Holy cow man!! Great vid!!! The first part was super helpful. Once you opened up the module I was totally out of my league, but I appreciate that I could at least understand what you were saying, if not exactly why those components would be identifiable on sight. I’m certainly no electrical engineer. Thank you for taking the time to make such an informative video that even a mere drummer like me could mostly understand!!!

Informative video, to be sure. I'm glad my '98 Vic has manual hvac controls. It does have a couple problems though. First, a burned out blower motor resistor, so it only works on high fan speed. Also, I need a new a/c accumulator due to corrosion causing a noticeably large refrigerant leak.

I really appreciate the jump in quality found in your recent videos. Both content and mostly video quality.

Thank you for posting, and caring about others. I need this info . my car shop estimate was $1300.00 to change the blend door actuator.

Great vid! Thanks to folks like you us regular joes can save some $ by troubleshooting issues on our own!!

I remember when the temp control arm was tied to a wire cable and a lever on the dash. They outlasted the car.

I was curious how that is work, and inside great video, because I have the same problem on the Sistem, really helpful thanks for ur time,

Bill, I was going to say, just JB Weld it or use epoxy, but realized getting an air tight seal may be easier said than done and that your only other option is perhaps a new part and just hope it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg and whatever else in the process. An interesting video, by the way and I have an issue with my HVAC system in my 2003 Mazda Protege 5. It's the blower motor switch, it works fine in all speeds, except when the AC/defrost is on, then it'll only blow cold when the fan is at #1 (reliably), 4, semi reliably, but eventually it becomes reliable once it's cooled off some as it's flaky when the car is hot from sitting in the hot sun. It's electrical in nature and I've heard several sources for this issue, and one is the control module itself, and was a semi recall that not a lot of people got, or took advantage of and eventually, the connector at the switch semi melts and you looks speeds 2-3 in AC mode, but when the heat is on, I get all 4 speeds, go figure.

What happens to this device under boost in a modified car?

Q-Bond might work well (or trash the unit) it's a powder that is activated instantly by a liquid, I've seen it used on plastic vacuum canister boxes with good results.

Thank you for helping us understand the device.

Hey Bill great video, do you know what the signal voltage to activate the blend door is, assuming it’s electrical. And the upper and lower values of the Position feedback. Thanks

If those solenoids get as hot as you described, plus the heat/cold changes, plus age, the plastic will become brittle and crack. Definitely something I have to check on my beast (97 Crown Victoria) as it has the same issue, air doesn't redirect when buttons are pushed. Either mine is cracked as well or the o-rings are shot. One of projects that'll take me the day to work on without interruptions (yeah, right!).

Considering they used a solenoid for each vacuum connection, the solenoids default to the closed position until power is restored. It's typical of most manufactures to do it that way with vacuum operated components and it's kind of a fail safe. For example my dad's Lincoln continental will open it's headlights and cabin vent in the case of a vacuum failure, found that out when we pulled the engine.

Do you have video to fix the blend door actuator??? Mine just got stuck blowing hot air only in the a/c mode....please help!!!

jbweld plasticweld? it is really liquid at first but after an hour it becomes a slightly rubbery and slightly malleable (not rigid)

Hello Bill everything on my 1999 Grand Marquis LS works except the the flap door module it won't switch from A/C to heater I can do it manually but the module that operation don't work every the new one I'm not getting power to it to make it work???

2:36 The Town Car is indeed the Panther-class design. The Continental is a smaller, front-drive design that shares more heritage with the Taurus, engine aside. (The late 90s Continental used a DOHC version of the Modular engine found in the Panthers.)

The way the vacuum solenoids function is the black plastic manifold supplies engine vacuum to all the solenoids at the same time and when the solenoids are not activated, the plunger with the large rubber pad is pushed by the spring against the opening in the manifold cutting off vacuum to that specific solenoid. When the solenoid is activated the coil pulls the plunger back against the spring allowing vacuum to pass around the plunger and into the opening of the sleeve with the "o" ring and passing back through the manifold to the corresponding nipple at the rear of the assembly where the vacuum hose harness plugs in.

