Dash Vent not working

[Birdman]

I just purchased a really nice 2011 Fusion SE, only 37,000 miles on it. Anyway, when the A/C is on the "vent" mode, air comes out all dash vents except the far right passenger vent. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what could cause this? I first thought this might be a faulty mode door actuator, but wouldn't that be an "all or nothing" with all vents, not just the right passenger vent? I'd appreciate any suggestions!

[bbf2530]

1 hour ago, Birdman said:

I just purchased a really nice 2011 Fusion SE, only 37,000 miles on it. Anyway, when the A/C is on the "vent" mode, air comes out all dash vents except the far right passenger vent. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what could cause this? I first thought this might be a faulty mode door actuator, but wouldn't that be an "all or nothing" with all vents, not just the right passenger vent? I'd appreciate any suggestions!

 

Hi Birdman and welcome to the Ford Fusion Forum. Silly question...But have you checked to be sure the vent damper dial is in the open position? Also, have you double checked to be sure the passenger vent damper control is working properly and not stuck in the off position?

 

Does having the climate control set to the AC position have any affect on the passenger vent airflow? And/or does the set temperature (cold or hot) have any affect?

 

Let us know how you make out and good luck.

[Birdman]

Thanks so much for the response! Yes, the vent dial damper is in the open position, lol. The only thing I see this dial doing is open and close the vent air flow flaps, doesn't really operate like typical vent "open/close" controls I've had on other cars. I'm not sure what you're asking about a vent damper control? If you're talking about the same control, again, it does open and close the air flow flaps. If you're talking about some other damper control for this vent, please provide more details.

 

I have only had AC on since I bought the car yesterday, it is 95 degrees here in NC. Again, the AC comes out all dash forward facing vents except the extreme vent on the right side of the dash for the passenger. I will try heater and see if I get the same result.

 

By the way, the other issue I had was that the AC would get warm soon after turning it on (would blow cold for a short time then blow warm). I was able to find info on the net that this is a common issue with these cars and simply turning the temperature control a couple clicks clockwise from full cold would stop this problem. I did so and it does seem to work. I also read that you could turn on the headlights AND the fog light switch, and the AC would also start blowing cold again. I did not try that since the first "bandaid" seems to be working just fine. I am curious though, is there a technical reason for this, and a more permanent fix than the 2 bandaids? Thx!

[bbf2530]

13 hours ago, Birdman said:

Thanks so much for the response! Yes, the vent dial damper is in the open position, lol. The only thing I see this dial doing is open and close the vent air flow flaps, doesn't really operate like typical vent "open/close" controls I've had on other cars. I'm not sure what you're asking about a vent damper control? If you're talking about the same control, again, it does open and close the air flow flaps. If you're talking about some other damper control for this vent, please provide more details.

 

I have only had AC on since I bought the car yesterday, it is 95 degrees here in NC. Again, the AC comes out all dash forward facing vents except the extreme vent on the right side of the dash for the passenger. I will try heater and see if I get the same result.

 

By the way, the other issue I had was that the AC would get warm soon after turning it on (would blow cold for a short time then blow warm). I was able to find info on the net that this is a common issue with these cars and simply turning the temperature control a couple clicks clockwise from full cold would stop this problem. I did so and it does seem to work. I also read that you could turn on the headlights AND the fog light switch, and the AC would also start blowing cold again. I did not try that since the first "bandaid" seems to be working just fine. I am curious though, is there a technical reason for this, and a more permanent fix than the 2 bandaids? Thx!

 

Hi Birdman. Yes, seems like a silly question, as I stated. However, sometimes the simple solutions are overlooked. ?

I was also confused because what you are calling the passenger side "vent" is also referred to as the passenger side "registers". This is in order to avoid confusion with the "vent only" climate control setting, which refers to air vented in from the outside. So the "vents"/registers in top of the dash at the base of the windshield are the windshield defroster registers. The ones on the front of the dash are the dash registers. The ones at our feet are the floor registers. The ones that are off to the side by the door glass, either at the far left and right of the dash or top of the door are the are the door glass defroster registers, etc. But no big deal, I understand now. ?

