What is wrong with my Air-Conditioning

[Richnev]

I get in my car today and go to turn on the air conditioner and the little green light comes on but the fan does not as I cycle through 1-3 as soon as I get it to 4 the fan comes on but the little green light for the air-conditioner goes out and all it does is blows air from the outside in


now if I turn it back to 1-3 I can feel the air conditioning come on but the fan is not blowing then turn it back to 4 air con goes off but I know it was on because the air is real cold for a sec until the outside air comes back in


what the hell is going on in my car I looked for blown fuses that correspond to anything doing with air conditioning or the fan or even the heater and non of them are blown that I can see come on someone should be able to help me out

[vanace]

sounds like dealer time. It maybe a computer problem, because I think the computer is controling when the A/C comes on. I could be wrong though

[Richnev]

I was actually afraid of that

[BornAgainFordOwner]

The blower motor resistor is burned out.

[ModemJunki]

Now, mind you, I'm not a professional mechanic. I don't know as much about the Focus as a lot of folks here, but I do have a few more years than I'd like to admit and a dozen cars or so of experience.

The symptoms described about the fan control only working on position 4 makes me think the resistor pack is bad, but - the part that has me scratchin' my head is why the A/C cycles off and on as described.

Pulling the shop manual of the bookshelf, I find in the Climate Control System section, diagnosis and testing:
Condition: The blower motor does not operate at lower speeds
Possible sources: 1. Circuits 2. Blower motor switch 3. Blower motor series resistor
Action: GO to pinpoint test E.

Now, I'm not going to type all of pinpoint test E, that would be madness. Besides, it has diagrams of connectors, and requires the use of a multi meter to check circuits. There are 9 steps, and the resulting actions are either:

There is a break in the circuit, so you have to repair a wire (this seems unlikely, unless you've done a custom stereo install and pinched a wire or something like that)

The fan control switch is bad, replace it. (this seems unlikely as well, but is a possibility)

The heater blower series resistor is bad, replace it. (Since I've seen this in a few cars in my life, I'm going to go with this one.) It's a fairly common problem with cars in general, as this is a part that runs under a high electrical load (it has to shed current as heat, so the blower gets less current and runs slower).

I'm suspicious that the logic controlling the A/C is tied to the fan circuit, and that this is why your A/C behaves the way it does. I think that fixing the fan problem is going to fix the A/C as well. The only computer control I can see in the A/C circuit appears to be related to protecting the engine - under some conditions (like engine overheating) the computer prevents the A/C from running to save the engine.

If you are at all mechanically handy, I'd suggest getting a resistor pack and putting it in. FordPartsOnline.com shows it at $7.92 as the Ford list price ($6.02 their discount). It's cheaper to buy it at the local Ford parts counter than pay shipping. This way you don't walk into dealer service with no warrantee and have them "fix" your $8.00 problem for $1500.00 out of your pocket. If it doesn't fix it, the switch looks to be about $15 or so.

I can even scan in a pic of where the thing is tomorrow if you PM me with your E-mail address (and let me know if you have a high-speed Internet connection or not).

If you do go to a dealer for service, don't bother telling them the A/C is acting funny. Just tell them your fan doesn't work. If fixing the fan doesn't fix the A/C, you can always go back. But if you tell them abut the A/C up front, they may try and milk you for "fixing" the A/C (always expensive) when nothing is really wrong with it.

[ModemJunki]

It's easier than it looks on paper. I removed and replaced it in <5 minutes. My resistor pack is bright Ford blue.

You will need:
A. The new resistor pack.
B. An 8mm socket and suitable handle (one of those flexible ones did the trick).
C. A flashlight.
D. Opposable thumbs (should be standard issue on the higher primates).

Step by step:
1. Open the glovebox, and empty it.
2. Squeeze the sides of the glovebox and drop it down.
3. Squeeze the tab on the connector to the resistor pack (hidden in the pic below, it's on the left).
4. Remove the 8mm hex-head screw holding the resistor pack. Once loosened, it can be unscrewed by hand (don't drop the screw!).
5. Lift the resistor pack from the bottom, it swings up and out.

Installation is the reverse of removal. Don't overtighten that screw!
Let us know if this fixes your Focus!

[Richnev]

what is the exact name of the part I need to buy or can I go ask them for a resistor pack for a 01 zx3

[ModemJunki]

It's a blower motor resistor.

Print the picture and take it with you.

Click here for the FordPartsOnline part listing

[knightriderzx3]

if that doesn't work, i had a similar problem.

the answer was the blower switch. it's a cheap part to buy and easy to replace.

[ModemJunki]

Yep, I thought abotu the switch, but the symptom should be reversed if it's the switch - the lower speeds should work, or only some of the speeds will work. But the troubleshooting chart seems to lean towards the resistor pack with the high-speed only working.

Maybe we should be advising to buy both the parts together instead.

[knightriderzx3]

i agree. the thing with my switch was that it was melted. of course i didn't see this until i pulled it out. so after i replaced it, i examined it and it was shorting out all over the place. i just don't understand what made it do that in the first place.

[Richnev]

I just got back from the parts department and am headed out to the car to replace the resistor pack if that does not work maybe tomorrow I will go back and buy the switch


I asked how much it would cost ford to check it out and it is going to be 80 Bucks just to check it out and not fix anything so lets hope either the resistor or the switch works


I should be back up in about an hour or so and I will post back if it works the resistor that is