I have a 2008 ford crown Vic p71 that I recently bought with 80k miles. Before I bought it the Freon leaked out and the seller had it replaced. When I bought it had working cold a/c. Now I’m having a problem where I have my temperature at the lowest setting and it would blow 75 degrees or above. Sometimes one vent will blow ice cold air and another would blow burning hot air and another would blow air from outside that’s 80 degrees also when u try to use my heater when it’s like 47 degrees at night it does not work. Does anyone possibly know the problem?

Great video thank you. Thumbs up. I have this exact vehicle and mine works, but switches between cold air and hot air about every 30 seconds when in automatic mode. Any ideas what that could be? 2010 Grand Marquis LS 41k miles.

I'd say the vacuum manifold tree sub-assembly has lost its integrity due to some type of mechanical or temperature related stress and possibly a combination of both. The failure may be unavoidable due to the designed operation of the solenoids, in my experience, most solenoids with a spring are naturally in an "off", "closed", or "neutral" position and when energized change state and perform a task like opening a gas door or a vacuum circuit in this case. For instance if a solenoid was energized for a 30 minute drive I'd assume that it would generate considerable heat and eventually crack or warp the sub-assembly. But I am also unfarmiliar with the exact operation of the EATC, in one of my automobiles a 1991 Lincoln I have the earlier ATC system which is a microprocessor based automatic control HVAC system without a digital display which has not given me any problems so far. If you are going to take the junkyard route I would look for a metal solenoid assembly (not sure if one even exists) or the assembly out of an older model which might be of a better design or of a higher quality composition I think EATC started in 1994 or 1996 but I'm not sure. Regardless, just purchasing a functional sub-assembly out of a junk yard will probably be the most cost effective solution if that indeed is the problem. If any additional information or a solution is found an update even if it is just added in the description would be appreciated. I am not a fan of an "automatic" system in a car either and on a completely unrelated side note my favorite automotive climate control system was in a 1994 Camry that I use to have in which the indoor/outdoor air flap was manually controlled you could select any percentage of either, the hot/cold air control was a cable operated coolant flow valve, it had a seperate switch for A/C compressor control, and finally a dc motor controlled airflow position selector with more selections than I have ever had in a GM, Chrysler, or Ford product.

Good show !! I learned a lot of information about the Ford Crown Victoria EATC. Probably won't buy a rebuilt unit from EBAY. Easier to junk my car and buy a newer used car because I have so many other problems that need fuxing. Just too expensive. Thanks for your video !! William Brady

Cool video! I wonder how the Keykeeper's Bonneville is doing?

Would a bad hvac cause my cars ac to go directly to the defrost only

can u make a video about a dell optiplex 760 usff cuz i have one and it keeps turning on for about 7-10 seconds randomly about every 20-40 minutes even when the computer is turned off

Great video. I own a 2003 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, basically just below-base model LX. I didn't know this used vacuum lines to actuate the direction of the vents. The Interceptor/ taxi uses the very simple three knob setup, for vent selection, temperature, and blower speed. From what I remember, you can pick them up from a U-Pull It junkyard pretty cheap. From there, maybe swapping out solenoids, you could repair that unit. Otherwise, if its the plastic vacuum fitting for the solenoids to sit in, as other uses suggested, JB Weld, and perhaps it is salvageable. Or else, sacrifice some functionality and go with the three knob style which is cheaper (although I'm not sure if it would still work, with the more advanced setup including the exterior temperature sensor? I've never taken my unit out before).

I'm sorry that I don't have anything of much use to add, but I did find this pretty interesting. My experience with vacuum operated stuff is pretty much nothing and I'm not yet proficient in the management of angry pixies, but it seems like it should be possible to hijack the vacuum system somehow. Not sure what options exist for that, but if the solenoids are even trying to operate, you've got an electrical reference for each function.

I've been trying to "dig to the root" of the issue with the automatic climate control module in my car - a 2000 Buick Century. For some strange reason, the exterior temperature reads either higher or lower than the actual temperature, and the difference is a lot (like +/-20 to 40 degrees in some instances.) Any ideas, as I don't know where the thermocouple is located on the exterior of the car. There is this wire (which resembles a thermocouple) between the radiator and the grill, but that seems like an odd place to put it as it would throw it off.

