Weird A/C issue

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ecarlcl

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I've read through all the threads that talk about DCCV failure and that might be part of my problem. I haven't read about anything quite like this though.

First of all, my A/C seems like it doesn't blow as cold as it used to for the last couple of summers.

If I get in the car after it's been sitting all day the A/C will cool just fine. Sometimes, if I take it on a 15-30 minute trip and shut it off long enough to run in to a gas station etc, start it up again, and get on the highway, the A/C will blow warm for an additional 30-45 minutes. It will eventually start cooling again. Sometimes I get heated (not just outside temp) air out of the passenger side and rear vents. I'm not sure if fooling with the controls helps or not.

I had it looked at by an independent mechanic and he said that I likely had a clogged orifice (sp?) on the evaporator coil due to chunks of plastic or metal coming out of the (failing?) compressor. He said that the low side pressure was lower than it should be and when he tried to some freon it went even lower. He also observed the compressor short cycling. He couldn't completely reproduce my problem though. He quoted me on a new compressor, receiver/dryer, and a new orifice but he was unsure if that would fix the problem.

I have had it verified that it has the correct charge in the system twice. I have tried the DATC self test (Off + Wiper De-Icer then Auto) but all it does is light up all the LED's in the display. I assume that means no error codes.

Has anyone had symptoms like these? What was the fix?

Should I just take it to the Ford garage?
 
What steps can you do to make sure your A/c doesn't fail or start to create problems. My A/c works great ( Knock on wood ) but would hate for it to start acting up. Anything I should do to maintain it?
 
ecarlcl said:
Really? You had a similar issue? I can't afford to just throw parts at this thing.
Click to expand...

If your compressor was failing, it would fail. It is like any other compressor; once parts start coming off it will eat itself and make one wail of a racket! The failure of the DCCV is slow and intermittent. The A/C works fine for a while, then starts acting weird. Mine would blow warm air from the passenger side and coolish air on the drivers side. Sometimes, when I ran the self-check, the system would straighten up and work correctly. Then it would work fine for a few months and get weird for a day or two. After about a year of this I started getting warm air from the passenger side and coolish (not A/C cold) air on the drivers side pretty consistently. Once I changed the DCCV all has been well.

I'm not a mechanic and YMMV. That said I would put good money on the DCCV.
 
I thought with the control on 60 degrees that the blend door completely closes off the heater core. Or are the heater core and evaporator right next to eachother?

If I found a way to temporarily clamp the return heater hose would that be a good way to troubleshoot?
 
ecarlcl said:
I thought with the control on 60 degrees that the blend door completely closes off the heater core. Or are the heater core and evaporator right next to eachother?

If I found a way to temporarily clamp the return heater hose would that be a good way to troubleshoot?
Click to expand...

The LS does not have a blend air door. The gen I does have a cold-air bypass door, but it doesn't work in the way that you might expect. It's the DCCV.
 
Alright I'll take it from the veterans. :D I need an excuse to flush my cooling system anyways.

Do I have to go Motorcraft for a new DCCV? Are there any other acceptable brands?
 
Dccv

you can also take the dccv apart clean it out real good and reinstall. This does work. Make sure the coils are ok by testing the ohms reading, the coils should read 10-23ohms resistance. If good then a cleaning and flush the entire system should do the trick.
 
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