was too late to the party with my advice...oh well. Glad you got it fixed--no AC on the road in summer is no fun! Safe Travels.
David
grantandash
Posts: 30
Joined: June 18th, 2020, 7:40 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Vehicle AC Not Blowing

Post by grantandash »

Thanks David! With my handiness level probably best the pros took care of it, plus by that estimate it came in rather cheap!
2003 Concourse XL Dinette, 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10
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