If your's was the only Ford Panther available, I'd be more interested in a complete diagnosis and fix from scratch. However, given the fact that numerous fords of a certain era (Panthers, 2000 Expedition...) use this control, I'd already have gotten 3 or 4 from the junkyard and determined which one works or only needs the o-rings that you have. If you or I were to remain curious, another 1 or 2 of the junkyard pieces probably work or are easy to fix. I would then proceed to do destructive testing on it. That's much easier and finds those answers quickly.

I found a bad vacuum actuator that has the yellow and red hoses to it. The yellow held vac but the red didn't. thankfully panthers used the same parts for many years! I had one off my deceased 87 vic that was still good!

My 2002 lincoln town car has a problem with its fan speeds. When I have the ac on one of the lower settings, the blower motor sometimes blows faster by itself. I changed the blower resistor and the ac module and didn't help. When I do a cold start (not driven for hours) it all works fine somehow. After 5 minutes of driving the motor starts blowing faster again when in a low setting. It should be the module, but since it didn't work, I was thinking it might have something to do with the wiring of the module but I'd like to know this for sure first. Any ideas?

What's up with the Subaru in the background?

I have a question I drive a Mercury Grand Marquis 97 I replace my actuator but the lights on the control panel are not working

Does anyone know if the hvac control head in a 02 explorer be upgraded to the automatic digital hvac head????

Can you advise locating the shift selector boot (leather type) on crown Vic lx 1998 replace … the vendor info

Can I contact you about a problem with the a/c on my 2001 Sable?

Hi I have that same module I changed my resistor and my air still just blows through the vents so u think it’s the o rings

Info I needed. Too long to get to the point. Other than that, it's the most informative YT I've found about my issue.

I have a 97 crown vic. I havent dug to far into the dash yet as we use the car everyday. Something is causing mine to short out. I thought at first initially it was the control module as you are showing. But when I plugged in my new one and connected the battery (key off) it started smoking. I cant find any information on what would cause it. Would you happen to have any ideas?

You sir are a very smart guy.

Thats an awesome video. It was helpful to me in fixing a problem with a crown Vic a few years ago where the air only blew out of the defroster. I now have a 07 Marquis that the blower motor wont start. Hooking up direct from battery the fan is ok. The resistor is new so I think the problem may be in the EATC unit. Do you have any videos on how to diagnose the fan control switch?

I have ATC in my 94 Crown Vic and they are "slide" controls. I cant find any new control boxes for it, it sucks.

I just ended up with a 1999 Lincoln Navigator and the heater was not working. It blew cold air. We flushed the system twice now and the heater works. But I think this unit is bad, I have heat and cold air but I have to push the button for each. The heater blows hot and AC blows cold when it is pushed. I do not have the ability to set the tempter for a happy medium. I have been trying to understand how this unit works. Your video helped. Any input would be helpful. I'm starting to not like this vehicle.

Sir, I have no idea who you are, but you should absolutely be charging people for your ability to do instructional videos! This video was the best instructional video I have ever seen!! You do a great job. I am VERY much into electronic trouble shooting and I think we could have been friends..lol!! And just my two cents worth on the cracked vaccume body....could it be from the massive heat generated from the solenoids that caused the cracking?? Just an idea..... Thanks again for your videos and please keep doing them!!!

You could try to melt the plastic on the cracks to temporally fix it until you can source a good one. I've done that with other plastic parts for a short term quick fix. Used an old ratty soldering iron tip for it. That might seal it up for now. I would definitely find a good one to replace it in the long run though. Also I always watch your video in full. Partly because I like your videos and they entertain me and brighten my day. I feel like if people don't like someone's work then they can just stop watching and move on with their life and save a bit of frustration on the creator of said vid.

