Hey guys, the AC on my 2000 Mountaineer recently went south and I have it narrowed down to my door blend actuator. I purchased a Dorman brand actuator from oreilly's that provided absolutely zero joy (didn't work). I broke it open to compare it with my original, and it has 3 gears instead of 2. I can pull out the third gear and the motor will turn, but that renders the part useless. My question is this: If I purchase the actuator through the Ford house, will I be getting the Motorcraft brand actuator, or a Ford part? Someone told me long ago that Motorcraft parts are basically the "official" after market parts for Ford. The reason I'm asking is the Motorcraft part is $15 cheaper at OReilly's online, and I would like to get your thoughts on which actuator to buy so I can get my AC fixed. Summertime is almost here. thank you for your input.

 

Yes, Motorcraft parts will be a Ford part. But keep in mind that the OEM will make improvements to parts over time, so just because you order a Motorcraft part does NOT mean it will be identical to the 13+ year old part that you removed from your Mountaineer. The current part may have 3 gears instead of 2 just like the aftermarket part you bought.

You mention that the Dorman part did not work. Did you plug it in to confirm that it didn't work, or are you basing that determination on the fact that you were not able to move it by hand? If you plugged it in and it didn't work, then before condemning the part you may want to make sure it is getting a signal to move. If based on the fact you were not able to move the actuator by hand, that is not a valid test. It's not a direct drive and they don't want the door moving on it's own due to vibration and air flow. The motor in the actuator should only be necessary to position the door properly, not hold the door in that position (that would burn out the actuator very quickly).

-Rod

 

At first I wasn't getting a signal, so I removed the neg battery cable for an hour or so. During that time I got bored and decided to have a look. When I noticed the three gears, I tried turning it by hand and it didn't turn. I removed the third gear and it spun easily. After reconnecting the battery, I plugged the part in without the gear and the motor spun. I restested the signal and was getting a full 12 v to the run side, compared to 5 earlier. I killed the car and replaced the third gear but it wouldn't turn the arm. I read online (after the fact) that the cheap actuators won't work on the explorers. So before I laid out any more money, I thought I would run it by you guys. Thank you for responding.

 

I used one from Oreilly on my wife's 04 . No problem . You should not be able to turn it by hand without damaging it . When you install a new motor it needs to be relearned . Install , with battery disconnected , reconnect battery , turn on igniton with ac controller off and wait at least 1 min. That relearns the door positions . Then all should work properly .

 

Does your Mountaineer have the Electronic Automatic Temperature Control (EATC)? JWC's post above reminded me that the EATC system has a calibration-type mode that you can activate through a sequence of button presses after performing the self diagnostics.

-Rod

 

Sorry for late response, it was mothers day and I just got back. shorod, I'm not sure if it has EATC. I can change the temp with up and down buttons, but it also has an automatic button as well.

JWC 3, thank you for the tips. When I get my new one I will follow those tips.

Guys thank you so much. I'm still learning the computer end of modern cars, and this is my first AC problem. I have been looking all over the internet but really needed some guidance on this one. You guys have been very helpful. Thanks again.

 

I think shorod is on the right track. Last week I replaced the Blend Door Actuator on my 1999 Ford Taurus. The first one I ordered happened to be one for EATC. It would not move when electrically connected. I reordered the actuator for manual controls and it works very well with the manual controls system. I did not realize there would be a difference in those parts until I suffered much frustration. I determined the blend door is free to move and it's position. Before installing the actuator motor I connected it to the controls and insured it was rotated to the same position as the blend door. My way of synchronizing the motor to the door position.

Jim

 

Below are the steps from the factory service manual to perform a self test on the EATC system. Since you press red and blue buttons to set the temperature and your HVAC system has an electronic display versus *****, you have the EATC.

Electronic Automatic Temperature Control Module Self-Test

• The EATC module self-test will not detect concerns associated with data link messages like engine coolant temperature or vehicle speed signals. A scan tool tester must be used to retrieve these concerns.
• The EATC module self-test will detect concerns in the system control functions and will display hard diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) in addition to intermittent diagnostic trouble codes for concerns that occur during system operation. The vehicle interior temperature should be between 4°-32°C (40-90°F) when performing the self-test. If the temperatures are not within the specified ranges, false in-vehicle temperature sensor DTCs will be displayed.
• The self-test can be initiated at any time. Normal operation of the system stops when the self-test is activated.
• To enter the self-test, press the OFF and FLOOR buttons simultaneously and then press the AUTOMATIC button within two seconds. The display will show a pulse tracer going around the center of the display window. The test may run as long as 30 seconds. Record all DTCs displayed.
• If any DTCs appear during the self-test, follow the diagnostics procedure given under ACTION for each DTC given.
• If a condition exists but no DTCs appear during the self-test, refer to the Symptom Chart Condition: The EATC System Is Inoperative, Intermittent or Improper Operation.
• To exit self-test and retain all intermittent DTCs, push the blue (cooler) button. The control will exit self-test, retain all intermittent diagnostic trouble codes and then turn OFF (display blank).
• To exit self-test and clear all diagnostic trouble codes, press the DEFROST button. The vacuum fluorescent display window will show 888 and all function symbols for one second. Then, the EATC control assembly will turn OFF (display blank) and all DTCs will be cleared.
• Always exit the self-test before powering the system down (system turned OFF).
• Intermittent DTCs will be deleted after 80 ignition switch ON cycles after the intermittent condition occurs.

