Dash noise, defroster and floor vent failure, manual override?

[delaware]

I've been having noise behind my speedometer for a while and just realized with the change in seasons that my defroster and floor vents won't work. No matter what I do (hot and cold work just fine) I only get air thru the main vents. Nothing at all thru the defrost or floor.

My truck is a 2022 XL with the basic HVAC controls.
Anyone know how I can switch my defroster on manually for the season? Am I dealing with the dreaded "blend door" issue?

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[RangerBill]

I've been having noise behind my speedometer for a while and just realized with the change in seasons that my defroster and floor vents won't work. No matter what I do (hot and cold work just fine) I only get air thru the main vents. Nothing at all thru the defrost or floor.

My truck is a 2022 XL with the basic HVAC controls.
Anyone know how I can switch my defroster on manually for the season? Am I dealing with the dreaded "blend door" issue?

Can you read any DTC codes?

 

[RangerBill]

Item #3 in the diagram below is the air distribution actuator. This would control which vents the air is discharged.

 

[delaware]

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it!

 

[JohnnyLightning]

The blend door complaint is usually that one side is hot and one side is cold. Which means that there is a control for each side. But you can control the temperature and your truck is made WAY after the Ford made the part change. I think that was july of 2020. So you dont have the awful repair. The way the actuator works is there is a little worm gear that turns a regular gear that moves an arm that slides in a weird shaped track that moves the blend door and maybe more stuff inside. So the one movement seems to control both the temp and where the air comes out.

So, to just answer your question. Yes, you could move the actuator of the way and move the little weird shaped track by hand, but it wouldn't stay. I assume that unplugging it would make an error code somewhere and the first time you hit a bump the track would move.

It is possible to replace the drivers side actuator without taking the dash board out. I did it. It is a bitch of a job. I wrote some of my experience somewhere on here and I did what the guy in this video did.

 

[delaware]

Can you read any DTC codes?

I have an ODB2 reader I've used in the past (on other vehicles) when the CEL comes on. I don't think I realized there could be a code without the check engine light.... Thanks for the tip.

 

[delaware]

The blend door complaint is usually that one side is hot and one side is cold. Which means that there is a control for each side. But you can control the temperature and your truck is made WAY after the Ford made the part change. I think that was july of 2020. So you dont have the awful repair. The way the actuator works is there is a little worm gear that turns a regular gear that moves an arm that slides in a weird shaped track that moves the blend door and maybe more stuff inside. So the one movement seems to control both the temp and where the air comes out.

So, to just answer your question. Yes, you could move the actuator of the way and move the little weird shaped track by hand, but it wouldn't stay. I assume that unplugging it would make an error code somewhere and the first time you hit a bump the track would move.

It is possible to replace the drivers side actuator without taking the dash board out. I did it. It is a bitch of a job. I wrote some of my experience somewhere on here and I did what the guy in this video did.

You guys are friggin awesome. Thanks so much!!

 

[JohnnyLightning]

I was thinking of something else. That actuator that is behind the spedo makes ticking noises on a good day. The thing kinda hunts back and forth for maybe 5 seconds often. One of the ways the actuator fails is that it continues to hunt. So some ticking is normal. My "failed" part had no evidence of the worm gear jumping, so I had the hunting failure. Mine worked normal, just ticked a lot. You might get lucky and have a simple problem. there is a sensor that runs down and measures the temp coming out at your feet. Did anyone ever go rooting around under the dash?

 

[airline tech]

If you have a scan tool that will display these PIDs:

Here are the position percentages of each position, and a thread for the detailed breakdown of the system.


Mode Door Position: (Normal Readings as Follows)
Panel = 0%
Blend - Floor/Panel = 25%
Floor = 50%
Blend - Floor/Defrost = 75%
Defrost = 100%
With Truck Shut Off - Mode Door Moves to 25% - Panel/Floor (For Air Circulation - Ventilation In the HVAC-EVAP Core)


HVAC / Climate Control- Issues - Operation - T-Shoot and Breakdown | 2019+ Ford Ranger and Raptor Forum (5th Generation) - Ranger5G.com

 

[RangerBill]

I have an ODB2 reader I've used in the past (on other vehicles) when the CEL comes on. I don't think I realized there could be a code without the check engine light.... Thanks for the tip.

You may want to download the Forscan program and buy an adapter to read any codes for the HVAC system. Many OBD code readers only read out engine and emissions related codes. Forscan and a laptop will read all codes from the truck.

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