When Selecting Footwell Heat, Does air come out the defrost vent?

Maclover94 · 09-21-2005

I'm calling out to all 05 Mustang owners to do me a terrible favor...
Go on out to your Stang

and check to see how your climate control behaves.

When I set the mode to footwell vents, regardless of temp setting or fan speed, Most of the hot or cold air comes out the windshield defrost vents. When selecting any other mode (other than defrost...) absolutely NO air comes out of the defroster vents.

My dealer says that this is normal operation according to the "Ford Tech Hotline" and the four new Mustang's on the lot they tested did the same.

I KNOW that when I used to select footwell heating, all air would be directed to the footwells.

I don't understand this.... There is a mode for defrost/footwell, why would the footwell mode also blow any air onto the windshield???

Soooo. the next time your in your stang (or if you want an excuse to go play with it

) Plz go and see how your climate control operates and prove me Wrong/Crazy or prove that my dealer is just bedin' me over!

TIA-
Doug

2k5GTC · 09-21-2005

This has been covered in previous posts. Just use the search function up there on the tool bar and you will find what you are looking for. As for my GT, MOST of the air comes out the footwell area, with about 25% going to the windshield. I'm not overly concerned about it since the car won't be driven during the cold months here in Texas anyway.

Stoopy · 09-21-2005

What the heck I'll answer anyway since I roasted myself with the heater on in the car this morning to help you out.

Mineral Grey S/N 771, "Jaws" makes the ideal baseline for these tests, since this car was apparently meticulously hand-crafted by the Thursday Evening expert shift at Flat Rock MI and has no errors, anomalies or weirdities to it at all. By all accounts it is the most perfect '05 Mustang ever built, and is the yardstick by which all others should be measured. So it definitely works like this:

With the direction control set to Floor only, some minor amount of air still goes to the windshield. While it is a detectable draft (like a breeze), it's nothing compared to the air that is going to the floor while the fan is on full-high. What I did notice is the mount of "rushing air noise" that is in the top dash that makes it sound like a lot more air is going there than really is.

The other two settings to the right of the big "0" (Off) setting send much much mroe air to the windshield of course. But basically, any setting to the right of OFF will send some air to the windshield.

Conversely, any setting to the LEFT of OFF completely negates any air movement to the windshield. Setting the direction control to the "Armpit and Foot" position, then closing all four nozzles on the dash gave me tons of air going to the floor and not even a wisp of air coming out the dash or the defrost position.

I wear hard contact lenses and am sensitive to hot air coming from the windshield since it dries them up pretty quick and makes my eyes scratchy, and I didn't personally find the amount of airflow with the standard "Floor" setting to be bothersome. I was wondering if it was a bad thing anyway, since on really cold mornings you might want a little defrost action on the windshield just to help keep it clear, but not be annoying. Winter will tell for sure.

Setting it to the Floor/Dash setting and closing the dash nozzles is an option maybe. You gotta reach across the car to get that last pax-side outlet but if you have short arms maybe go the Okie method and use a stick (AAA recommends keeping a stick inside the car anyway for general purposes such as poking sleeping passengers, waving it out the window at people, or snagging roadkill or valuable cans from the road, if it's pointy and sharp enough).

KiLLeR_WoMBaT · 09-21-2005

My controls seem to work just as Stoopy's. I do have one anomaly: Even with the controls set to "O" (off), I seem to get heat around the leg area! I don't hear or feel air or anything...just seems to be getting heat from somewhere below the dash. Anyone got similar?

aircraftwrench · 09-23-2005

I noticed the same airflow issue on my 05. This summer I ran the a/c on the floor and the windshield would fog up BAD, (COLD AIR and Humid outside on windshield=FOG on the outside) requiring wipers! I thought "WHAT IN THE...." I haven't taken it back to FUD yet but it's not going to work that way for me in the future when I do.

dusty1 · 09-23-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiLLeR_WoMBaT

My controls seem to work just as Stoopy's. I do have one anomaly: Even with the controls set to "O" (off), I seem to get heat around the leg area! I don't hear or feel air or anything...just seems to be getting heat from somewhere below the dash. Anyone got similar?

I've heard many people mention this. I believe the heat you are feeling is from the catalytic converter, since it is located under the floor by your right leg.

2horseowner · 09-23-2005

My biggest complaint is with the fresh air vents. I like to ride with the vents open but all the vents are under the hood so it's always hot air.

banjo919 · 12-06-2005

I get almost no flow from my dash vents and plenty from the floor when I have it on both. The floor blows great by itself and the dash vents blow great by themselves. When I switch to both, the floor is almost full power and the dash is almost nothing. My dealer says this is normal. He also says there is no spec for how much airflow should be coming out of the vents. I have a convertible and this is the first convertible I have owned (this is my 4th) that did not have more flow out the top. Ford says they designed a convertible and did not just chop a coupe down and put a ragtop on it. They will have thier chance to prove it. Does anyone have similar issues?

Peter- 05 Fire Red Ragtop

texastang · 12-06-2005

Ford Special Service Message 18284:

18284 2005 MUSTANG - HIGH AIRFLOW FROM DEFROSTER VENTS WHEN IN FLOOR OR FLOOR/DEFROST MODES
SOME 2005 MUSTANGS MAY INTERMITTENTLY EXHIBIT HIGH AIRFLOW FROM THE DEFROSTER VENTS WHEN OPERATING THE CLIMATE CONTROL IN THE FLOOR OR FLOOR/DEFROST MODES. ENGINEERING IS CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING THIS CONDITION. TO TEMPORARILY RESOLVE THE CONDITION, TURN THE CLIMATE CONTROL PANEL CONTROL TO THE 'OFF' POSITION, THEN TURN IT BACK TO THE DESIRED MODE. DO NOT ATTEMPT REPAIR UNTIL A NEW SERVICE PROCEDURE AND/OR PARTS ARE RELEASED. MONITOR OASIS FOR UPDATES.
EFFECTIVE DATE: 11/09/2004

mooch · 12-08-2005

I don't mind if some air comes out of the defrost dash vents in heater/floor mode. I have noticed when I have it on floor mode the windows start to fog up. I always end up leaving it on defrost mode anyway. My beef is where they put the off function. I think the off position should be on the fan speen knob. I usally use the same setting all the time, I shouldn't have to go through all these setting to turn the HVAC on or off.