Forum Discussion

amckean's avatar
amckean
Explorer
Aug 05, 2017

Air conditioning cool/warm lever migrates to middle

I am having some trouble with my air conditioning. It blows out a good volume of cold air when I slide the control lever all the way to 'COOL' but, as I drive, the lever slowly finds its way back toward 'WARM', stops in the middle and shuts down the cold air. I pulled the control panel out and saw where the lever's cable goes through the firewall, traced it to a big plastic box in the engine compartment on the passenger side of the van. Here are a couple of pictures, one of the control panel and one of the box that the cable goes into. Does anyone know what's in the box? It seems like there might be a door that directs the air to the cooler or the heater in there. And why might there be enough tension on the cable to pull the lever out of the 'COOL' position?

Class B

9 Replies

  • sprintee's avatar
    sprintee
    Explorer
    Aug 13, 2017
    I think I would whittle up a little piece of wood to fit into the slot and hold the lever to the left. A small rubber band wrapped repeatedly around it might bind in the slot and hold it in place until it needed to be removed.
  • amckean's avatar
    amckean
    Explorer
    Aug 13, 2017
    My latest thoughts are to try to stiffen up the lever itself, simply because it is easily accessible. If I can increase the friction on the lever hinge, that might do it. I'll let you know. I have an upcoming trip (eclipse!) so I will try to get it fixed before this weekend. thanks for all of your suggestions.
  • D_E_Bishop's avatar
    D_E_Bishop
    Explorer
    Aug 05, 2017
    I don't know what type of chassis you have so it's hard to make suggestions regarding the repair of the blend door. Most of them are pretty easy to fix without removing much of the dash and ducting etc. I would suggest you join a chat group that is about the chassis you have. Most Bs and Cs have factory HVACs.

    That's how I fixed my F150, now to fix the DW's explorer.
  • booster's avatar
    booster
    Explorer
    Aug 05, 2017
    amckean wrote:
    I don't see a place where I could mount it. It looks like it needs a solid surface to mount and compress the cable. I'm going to measure the cable with a micrometer and hunt for a small hose clamp that might I can tighten around the cable. I am concerned that it might lead to premature wear on the cable, though. The only alternative I see is to open the box and see if anything is loose inside that might be causing the problem.


    You would only need a small square of steel to bolt it to, so it could be right on the cable near a support. Hanging so to speak but restrained.

    Fixing the internals of the heater doors in the box is the best, although not likely you will be able to get any parts for it, and it may need a lot of dash disassembly to do. You may want to see how hard it is to get the slide control out of the dash, as sometimes they have the friction generation there. If you can find a service manual for the base van, it should show how it all works, or perhaps there will be a Utube video on it.
  • amckean's avatar
    amckean
    Explorer
    Aug 05, 2017
    I don't see a place where I could mount it. It looks like it needs a solid surface to mount and compress the cable. I'm going to measure the cable with a micrometer and hunt for a small hose clamp that might I can tighten around the cable. I am concerned that it might lead to premature wear on the cable, though. The only alternative I see is to open the box and see if anything is loose inside that might be causing the problem.
  • booster's avatar
    booster
    Explorer
    Aug 05, 2017
    Factory clamps are usually something like this.

    Heater control cable clamp

    They will clamp pretty tight if connected to something solid, but not the plastic ducts and boxes. Bolting it to a small steel piece with a bolt and nut would allow you to clamp it well, and you can flatten it a little if you need it tighter.
  • amckean's avatar
    amckean
    Explorer
    Aug 05, 2017
    Thanks for the suggestions, booster. I went out and started the RV, turned on the air conditioning, and waited to see if the lever would migrate back to the middle. It didn't. It only happens when I'm driving around. So at least I can cool the RV when I'm parked. It appears that it isn't just the air pressure against the door. It's a combination of the air pressure and the jostling of the van. I think I'll try a small hose clamp on the cable. Maybe that will tighten it up just enough.
  • booster's avatar
    booster
    Explorer
    Aug 05, 2017
    The box probably has blend door in it that mixes air from the heater core and air conditioner evaporator. It is possible the force of the wind on the door is enough to move it to the center or neutral position half way between the two sources as the parts are likely old and loose. You should be able to put a bit of squish on the inner cable if you can find a cable housing retaining clamp or can add on. Clamp a little tight on the housing or put a shim in it to squeeze more, and it usually will tighten up the cable so it stays put.
  • Desert_Captain's avatar
    Desert_Captain
    Explorer III
    Aug 05, 2017
    Not much of a pristine solution but a little piece of Gorilla Tape will solve your problem.

    :W

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