 

Concerning the vent damper dial questions: I was simply asking two questions about the same dial. First...If you were sure it was in the open position. And second...If you had ensured it was working properly, in case it had somehow been broken in the closed position and was free wheeling without doing anything. So you answered both questions.

 

Concerning the  AC, etc.: Okay, now I understand. I misunderstood and thought you were using the "vent" position (outside air only) for the climate control (no AC for cooled air/no Heat for heated air). So now that i understand better, I would recommend you test the climate control system using the other climate control/temperature settings. Try the Vent only setting. The Heat only setting on a higher temperature. The Front Defroster and dash register setting, etc, in order to see if the passenger side dash register will work in any of those positions.

 

Next...If I understand correctly the "trick" you are referring to is for when the system freezes when run very long at very low temperatures. However, from your description, your system stops operating correctly rather quickly, which would not normally be due to the system freezing due to extreme cold temps. There is no other "band-aid" I know of, other than having the system checked for overcharging and other system problems.

 

I am not an AC tech, merely a long time shade-tree mechanic, so hopefully one of our tech members will jump in with more assistance.

 

Keep us updated and good luck.

Edited September 7, 2022 by bbf2530

[Birdman]

Thanks once again for the response. I believe I have solved the "mystery" by looking at a replacement vent assembly on e-bay. It looks like the thumbwheel controls both, the flow flaps on the front of the assembly, AND a flapper door 3 or 4 inches back. Like I said in my original post, the thumbwheel is definitely opening and closing the flow flaps on the front, but my guess is that linkage is broken or disconnected from the thumbwheel to the flapper door near the rear of the assembly and it is stuck in the closed position. I'll attach a picture of the assembly that should make this clearer.

 

So any idea on the best way to remove the vent assembly from the front of the dash? I hate to just pry on plastic parts for fear of breaking something!

[bbf2530]

1 hour ago, Birdman said:

Thanks once again for the response. I believe I have solved the "mystery" by looking at a replacement vent assembly on e-bay. It looks like the thumbwheel controls both, the flow flaps on the front of the assembly, AND a flapper door 3 or 4 inches back. Like I said in my original post, the thumbwheel is definitely opening and closing the flow flaps on the front, but my guess is that linkage is broken or disconnected from the thumbwheel to the flapper door near the rear of the assembly and it is stuck in the closed position. I'll attach a picture of the assembly that should make this clearer.

 

So any idea on the best way to remove the vent assembly from the front of the dash? I hate to just pry on plastic parts for fear of breaking something!

 

 

Hi Birdman. Yes, that the internal damper control flaps were closed off for some reason was the idea I was trying to get across in my posts when I stated "Also, have you double checked to be sure the passenger vent damper control is working properly and not stuck in the off position?".

 

I am not sure myself how to remove the AC registers. There are a few tech members/members with the Service Manuals here, so hopefully one of them will jump in to help. I wold definitely recommend against prying on things without knowing the correct procedure.

 

Keep us updated and good luck.

[Fuser]

At a loss to understand all this.  Do not have automatic controls on my 2012 SE.  The registers have a wheel to open and close the louvers and a bar that slides left to right to direct the flow of air left, center or right.

 

Would like to see a diagram of the duct work to see how to access the blend door.  The blend door on my 2012 SE is stuck.

I got ripped off on an eBay purchase of a manual.

[Birdman]

Fuser, the "missing link" in all of this for me was the fact that the vent assembly has linkage that opens and closes the front louvers AND linkage that opens and closes a damper door at the rear of the assembly (see photo I attached earlier). The assembly pulled right out of the dash no problem and I was able to quickly reattach the linkage to the damper door; problem solved! FYI, there is an electrically actuated "blend door" that could be the culprit if you have issues controlling temperature (hot/cold)........and an electrically actuated "mode door" that could be the culprit if you have issues switching between floor/vents/defrost. 

 

Sorry you got ripped off on e-bay. I have been an avid e-bayer for over 25 years and have never had that happen. File a claim with e-bay, they have what they call "buyer protection" and they WILL give you your money back. Make sure you report the seller!