F0VY19980A is what I'm looking for. If you can help me? are these interchangeable? 1990 town car

Excellent video! Quick question though as I'm trying to troubleshoot a "no heat" issue........would a problem with vaccum or other in this unit keep me from having heat inside the vehicle? Fan speed is good, all air vents work correctly when changing on th unit...i.e. defrost, floor, panel.......but no heat when changing the temperature........my vehicle does not have a heater control valve install on either heter line, and the blend door appears to operate(I can hear the door position change). Any ideas? I'd appreciate any advice on what to look for. Thank you

I'm color blind. I have a 93 Mercury cougar xr7 WITH automatic climate control. I'm having to rewire the auto resistor for the blower motor and the new pigtail has all white wires. Hints to why I'm asking for help. When I got the car someone had cut the old pigtail wires off to try to put an analog resistor on the car but the climate controls in the cabin only work with auto climate resistor. Could anyone tell me which wire goes to which for the pigtail from the wiring harness? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much.

Bring back the good ol’ days!

2008 Ford Taurus EATC codes please? Where do I find them? Run the self test and came out with code 10 03

tape the cracks?

Hey bill, mine is starting to fail while the engine is under a load, while under WOT, or climbing a grade should I expect these O Rings to be the root of the problem?

Does this car have a blower motor resistor? I have a 2003 Ford F-150 king ranch. The ac temp surges to high and no cold air. Ordered a blower motor resistor. Can not locate it under the dash. Any ideas?

Hi, the question remains what solenoid controls what. The controls on the front do not really work. I replaced the o-rings years ago and have a new not understood problem. I have replaced hte blend door module last year and things worked fine.

First I love your videos. You have helped me out a number of times. Thank you!!!! I am having 2 issues. I do believe i have bad o-rings because I only get air flow from the heater and defrost. Never the vents. So I plan on replacing my unit with one from ebay. But I also get error 24 temperature blend door. Is it possible the new unit will fix that too? great videos!!!

I have a '99 Expedition. I just ran the test, and it passed, I had all 8's. But the vehicle does not blow heat. I heard the noise you were listening for. Would the test detect the blend door actuator issues?

Vacuum is cut off when each solenoid is NOT activated. These are most likely 12v as the Excursion/Super Duty system works the same, but has a remote mounted solenoid pack. As for the blend door actuator, I believe it is a DC reversing motor with position sensor. Think power window motor plus a throttle position sensor. If you still need a solenoid pack, I have an extra F150/Expedition EATC with a broken case. Works as far as I can tell. Let me know if you're interested

Who's Subaru is that?

ماشاءالله سياراتهم نظيفة حتى مافي غبار جوة الديكور 🙂

Hi my name is angel and I like to ask you a question I love you to answer me please I been working in 98 crown Vic I put the blend door and I put new from the Dealer but it doesn’t work I put control switch too two different ones but not working still and I have the diagram but I don’t have no Grown or power I hope you can help me thanks

Interesting, I had a Jeep on which the vacuum system failed. The car couldn't start, and until this point I had no idea what they meant with a vacuum system. I always thought it was something much larger, more intensive, and providing constant pressure.

You forgot what I consider the best part of these cars, they're big and comfortable. They have a lot of room inside, and big trunks. Personally I tend to prefer trucks and SUVs, but I definitely would drive a big full sized sedan as well.

yay a recent uxwbill video!

Do you know if the light bulbs are soldered to the panel?.

My 2000 Ford Expedition has the same HVAC control panel, and uses vacuum to change between different vent outputs. As far as I know, it has never had a vacuum leak, and I'm pretty sure it uses the same system as this car. Maybe Ford used cheaper plastic, or there was a defect with the plastic in these cars.

My 2006 towncar climate control module has no color vacuum tubes.

On the ford air-conditioning systems like that what happens is the seals in the vacuum transfer goes bad. There are a few companies on eBay I know of that u can have those shipped off to. I have had issues like that on 5 crown vics and it fixed the problem every time

Could you fix the crack with JB Weld or Silicone?

I'm very baffled on how your Sherwood receiver is powered by a Core 2 Duo, sounds like you're getting the most out of it :P

To a commenter at wide open throttle the ac shuts off, and the engine has little or no vacume, also the fan does change speeds by it self, sun load sensor on top of dash and a temp sensor under the panel you remove to get to heater control. Clean them

I am getting code 25, 25 25... then 888... but the thermostat is goes from 15 to 32. No air and nothing happens. I changed the blend door actuator Becusse it kept clicking real loud. Thought that was the issue. Any ideas?