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I was hoping to find steps for exiting the self test and resetting the door positions. Maybe that was a different model year or maybe that was a feature accessed through my professional scan tool.... It could also be that exiting with clearing the DTCs will reset all the positions.

-Rod

 

Allright guys, I got her fixed. I went down bright and early and bought a module for manual air from Dorman again. I followed JWC3's directions and it worked like a charm. Thank you JWC3.

Thank you shorod for the testing instructions. I have them saved for future use.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond to my problem. For clarity I am going to post the solution for anyone else who may find this thread:

1) Make sure AC is off.
2) Disconnect negative battery cable. I waited 30 minutes before reconnecting.
3) Reconnect battery, plug in module, and turn key to power up system. At this point the module should adjust the arm to the correct angle.
4) Wait one full minute before putting module back in place.
5) Turn off key and install module.

 

Glad you got it fixed ! Glad we could help .

 

Chiming in here with some tips following my adventure fixing the blend door actuator. I have a 2000 Mountaineer with Automatic air (EATC - basically you set a thermostat type temperature).

Quick Manual work around. This is a fairly quick job (less than an hour) that will get you working heat and AC up and running. My blend door was OK (sometimes the hinges crack apart) but my actuator (the motor that move the blend door) failed. If you don't have a replacement actuator, you can still get things working. After searching the web I found an explorer forum that showed how to access the blend door by cutting into the black plastic duct work in the passenger foot area. . . .not as bad as you'd think . . . Check it out for details and pictures but here's the summary of my experience. Looking under the dash on the passenger side (head on the floor . . not comfortable) you can see black duct work. About the area above where your passenger's left foot would be is a fairly flat are of the duct. Look for a raised round area (a bit smaller than a dime but about a 1/4 inch tall). This is where the blend door pivots. Using a cheap rotary tool with a cut off blade I cut out a couple-inch or so triangular area beside (but NOT including) the hinge's raised area. The area I cut out was within the small flat area beside the door hinge. Once open, I could touch the blend door, moving it one way or the other with my fingers (after the actuator was removed). During the summer I wedged it in the cooling position, and vice versa in the winter. You'll need to close the hole up for the air to pass through your ducts instead of the new opening. Using one of those black plastic covers for an electric box, I fashioned a door (cutting it with the rotary tool, about a 1/4 inch larger than the whole I made), added some weather seal and screwed it into place. The fix can't been seen since it under the dash . . . unless you put your head on the floor. I lived with this solution through two years of procrastination/searching for the right actuator.

Permanent fix. The blend door for automatic systems are different from the manual systems. They look similar or even identical on the outside but internally have a different circuit boards. Also, the automatic Actuators I found on line and at auto parts stores did not work on my older system (2000) so I found one as a junk yard. The Blend door actuator is a pain to get out. The back screw requires a lot of patience but completely doable. I didn't bother to put the back screw back on for my replacement. Aligning the post that sticks out of the actuator (about an inch) with the blend door hinge is a bit tough too. 2 things seem to be required. 1. The actuator needs to be near horizontal (not tilted) position. What worked for me was I put in the front left screw a couple turns and then stuck a screw drive under the left side of the actuator to prop it up. 2. The post that sticks out of the actuator (about an inch) needs to be aligned with the hold in the blend door hinge as is has a unique shape (round on one end, flat on three sides). With the access door open (see my work around in the paragraph above), I could move the door around until the actuator dropped into place. Once in, I replaced only the front two screws and it works fine. If you don't do the access door to help with alignment, you can use a cell phone to take an image of the opening to see its position, then using your ac controls, move the post into the proper position (Basically get it to move by plugging in the wire harness to the actuator, switching your ac controls between ac and heat and then pull the plug on the actuator when the post reaches the correct position. If it doesn't move, use the procedure in the next paragraph to reset your EATC system. If it doesn't move after resetting, you either have the wrong actuator (a good possibility) or something else is wrong, such as a fuse or ac control panel problem.

Resetting EATC. If you have an automatic temperate control (EATC), not the manual system shown in the video, you will likely need to run a diagnostic test and then clear the fault code(s) on your temperature control system. (EATC systems have a digital display of temperature settings and several buttons while manual systems have just *****, I think). With Car power ON and AC OFF, press Off and Floor (at the same time) and then press Automatic within 2 seconds. it will take a couple minutes to runt he test. When done it will display any fault codes. To clear codes and reset the system, press Def (defrost) after the diagnostics has run. Good Luck!