NC Fairlane heating problem

"Ziggy Switkowski" <Ziggy.DeleteThis@telstra.com> wrote in message
news:41d1fa43$0$20036$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
 > not likely anything to do with what you've done, it has climate control
 > right?
 >
 > blend door linkage is probably broken - its plastic and requires entire
dash
 > removal to repair. This applies to NF/L fairlanes but im sure its probably
 > to same for you
 >


True, when those climatic control gadgets are working, they are great, but
get a small fault in them and they are the worst things in the world to try
and fix, I have an NA with problems it won't heat mush, get it to about 25º
and that's about it, so in the winter, you freeze your nuts off, so instead
of tearing out my hair and the complete dash, I installed a 12volt camp fan
heater, not entirely 100%, but its better than reaching your destination as
a pseudo ice-block.
I was looking around for an old Smiths type heater that I used to have in
the Commer years ago, but they are as scarce as hens teeth, both the fan
and the Commer.

 > "Car_Lover" <rogdon2004.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
 > news:gdo3t0hilopusgs4hliffjsp29dhro8uvl@4ax.com...
  > > Hello all.
  > > I have a strange problem.
  > > Prior to a front end prang my 94' NC Fairlane would over heat only
  > > when towing a heavy trailer on a hot day.
  > > After the accident and with a new radiator the car now runs too cool.
  > > So cool in fact that I no longer have a heater in winter.
  > > I have replaced the thermostat twice and double checked that they were
  > > working fine. I replaced the water temp sensor. I disconnected the
  > > heater hoses going through the fire wall and checked for blockages,
  > > but water runs freely through the heater.
  > > I tried the heater on a 40 plus degrees day and I did get some heat
  > > coming through. So the heater seems ok.
  > > Things I have not checked out are the fan viscous clutch and the water
  > > pump, but ruled them out as I reckoned that if they were faulty I
  > > would be over heating not under heating. Besides I'm sure the fan
  > > clutch is ok as it seems to stop turning once I've got speed up and it
  > > turns freely when I turn it by hand.
  > >
  > > Any further things I should check out anyone?
  > >
  > > Thanks in advance for your help.
  > >
  > > Cheers
  > >
  > > No Spam Please
  > >
  > > rogdon2004.DeleteThis@NOSPAM.hotmail.com
  > >
  > > Remove the obvious spamtrap
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem 

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 08:29:03 +0800, "Ziggy Switkowski"
<Ziggy.DeleteThis@telstra.com> wrote:

 >not likely anything to do with what you've done, it has climate control
 >right?
 >
Correct. The A.C. cooling is perfect, just not the heating.

 >blend door linkage is probably broken - its plastic and requires entire dash
 >removal to repair. This applies to NF/L fairlanes but im sure its probably
 >to same for you
 >
Where is this linkage located and what does it look like?
Thanks for your help Ziggy.

 >
 >
 >"Car_Lover" <rogdon2004.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
 >news:gdo3t0hilopusgs4hliffjsp29dhro8uvl@4ax.com...
  >> Hello all.
  >> I have a strange problem.
  >> Prior to a front end prang my 94' NC Fairlane would over heat only
  >> when towing a heavy trailer on a hot day.
  >> After the accident and with a new radiator the car now runs too cool.
  >> So cool in fact that I no longer have a heater in winter.
  >> I have replaced the thermostat twice and double checked that they were
  >> working fine. I replaced the water temp sensor. I disconnected the
  >> heater hoses going through the fire wall and checked for blockages,
  >> but water runs freely through the heater.
  >> I tried the heater on a 40 plus degrees day and I did get some heat
  >> coming through. So the heater seems ok.
  >> Things I have not checked out are the fan viscous clutch and the water
  >> pump, but ruled them out as I reckoned that if they were faulty I
  >> would be over heating not under heating. Besides I'm sure the fan
  >> clutch is ok as it seems to stop turning once I've got speed up and it
  >> turns freely when I turn it by hand.
  >>
  >> Any further things I should check out anyone?
  >>
  >> Thanks in advance for your help.
  >>
  >> Cheers
  >>
  >> No Spam Please
  >>
  >> rogdon2004.DeleteThis@NOSPAM.hotmail.com
  >>
  >> Remove the obvious spamtrap
 >


Cheers

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rogdon2004.DeleteThis@NOSPAM.hotmail.com

Remove the obvious spamtrap<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem 

  >>
 > Where is this linkage located and what does it look like?
 > Thanks for your help Ziggy.
 >

On the Nc, I dont know for sure - i suggest you purchase one of those books
that shows such proceedures step by step if your going to do home
maintenence, they are around $30.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem 

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 22:10:20 GMT, Car_Lover <rogdon2004 DeleteThis @hotmail.com>
wrote:

 >On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 08:29:03 +0800, "Ziggy Switkowski"
 ><Ziggy DeleteThis @telstra.com> wrote:
 >
  >>not likely anything to do with what you've done, it has climate control
  >>right?
  >>
 >Correct. The A.C. cooling is perfect, just not the heating.
 >
  >>blend door linkage is probably broken - its plastic and requires entire dash
  >>removal to repair. This applies to NF/L fairlanes but im sure its probably
  >>to same for you
  >>
 >Where is this linkage located and what does it look like?
 >Thanks for your help Ziggy.

