Limited Airflow and A/C in hot temperatures

297 Views 13 Replies 5 Participants Last post by aymanmarcosld, 7 h ago

EaHalde

Discussion Starter · 8 d ago (Edited)

Edit: we figured out the issue. I was low on Freon. I appreciate all the suggestions!

2006 Ford Focus ZX4 - I don't do much work on my car so bare with me if terminology isn't correct 😅 My 2 issues are that the airflow feels somewhat restricted in general with either heat or A/C on. It is especially restricted during the hot days. Additionally, it also feels like once it's above 80 degrees, the air coming out is only slightly cool even after I have driven the car for awhile.

I know that my car is notorious for HVAC issues due to the blend control selector/knob getting stuck. I replaced the HVAC control selector switch and this did help somewhat.

I tried replacing the cabin filter as I have never done this before, but then I noticed a lot of people saying this doesn't even exist for the 2006 year. Is this true?

Any other suggestions to try?

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amc49

· #2 · 8 d ago

They leave most of the cabin filters out to save money.

A/c can only be as good as the airflow amount that goes over it. Airflow will always limit the a/c cold amount as the motors blow slower the older they get and nothing you can buy over the counter will hit the airflow amounts the OEM new blower puts out. Even buying an OEM blower may not blow as much as the new one did, a real problem out in the marketplace.

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pbfoot

· #3 · 8 d ago

Pull the cowl and check. They were really pushing this back in the day. I have found several 06 that had a clogged cabin air filter. Must have been dealer installed. Another possibility is a stuck blend door or your recirculation motor on the side of the airbox is bad and it never goes to recirculation.

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EaHalde

Discussion Starter · #4 · 8 d ago

pbfoot said:
Pull the cowl and check. They were really pushing this back in the day. I have found several 06 that had a clogged cabin air filter. Must have been dealer installed. Another possibility is a stuck blend door or your recirculation motor on the side of the airbox is bad and it never goes to recirculation.

Thank you so much for those ideas! I checked the cowl for the cabin air filter location and this is what it looks like (passenger side) Is the filter underneath? I couldn't find any YouTube video how to's that looked like my car's set up (or any videos for 2006 Ford Fucus)

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pbfoot

· #5 · 8 d ago

Nope. No cabin filter. Remove the bolts holding the glove compartment Open the glove compartment. Pull in on each side. Remove. You can now see if the recirculation door is open or closed. Start car and turn on ac. Push recirculation button. See of it moves. Clamshell open and closed from the top.

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amc49

· #6 · 8 d ago

The blower noise will get noticeably louder when that clamshell grille is open. Sometimes the driver motor strips the shaft to not open it, you can take a sharp object to dig into the grille to lift door up open and blower gets louder and air will increase to be colder.

One of mine broke for yearss, I made up a coathange hook tool to open/close the door there, open for a/c and closed for heating, you can change it in 5 seconds.

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aymanmarcosld

· #7 · 8 d ago

First change the complete airflow filter and AC intake valve, the valve might be block reducing the inflow of air into circulation

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EaHalde

Discussion Starter · #8 · 7 d ago

amc49 said:
The blower noise will get noticeably louder when that clamshell grille is open. Sometimes the driver motor strips the shaft to not open it, you can take a sharp object to dig into the grille to lift door up open and blower gets louder and air will increase to be colder.

One of mine broke for yearss, I made up a coathange hook tool to open/close the door there, open for a/c and closed for heating, you can change it in 5 seconds.

That's a great idea, thanks!

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aymanmarcosld

· #9 · 7 d ago

You’re welcome

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GRIMland

· #10 · 5 d ago

amc49 said:
One of mine broke for yearss, I made up a coathange hook tool to open/close the door there, open for a/c and closed for heating, you can change it in 5 seconds.

Not trying to steal thread, but was just spaying some white lithium grease on the blower motor bushings to stop the fan 1 position squeak it was making, and in the process realized the recirc door doesnt move. Looking it up here I realized it's a common problem. Sounds like the actuator motor spins further than amount needed to open/close door and it strips. I was thinking about epoxying the shaft but most say its a temp fix.
How exactly does the coat hanger hook work? How do you route it with the glove box closed?

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pbfoot

· #11 · 5 d ago

GRIMland said:
Not trying to steal thread, but was just spaying some white lithium grease on the blower motor bushings to stop the fan 1 position squeak it was making, and in the process realized the recirc door doesnt move. Looking it up here I realized it's a common problem. Sounds like the actuator motor spins further than amount needed to open/close door and it strips. I was thinking about epoxying the shaft but most say its a temp fix.
How exactly does the coat hanger hook work? How do you route it with the glove box closed?

You pull in on the sides of the glovebox and open as far as you want. Then reach in and pull down the clamshell or open it up. You dont leave the tool installed.

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GRIMland

· #12 · 5 d ago

Okay i was thinking that might be it. I'll probably try a combo of superglue+baking soda and plasti bonder epoxy over that if possible and if that doesn't work it will have to be the manual method. I saw the post about one member installing the motor on opposite side. Not going to attempt that but there's gotta be other simple solutions. Zip ties maybe?

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