A/C and Heat only works on passenger side

[hudson smith]

Hello, during the summer months when the A/C was required, the A/C in my car would only blow cold air out the passenger side, and not the driver side. However, about 50% of the time it would actually blow cold air on both sides, then the next day it would blow hot air on the driver's side and cold on the passenger side. This was not a huge issue because if it did malfunction then I would just roll down my window. However, it is beginning to become winter and now the heating is doing the same thing as my A/C. This is a bigger issue because I cannot defrost my windows in the mornings, and not comfortable to drive. I read a couple forums and they are saying it is the blend door actuator that needs replaced, or it is low on coolant. Just confusing that it works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. Any help will be greatly appreciated on what I should do.

[Grampy]

Sort of depends, on which HVAC controls you have; If you Dual heat / AC there are 2 Blend dampers (one for Pass side, one for Drivers side):

 

Basically:
The Mode damper selects which "vents" the air comes out of. 
The Blend Damper(s)  determine the temperature.
The damper actuators are the little computer controlled electric motors that move the dampers.
It is possible something is obstructing the damper from full travel, but the actuators are common failures on "modern FORDS"  (on older styles the plastic gears were weak and would break, the newer styles the gears are more robust, but the "electronic position feedback wipers" are less robust and the actuator doesn't know where it is anymore.. 1st symptom is usually a clicking sound before failure).

As long as the air comes out the correct vents, the mode damper and it's actuator is operating as it should.
If the temperature is incorrect fault is at least one (if you have dual HVAC control) Blend damper and or actuator 

The good news is the actuators are not  expensive ($60 or less).
The bad news is they are usually very hard to get to, if out of warranty FORD dealers usually rip you off for $800 or more, a good AND honest mechanic can usually do it for the $200-$300 neighborhood, a handy friend would be even better.



Over teh yars I have (had to) replace a few of these actuators, a few weeks ago:  I  replaced a mode damper actuator on a friends 2015 Fusion SE (it would not blow out the defrost). It took about 1 1/2 hours, the time consumed is because of all the stuff that has to be removed to reach it, and reaching it still isn't easy, and you have to have tools small enough to fit it where it is. Before I put the new actuator on, I disassembled the old actuator and used the "shaft"  to make sure the damper was able to make "full travel".  I also used this shaft to align the damper to the position the NEW actuator was set to so installation was easier (the shaft is keyed and only fits on one way).

My philosophy:
It is possible I could have fixed the old actuator by cleaning all the interior electrical contacts, but getting it out and putting it back in is so cumbersome, once I'm in there I'm puttin' in a new one.

There are 2 schools of thought of what brand to buy to replace it:
Some folks swear by only putting Motorcraft back in, saying the off brands are not as reliable.
That has merit, but I like to point out, the OEM actuators fail all the time, even though I am inclined to put a Motorcraft part back in there.. it is the Motorcraft POS from the factory that failed in the 1st place.  And in the days before all these electronic gizmos, damper actuators were either cables or vacuum operated.. I have owned cars for the early 60's.
The "non-electronic" damper actuators never failed.

If you are going to tackle this at home there are several youtube videos that are helpful  (there is one where the guy takes the entire dashboard apart.. this IS NOT the one to watch to learn how to do it).

Since it looks like you Fusion is a 2010, I have the shop manual(s) for  2010 Fusion/ Mila/MKZ, if you need pictures of where things are located, let me know which A/C controls you have and I can look it up.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Grampy

[hudson smith]

Thanks for reply, I do have a dual HVAC system, is this what need? Motorcraft® YH1886 - HVAC Heater Blend Door Actuator (carid.com)? Do you think the driver side will need replaced if its the side that is not working properly?

Edited November 16, 2022 by hudson smith

[Grampy]

Based on your (described) symptoms, the drivers side (Left Hand side) blend damper actuator sounds correct.

The good news (for you) is, according to the shop manual, there is NO big time disassembly to get to it.
And the screws look to be 7 or 8mm hex head (The 2015 they were phillips heads, what a PITA)

I suggest you read both pages for the "recalibration procedure".

According to the shop manual (picture below) the part number should include 19E616

[Grampy]

I clicked on the link you provided, it says it replaces AE5Z19E616B so that sounds correct.

My experience, it is easier to disconnect / reconnect teh electrical plug with it installed, because I can usually only get 1 hand on it and installed I can get leverage.  Good Luck.. You should be back in business soon.

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Grampy

[hudson smith]

Hello, I replaced the blend door on the drivers side, the air got a bit warmer but it isn't hot coming out of it. The A/C works, but the heating does not. I am going to top up my coolant to see if that does anything. Do you think it could be the heater blower resistor? 

[andyross]

The resistor only controls the fan speed. If the fan is working, the blower resistor is fine.