The blend door motor or linkage is the culprit. Its in a bastard of
a place, requiring the dashboard to be removed - big $$ fix.

There is also a plastic linkage on the fresh/recirc door which is
almost ceretainly broken, not that it effects the heater that much
though.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem 

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 09:07:21 +0800, "Ziggy Switkowski"
<Ziggy RemoveThis @telstra.com> wrote:

 >
   >>>
  >> Where is this linkage located and what does it look like?
  >> Thanks for your help Ziggy.
  >>
 >
 >On the Nc, I dont know for sure - i suggest you purchase one of those books
 >that shows such proceedures step by step if your going to do home
 >maintenence, they are around $30.
 >
I have manuals.
Would this blend motor also effect the engine temp guage in the
instrument panel? Because this guage doesn't come off cool except if I
rev it hard on a really hot day and that is when I can feel some hot
air coming from the heater. I'm reluctant to go to the trouble of
accessing the blend motor unless I'm absolutely sure that is the
culprit.


Cheers

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 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem 

 > There is also a plastic linkage on the fresh/recirc door which is
 > almost ceretainly broken, not that it effects the heater that much
 > though.

I had this break on my EL Ghia and the result was a car full of other car's
fumes all the time as the door was stuck in 'fresh' mode. It had no effect
on the heating side of things, as you have pointed out.

There were two ways of fixing it, remove a lot of stuff and replace the
broken linkage (a rather expensive path to take I was told) or move the door
to closed (recirc) and screw it into place (which is what I ended up having
done). The biggest surprise out of this is that when it happened, I did a
yellow pages search and found the nearest air con fixer-upperer, explained
the problem, he said he knew exactly what was wrong (surprise number 1) and
to bring the vehicle down. I did just that and he fixed it for free (BIG
surprise number 2).

I couldn't believe it. I had never been there or called there before, and
not only did he diagnose the problem over the phone (more or less), he fixed
it for nix and it's been perfect ever since (about 5 years ago now). It's
nice and somewhat unusual to run into people and businesses like this these
days. I doubt that I'll ever experience anything like that again


Jason.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem 

"Kieron" <kieronm302 RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:41d37804.96508937@203.50.2.233...

 > The blend door motor or linkage is the culprit. Its in a bastard of
 > a place, requiring the dashboard to be removed - big $$ fix.

The Fairlanes had auto climate control, and the blend door is operated by an
electric control unit directly on top of the heater box, almost right behind
the centre dash air outlets. It's not exatcly the same fault as the blend
door linkage on regular Falcons, but it's still a bitch to replace if it
needs to be, and requires the entire dash to be removed.

However, the fault can sometimes be due to the door motor being out of
calibration, and the climate control has a "reset" procedure that *might*
rectify it. The procedure is initiated as follows:

Warm the engine to normal operating temperatue (this is critical. Drive at
least 5 km's first).
When done, turn the ignition on, and while holding the "Floor" button on the
climate control, press the "Off" button and then release both.

This will put the climate control unit into diagnostic mode, and will also
calibrate the blend door motor assembly. You'll know if you've done it right
as the led's on the climate control will turn on, and the temperature
reading will show "88.8" degrees for around 30 seconds. When the
test/recalibration is completed, the system will display "Off" if it was
successful. If not, it will give a series of two digit error codes reporting
whatever faults it finds.

There are 7 error codes ranging from E1 to E7, and all but two relate to
sensors in the system. E2 is the Blend door servo code, and if it lists this
as a fault you either have an obsturction preventing the blend door from
closing properly (which requires the dash out to fix the problem), or the
servo motor needs to be replaced (which *also* requires the dash out to fix
the problem).

Hopefully the recalibration takes care of it, but it's not known to be a
100% reliable fix.

 > There is also a plastic linkage on the fresh/recirc door which is
 > almost ceretainly broken, not that it effects the heater that much
 > though.

It's almost certainly broken, as I've yet to come across a 10 year old
Falcon/Fairlane that isn't

It affects the heater to a degree, as this flap controls fresh air in and
makes "recirc" impossible, making it all that much harder for the heater to
warm the cold incoming air.

