The AC in my '09 F-150 does not cool as well as I think it should.
In searching for info on this concern I discover that for '08 and below, the fix was to install a Heater Control Valve in the hose leading to the heater core, something like a Motorcraft YG136, and tie it into the vacuume controls, to stop the flow of hot coolant to the core when the AC function was selected.
I considered this mod for my truck as well but it appears that the '09 HVAC controls are electricly actuated rather than vacuume like the '08 and below, so the vacuume valve won't work.
Does anyone know of an electricly actuated valve, rather than vacuume actuated like the YG136, that is a straight through 3/4" x 3/4" that I could use for this mod? I could tie it in to the Max AC command circuitry so that the coolant flow would be shut off when this function was selected.
Would this work to just tie into the MAX AC circuit to operate a valve or are all the controls ran through a micro processor of some sort and couldn't handle the extra load?
Kinda makes me wish for the simpler days of cable controls.

Thanks for any thoughts you might have.

 

In my powerstroke I just placed a ball valve from napa. 6.00 in one of the heater core lines. Yeah it's manual but fail proof, cheap and worked like a charm. 5 minute install and simple

 

The AC in the 2009 and newer trucks is all electronically controlled by the PCM. I found this out dealing with the poor AC performance in my 2010. The "fix" to my problem turned out to be a reflash of the PCM which only got done because of the nasty letter I wrote to Ford about the AC and two dealers telling me that "they all do that." It took a field engineer working with the dealership mechanic to undertake the reflash. Even then, my AC is still marginal for the desert southwest.

 

My 09 doesn't blow very cold either. Last summer they finally figured it was a little low on r134. So they recharged it and it's better. Still not as cold as 97, which also uses r134. I guess I just need to leave it on recirc longer

 

first the trans then the cam and timeing chains now the blend door motor for the ac and heat and ford won'ts $900.00 to put a $21.00 motor in it sad to say that ford is going in the wrong direction i will never buy a new ford again i have had 12 new ford trucks and 5 cars and ford won't fix anything for me and thats sad from 04 till now have poor drivetrain !!!!! i am going to get me a 2003 or older f150 when they had good drivetrains in them i never had a issues with any of them

 

and the trans is still shifting hard ever other time you take off and will get you ran over if you try to jump in the other lane if falls on it face they say it is a learning transmission so mine must be a slow learner haha thats sad for a 50.000 dollar truck

 

Hmm, 3 posts, joined yesterday, and every post badmouthing his truck.

JunkFord - first, you need a new keyboard - yours appears to have issues with punctuation and capital letters. Second, please sell your Ford as soon as possible and buy something else. I'd suggest a Toyota - you'd fit right in.

Shoo, troll...

 

My 2009 F-150 4x4 Platinum did not blow any heat what so ever last Nov. 2011. The truck was out of warranty mileage wise so I had to buy a resistor from the dealership.
Same thing happened last week with the A/C and the dealership is replacing the connector, resistor and it burned up the blower motor. $480.00 plus dollars. The resistor is covered under warranty because it is under the 12,000 mile coverage on parts. I am trying to get them to cover the blower motor also due to the faulty resistor that was replaced last fall. They told me the blower motor always goes first and then the resistor.
If that is the case why didn't the blower motor burn up last fall? Sure would appreciate any advise or contacts to get this taken care of.

Much Appreciated!

 

I just read a rather long thread on F150OnLine that detailed a mod that basically consists of placing a ball valve (or electronic control type) in line with one of the heater hoses. This blocsk all hot water to the HC, which does radiate heat into the cab, even though it's not actually IN the cab. Guys are measuring a fairly significant vent temp drop from this mod.

Let me find the link when I get to work tomorrow and I'll post it.

CMOS

 

Thanks CMOS for your input.
Back in April I returned the truck to the dealer for them to attempt to get it to cool better, along with a couple of other minor repairs and TSBs before going out of warranty. The tecnician apparently found fault with the AC compressor and replaced it. At the time I doubted that there had been anything actually wrong with the compressor since the cooling had been consistantly poor since new, but if they could get Ford to agree to the replacement its OK by me.
As I suspected, once the summer arrived, the cooling performance remains sub-standard. I can get no more than a 30 degree drop across the evaporator. If the ambient temp is 90 I will get no more than 60 degree air out of the vents and that is on Max Recirculate.
I have briefly investigated the heater hose shut off mod but I am not sure it is a simple modification. It appears to me that the engine uses the heater core circuit as a coolant by-pass for the right side of the engine. So, if one were to just block that by-pass circuit the engine may not circulate it's coolant properly when the heater was shut off. I think that one would have to install a heater valve that allowed the coolant to flow through that circuit but never reach the heater core. The valve would have to be an "H" type valve to allow that. Another stumbling block is that the heater hoses are not designed to be easy to cut into and re-route, so that makes it a bit more difficult.
With only 19,000 miles on an '09, and since it's not my daily driver, it's not something that bothers me every day, so the project is not at the top of my to do list. I am taking the truck to get it's windows tinted July 17 to see if that may help a little, and as I get time I will investigate the heater by-pass idea.
Thanks again for your interest.

 

I'm disappointed with the AC in my 2012 Ecoboost, too. I'll be watching this thread with interest.

It's hot and somewhat humid in the midwest right now. I'm on the ragged edge of being uncomfortable during my drive home from work and I can maintain speeds above 45 mph most the time. If I were driving in city traffic then I don't think the AC would ever get cool.

 

Okay, here's the thread from F150Online:

I fixed my poor A/C performance - F150online Forums

Read the entire thing. It's long. but there's quite a detailed discussion going on here.


CMOS

 

The 09 F-150 does not use vacuume controls like the older trucks, it uses electric actuators, so the "H" valve I mentioned in my previous post would have to be controled thru an electric/vacuum solonoid by a switch mounted in the cab, or tied into the HVAC control circuits so that the valve could be opened or closed depending on need for heat.

Defrost here in OH sometimes needs some heat along with the AC so one might want to only enable the by-pass when MAX is selected.

Here are links to the valves I have looked at as possible candidates. I need to do further research before I select one.

Amazon.com: Dorman 911-603 Vacuum Switching Valve for Toyota: Automotive

One would also need to be sure the vacuum valve would vent to allow the heater valve to open when vacuume was removed. Default electricly (no power to solenoid) should be to allow the heater valve to be open. Default on the heater valve (no vacuum) should be open, with vacuum causing the valve to close,

Here is a heater by-pass valve that looks interesting:

Amazon.com: Four Seasons 74607 Vacuum Non-Bypass Closes Heater Valve: Automotive

And another:

Amazon.com: ACDelco 15-5533 Heater Shut Off Valve: Automotive

Now all I need is time to pursue the project.