MY OLD NEMESIS! Dad bought a Mercury Sable with one of these, THIS thing stopped working after about 5 years/100,000 miles, when I started driving. The display would freak out and never worked again, displaying random garbage on the screen. I used to set it by remembering what it used to look like, this was before KZfaq or anything useful was posted to the internet.

Hey Uxwbill, I found an AST Advantage 614 in my grandmother's garage. I cannot find anyone selling this thing anywhere. Do you have any info about it on it's value or why nobody is selling them? It's a very interesting system and I was intrigued.

Fill the top and bottom faces of the valve body with slow cure epoxy? Maybe after first finding the missing spring or an alternative, A simple task made complicated, Best of luck Bill, J.

I have a fiesta with mechanic A/C.. I want to convert it to Eletronic with temperature control.. Could you make a video or reply my comment to what components i would need to get to do it?

I am honestly surprised that modern cars don't have as many vacuum leaks as one might expect given the snakes nest of vacuum lines, especially those going to the climate control. Or perhaps vacuum leaks ARE the reason for rough running on older cars. I was actually quite surprised when I learned that many modern cars still use vacuum for their climate control doors. It was the hissing sound the vents would make when switching between floor vent, regular vents, and defrost that caused me to research the issue.

I got heat and ac but no lights on module any advice

mine only blows out of the front vents, any ideas?

I have an 02 Excursion. All electric connections to the climate controller. Every now and then, it goes hot on me, typically, ha, at very inconvenient times. My rear AC continues to cool. I think it’s flipping the blend door to default, heat mode. Still directs air to the vents. I have cycled the unit on, off, ran the temp setting to max, then min, kept trying until it decided to start working normally. For the rest of the 700 mile trip, about 500 to go and the week and 700 miles back, it continued to behave. Maybe you’ve worked on one of these controllers? At least this one gives me some clues. Intermittent problems. Probably won’t ever happen at the shop, ha!

Awsome very helpful

Is that Subaru passing through or part of the fleet now? :p

I fixed my blower motor ,my blend door motor, put a new compressor on an still have no heat..what could be the problem

Try a salvage yard first. and perhaps you can make 1 good one out of two bad ones. Other than that, its a few hundred bucks for a new one, at your local Ford Parts window.

Where can I find the O rings

didn't know that Keykeepers real name is "repaired".lol :P

If the plastic is cracking up, it's best to find a replacement (used or new, whichever's easiest), glopping cracks up with a glue to seal it up would probably last a short while before the rest of the plastic fails too, just another example of planned obsolescence...

The one in my dads 2003 Grand Marquis Ultimate Edition is VERY VERY VERY VERY RAPIDLY! changing the fan speed ALL. ON. ITS. OWN. Once it starts doing that, you can't do anything to stop it. It doesn't do it right away, but I wish it would stop.

why would they use vaccume lines that will mess up sometime instead of electric co controlled? that is kinda a bad design. i don't like auto. i like having high cold air high fan on my face all the time. i do have a 94 toyota camry that has no auto mode though. i am used to setting to outside air when it is hot out and opening back window for a min to get the hot air out and setting to recirculate and closing windows when i get in car. also sure you know but the way ac works you should set to outside air when it is hot out because the air outside is not as hot as the air inside usually. it will cool it faster. open back windows helps get hot air out fast too. after a min set to recirculate to keep the cool air cool inside.

Have you tried using a glue gun on the cracks to seal them?

Got a 01 town car....my climate control lights up but won't even come on.....I got another one.....and it's doing the same thing....

I have heat at idle cold when driving 3 flushes in now

Mine started blowing from all settings one after the other then it just quit all together if I would have known the signs of one failing would have changed it before it died 🥴

Fords was great cars my dad old ford xc 1978 was built like tank ,Darren

Maybe paint the manifold body with nail polish?

A other great video thanks uxwbill.

Damn! Looks like I have two problems, a leaky control unit and a faulty blend door.

If called by a Panther, don't anther.

Crazy glue, also q bond gives you powdered fillers, sand area apply powder drop on thin crazy glue.

I only clicked on video to see the cat