Sadly, the heaters have been one of the absolute *worst* aspects of Ford's
for years, and a lot of repairers have made a shitload of money on them.

--
Regards,
Noddy.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem 

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 21:59:36 GMT, "Noddy" <dg4163@(nospam)dodo.com.au>
wrote:

 >
 >"Kieron" <kieronm302.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
 >news:41d37804.96508937@203.50.2.233...
 >
  >> The blend door motor or linkage is the culprit. Its in a bastard of
  >> a place, requiring the dashboard to be removed - big $$ fix.
 >
 >The Fairlanes had auto climate control, and the blend door is operated by an
 >electric control unit directly on top of the heater box, almost right behind
 >the centre dash air outlets. It's not exatcly the same fault as the blend
 >door linkage on regular Falcons, but it's still a bitch to replace if it
 >needs to be, and requires the entire dash to be removed.
 >
 >However, the fault can sometimes be due to the door motor being out of
 >calibration, and the climate control has a "reset" procedure that *might*
 >rectify it. The procedure is initiated as follows:
 >
 >Warm the engine to normal operating temperatue (this is critical. Drive at
 >least 5 km's first).
 >When done, turn the ignition on, and while holding the "Floor" button on the
 >climate control, press the "Off" button and then release both.
 >
 >This will put the climate control unit into diagnostic mode, and will also
 >calibrate the blend door motor assembly. You'll know if you've done it right
 >as the led's on the climate control will turn on, and the temperature
 >reading will show "88.8" degrees for around 30 seconds. When the
 >test/recalibration is completed, the system will display "Off" if it was
 >successful. If not, it will give a series of two digit error codes reporting
 >whatever faults it finds.
 >
 >There are 7 error codes ranging from E1 to E7, and all but two relate to
 >sensors in the system. E2 is the Blend door servo code, and if it lists this
 >as a fault you either have an obsturction preventing the blend door from
 >closing properly (which requires the dash out to fix the problem), or the
 >servo motor needs to be replaced (which *also* requires the dash out to fix
 >the problem).
 >
 >Hopefully the recalibration takes care of it, but it's not known to be a
 >100% reliable fix.
 >
Thanks very much Noddy. I was reading about the reset feature in my
manual last night and was going to try it today, but my manual wasn't
as detailed as your description.
I'll let you know how I get on.
Something else I didn't think of but should have mentioned was that in
my prang the bonnet flew up and smashed the windscreen. So perhaps
there is broken glass blocking the blend door and the recycle/fresh
door too.

  >> There is also a plastic linkage on the fresh/recirc door which is
  >> almost ceretainly broken, not that it effects the heater that much
  >> though.
 >
 >It's almost certainly broken, as I've yet to come across a 10 year old
 >Falcon/Fairlane that isn't
 >
Perhaps if it IS broken I can screw it shut as someone here suggested.

Sounds like I'm gunna have to take the dash out though

Thanks again.

 >It affects the heater to a degree, as this flap controls fresh air in and
 >makes "recirc" impossible, making it all that much harder for the heater to
 >warm the cold incoming air.
 >
 >Sadly, the heaters have been one of the absolute *worst* aspects of Ford's
 >for years, and a lot of repairers have made a shitload of money on them.


Cheers

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 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem 

I ran the climate control reset procedure and it did indeed come up
with error code E2 which is the blend motor.
I'm hoping now that it is just clogged with broken glass as the
climate control was working perfectly before the prang.
A big job.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Cheers.

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 21:59:36 GMT, "Noddy" <dg4163@(nospam)dodo.com.au>
wrote:

