LS 2000 V6 Cold Air Bypass Door

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Triojeepy

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Hello Gentlemen, I know this topic has been covered many times over the years and the old threads have very been helpful.

My LS: LS 2000 3.0L V6, 91K miles.
Repairs over the last 1-1/2 years: Replaced all COP's, radiator, compressor, DATC (refurb), DCCV.
Upcoming: SRS light is on (clock spring?), steering column sometimes makes strange grinding noise when turning the wheel at startup (also clock spring??), instrument panel starting to light up like a Christmas tree ;)

So here's the current problem:

I installed a new (refurb) DATC a month or so ago to finally get heat and air after having a dead system for a while. The A/C and heat worked perfectly for a while then I started getting cool air on the driver's side and HOT (not warm) air on the passenger side when using the A/C. When driving it alternately goes from working fine to the Driver-Cold, Passenger-Hot mode seemingly at random. The self-diagnostic returned a 1265 fault code, which is I think (?) is consistent with the Gen 1 LS. Fault code 1265 is the Cold Air Bypass Door -- Ford calls the part the "Door Actuator" (P/N XW4Z-19E616-BA). There are no other fault codes, all else being equal is replacing the CABD the best place to start or are there other troubleshooting areas I might look into as well for this issue? I searched online for the diagnostic Pinpoint Test C for the LS 2000 but could not find it.

And here's another potentially dumb question :D, how many bypass doors are in the system -- is there just one or are there multiple, and how would I know which one is bad if indeed that's the problem?

As always thanks for the wisdom and tips in advance! :)
 
1. Your steering column motor problem is not at all related to the clockspring
2. Your symptoms (hot on one side, cold on the other) are not caused by the cold air bypass door. You don't even need that door. They removed it from the 2nd gen, because it doesn't really do anything. Your symptoms are consistent with a failing DCCV (did you use new Motorcraft?) or a failing discharge temperature sensor. I tried an aftermarket DCCV once. It lasted about a month or two.
3. There's a door for the floor, a door for the dash, a door for the defrost, and a door for fresh/recycle.
 
Thanks for the reply Joe,

1. I suspected as much. Ever heard of that symptom before? The grinding noise doesn't happen very often but every now and again when turning the steering wheel (e.g. when backing out of the driveway to turn at startup) then goes away. I'll address the clockspring issues in a different thread.

2. I've read this before but am unclear. Before I finally replaced the DATC my mechanic said the DCCV was working properly, though obviously he could have been wrong. I've got a Gen 1 so is the 1265 fault code then completely invalid? Indeed the DCCV was aftermarket (in retrospect a bad choice) but I've read that replacing the DCCV even with OEM sometimes doesn't eliminate the problem. Would a bad DCCV throw a fault code from the self-diagnostic?

3. So if there are 4 bypass doors I don't fully understand how they are insignificant. Can you give me a layman's explanation for that, Joe? ;)
 
1. Is this grinding noise when the wheel tilts, telescopes, or when you turn the wheel?

2. Only if it electrically fails. Plenty of them fail mechanically which gives no fault. The Murray valve that I tried gave no fault code.

3. They're not bypass doors. They control where the air comes out (defrost, dash vents, floor) and where it comes in (fresh air from outside or recirculate the inside air). The cold-air bypass door stops air from flowing through the heater core to get very slightly cooler air when at max cool. (In practice, the air is cooler for only a few seconds.) If it fails in the bypass position, you get no heat. If it fails in the normal position, everything works just fine. I don't think that any have failed in the bypass position. Also, be aware that there are often failure codes for door actuators that were just momentary failures that resolved themselves.
 
1. When turning only.

2 & 3. Got it. I'll be curious what my mechanic says when I take it in. Replacing the DCCV (if that's the problem) is pretty straightforward and I generally trust these guys. They only install OEM and offer a 3-year/36K guarantee on their work. However when I replaced the DATC they originally wanted to send my head unit to the east coast to be 'rebuilt' to the tune of $250 + $100 freight. :confused:??? I signed off on it and when they didn't hear back from them for 2 weeks the east coast shop said the unit couldn't be repaired and a replacement (refurb) unit would be $600! I told my mechanic the most expensive stock refurb unit I've seen online didn't exceed $100 and basically had them tell the east coast shop to kick rocks. In the end I found a nearly mint unit on eBay for $69 with a 6-month warranty, shipped in bubblewrap in 3 days. My mechanics agreed to install it for $175 (broke the center dash vent in the process, cost me another $80). I had ice-cold air and functioning heat instantly but now a month later it's wonky. Go figure.

BTW, how do I clear the code(s) in the DATC unit? Is there a procedure or does it reset automatically after a self-test?

Thx, Joe
 
It automatically resets. You can clear stored codes for diagnostic purposes if you desire. You'll have to search here for the gen I procedure.

I don't know if the LS (at this point in its life) is sound economically if you need to pay someone to do this work...
 
Triojeepy said:
Joe, the LS was economically unsound the day it came off the lot brand new. :cool:
Click to expand...

I actually disagree with that. Both of mine were trouble free till somewhere past the 50K mile mark. I don't see any way to get anything new that is nearly as good for the same 40K or so today.
 
joegr said:
I don't see any way to get anything new that is nearly as good for the same 40K or so today.
Click to expand...

True. With the extras my LS was closer to 50K in 2000, I think I still have the original dealer sales invoice somewhere. Jokes aside I evaluate repairs on a case-by-case. Considering the rest of the car's overall Int/Ext condition -- somewhere between very good, excellent and a few ticks under mint -- and under 100K miles paying the $ for a properly functioning Heat-A/C system is a decision I'm comfortable to make. I'm less of a "windows down" driver now than I was in my younger days. :cool:

I've read of many early LS owners who've gone past 150K miles with no major problems and some who never made it past 60K before cashing out. Timely maintenance and some luck of the draw surely come into play.

I'm not in the new car market right now but have been peeking at the Genesis (Hyundai?) sedan recently. Handsome car, don't know much about their mechanical rep.
 
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