2005 X limited, 84000 miles V10. bought the X a month or so ago for $18,000 OTD. everything is beautiful except that the rear A/C is warm. i work in commercial refrigeration so i should be able to handle the repairs myself, but i dont know how the system is designed to work. is there a solenoid in the line-set leading to the rear vents and if so, where is it hidden? i havent even begun to try to diagnose anything yet; i want to get the system specifics first.
thanks,

 

= = =

Your honesty MAY get you on the right track = Late news flash. Your FORD/s A/C system has little relationship to the typical commercial system!

It is a computer-controlled NIGHTMARE. During assembly, when the truck was wired, there is a bunch of wires underneath the right-hand rear window revel, that often has one or more "shorts" or "breaks" in it. You can start there.

If that dosnt disclose something obvious, STRONGLY recommend you find a COMPETENT Ford dealer and take it there. The system is not for the ordinary refrig. tech. (been there...done that....!)

 

A few people have had sucess replacing the TXV.

http://www.techchoiceparts.com/ShowI...#ItemNotes1Div

 

in the rear a/c is an expansion valve that sticks. that is your problem, an inexpensivce fix. check it out. i just had thge same thing. my compressor took a crap. replaced and they blew out the front lines but not the rear. 2 weeks later rear quit. was ewxpansion valve. now I have another problem. requires a question to all..

 

thanks for all the responses. is there anything available online showing me the location of all the components at least?

6686L,
if i associate an unfamiliarity of system specifics with inability to repair equipment i would have been out of business looong ago. theres nothing complicated about it once you have the system specs, and over the years ive found that it will never get repaired if you dont start turning wrenches. besides, i would just feel dirty paying someone else to do what i do. ;-)

 

I think you'll find everything after removing the rear panel, very basic systems!

BTW, I've worked on cascade refrigeration systems for over 20 years and know nothing is more basic than an AC system.

 

Just replaced the expansion valve in mine and mine works Great! It is in the right rear panel behind the jack.

 

Amen to that!

 

The expansion valve is behind the jack door compartment. You have to pull the rear passenger panel enough to remove the black plastic compartment. It is right behind there, brass in color with two lines in and two lines out. Torque the lines to 15ftlbs. when you reinstall.

I believe the black plastic jack compartment is held in with one plastic rivet near the top front.

To get to it,
1) Pull out the rear seat.
2) Unscrew the floor mounting plate for the rear passenger seat belt (large torx bit)
3) Remove passenger panel from the rear.
(At this point, you should only have to peel the large rear panel away by about a foot if you are willing to work in a tight space, otherwise, remove the whole side panel.)
4) Remove plastic rivet and jack compartment

Napa and Orielley both list the part as order in...unless you have an Napa warehouse nearby. Rockauto has the valve the cheapest.

 

[quote=MontanaBighorn;10565740] . . . . . theres nothing complicated about it once you have the system specs, . . . .

THAT'S THE PROBLEM. WHILE BASIC REFRIGERATION ISSUES CAN BE EASY TO REPAIR.....WITHOUT THE SPECS. AND ACCESS TO THE 'PROPRIETORY' PARTS...WELL.....!

i would just feel dirty paying someone else to do what i do. ;-)

BE ASSURED I KNOW THAT FEELING. I HAVE TWISTED A WRENCH OR TWO OVER THE YEARS MYSELF. (AND I TRULY HATE IT WHEN I RUN ACROSS A SYSTEM OBVIOUSLY DELIBERATELY DESIGNED TO TRY AND FORCE YOU TO GO TO A MFG'S REP / DEALER....!

Do you remembe a line from a Clint Eastwood movie..." MAN'S GOT TO KNOW HIS LIMITATIONS".....!

 

I think what MontanaBighorn is getting at is the A/C system on the excursion is a basic system, nothing special. The controls are the hard part. We field repair guys have to have the attitude we can and will fix anything, if we come across a new system, building, customer we have not seen before we cannot shy away from it just because of proprietary parts or controls. A human put it together and a human can figure it out.

Automotive A/C is less complicated then many items I or any other tech on this forum has probably experienced. Taking time to figure out Ford's system controls may be a hindrance but will be overcome.

Cheers

 

Before you open up the R134 system to put in the new expansion valve, make 100% sure that the electric blend door motor is working. This relatively simple part was the reason that my rear heater quit working. Maybe your problem is the opposite(?) Maybe the blend door is "stuck" giving you heater core air in large enough quantity to make you think A/C is not working(?)

This motor and blend door will be readily visible once you remove the passenger side rear panel.

On another level, you may also want to "feel" the refrigerant lines coming to/from the rear evaporator. If the exiting line is cold, then the expansion valve may be OK.

 

indeed. i do THIS every day...if i get intimidated by the a/c in my X then im already as good as done for.

...can anybody tell me if the OEM part has been redesigned to prevent this apparently known issue? if it has been redesigned i will go with an OEM TXV, but i dont want to replace a known failure with the same old known failure.

thanks!

 

thanks for the information. i picked up a TXV at napa for $48, and it only took about an hour to change out. the only difficult part about it is getting the flare fittings tight in the limited space. rear A/C cooling great now!

 

Thanks for posting the outcome - that seems to be the most difficult part
somtimes, finding out what fixed it (or not).

Love that BigSky Country.
Welcome to FTE!