 >
 >"Kieron" <kieronm302.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote in message
 >news:41d37804.96508937@203.50.2.233...
 >
  >> The blend door motor or linkage is the culprit. Its in a bastard of
  >> a place, requiring the dashboard to be removed - big $$ fix.
 >
 >The Fairlanes had auto climate control, and the blend door is operated by an
 >electric control unit directly on top of the heater box, almost right behind
 >the centre dash air outlets. It's not exatcly the same fault as the blend
 >door linkage on regular Falcons, but it's still a bitch to replace if it
 >needs to be, and requires the entire dash to be removed.
 >
 >However, the fault can sometimes be due to the door motor being out of
 >calibration, and the climate control has a "reset" procedure that *might*
 >rectify it. The procedure is initiated as follows:
 >
 >Warm the engine to normal operating temperatue (this is critical. Drive at
 >least 5 km's first).
 >When done, turn the ignition on, and while holding the "Floor" button on the
 >climate control, press the "Off" button and then release both.
 >
 >This will put the climate control unit into diagnostic mode, and will also
 >calibrate the blend door motor assembly. You'll know if you've done it right
 >as the led's on the climate control will turn on, and the temperature
 >reading will show "88.8" degrees for around 30 seconds. When the
 >test/recalibration is completed, the system will display "Off" if it was
 >successful. If not, it will give a series of two digit error codes reporting
 >whatever faults it finds.
 >
 >There are 7 error codes ranging from E1 to E7, and all but two relate to
 >sensors in the system. E2 is the Blend door servo code, and if it lists this
 >as a fault you either have an obsturction preventing the blend door from
 >closing properly (which requires the dash out to fix the problem), or the
 >servo motor needs to be replaced (which *also* requires the dash out to fix
 >the problem).
 >
 >Hopefully the recalibration takes care of it, but it's not known to be a
 >100% reliable fix.
 >
  >> There is also a plastic linkage on the fresh/recirc door which is
  >> almost ceretainly broken, not that it effects the heater that much
  >> though.
 >
 >It's almost certainly broken, as I've yet to come across a 10 year old
 >Falcon/Fairlane that isn't
 >
 >It affects the heater to a degree, as this flap controls fresh air in and
 >makes "recirc" impossible, making it all that much harder for the heater to
 >warm the cold incoming air.
 >
 >Sadly, the heaters have been one of the absolute *worst* aspects of Ford's
 >for years, and a lot of repairers have made a shitload of money on them.


Cheers

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 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem 

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 22:57:06 GMT, Car_Lover <rogdon2004 DeleteThis @hotmail.com>
wrote:

 >Hello all.
 >I have a strange problem.
 >Prior to a front end prang my 94' NC Fairlane would over heat only
 >when towing a heavy trailer on a hot day.
 >After the accident and with a new radiator the car now runs too cool.
 >So cool in fact that I no longer have a heater in winter.
 >I have replaced the thermostat twice and double checked that they were
 >working fine. I replaced the water temp sensor. I disconnected the
 >heater hoses going through the fire wall and checked for blockages,
 >but water runs freely through the heater.
 >I tried the heater on a 40 plus degrees day and I did get some heat
 >coming through. So the heater seems ok.
 >Things I have not checked out are the fan viscous clutch and the water
 >pump, but ruled them out as I reckoned that if they were faulty I
 >would be over heating not under heating. Besides I'm sure the fan
 >clutch is ok as it seems to stop turning once I've got speed up and it
 >turns freely when I turn it by hand.
 >
Well here is an update to the above problem and what I found out and
how I fixed it.
The blend door error E2 had displayed in the diagnostic mode, so I
removed the dash and what I discovered was that the bled door motor
was in perfect working order BUT the blend door itself was binding
ever so slightly on the closed section, just enough so the little
motor couldn't move it. I worked the door back and forth for awhile to
try and free it but couldn't. I decided to remove the motor arm from
the splined shaft and moved it just one spline towards the open
direction and tried it on the door. It worked perfectly for the hour
or so that I tested it just to make sure. Wasn't going to put the dash
back in until I was absolutely sure the problem was resolved. Double
checked the fresh/recycle door and vac actuator too and gave it a
spray of silicon lube and it was working perfectly.
Installed the dash and ran diagnostics and no errors.

However still no warm air from the heater. So I removed the thermostat
housing and before I removed the thermostat I looked inside the
housing and I could see that the thermostat was stuck open. As I said
in my original post I had tried 2 new thermostats but now I could see
what the problem was. I had bought the thermostats from a Auto One
shop and both times he had given me a 6 cylinder one instead of what I
had asked for, an 8 cylinder one. The 6 cylinder ones have a spring
loaded valve that closes the bypass when the thermostat opens fully.
The V8 thermostats don't have this. So the thermostats I had been sold
were opening ok a couple of times but then at some stage the bypass
valve jammed itself against the bend of the housing and locked itself
in the open position. I could see scratch marks on the housing where
this valve had been scrapping a few times till it eventually jammed.

Now with a new correct thermostat and the blend door motor adjustment
I now have an engine running at normal temps and the climate control
is working perfectly as well.

So 2 separate problems with very simple solutions but a lot of work
involved. I now don't trust parts suppliers but ask them to double
check they are giving me the correct parts before I pay for them.

Thanks for everyone help and advice.

Cheers.

Cheers

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On Wed, 18 May 2005 03:10:24 GMT, Car_Lover <rogdon2004.DeleteThis@hotmail.com>
wrote:

 >Now with a new correct thermostat and the blend door motor adjustment
 >I now have an engine running at normal temps and the climate control
 >is working perfectly as well.
 >
 >So 2 separate problems with very simple solutions but a lot of work
 >involved. I now don't trust parts suppliers but ask them to double
 >check they are giving me the correct parts before I pay for them.
 >
 >Thanks for everyone help and advice.

Good to hear, well done mate.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: NC Fairlane heating problem