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Is my blend door controller bad, or is my problem the heat/AC controls?

A

AGrayson84

CEG'er
Joined
Aug 20, 2013
Messages
329
Location
Annapolis, MD
Hi everyone. I have a '98 E0 CSVT that I picked up back in September. The temperature mixture control was something that wasn't already worked. I'd either get really cold air, or really hot air, nothing in between. Someone suggested that I replace the blend door controller. I got a used on in the mail recently and after removing my original one, I notice that something. With the temperature controller all the way to the let (coldest position) the little "nub" that rotates to control the blend door would go all the way to one end. I started slowly rotating the temperature dial to the right (warmer) and the nub didn't budge until about 5 clicks away from the coldest point when the nub rotating all the way in the other direction. There was no in-between. I figured that was the problem.

I plugged the replacement blend door controller in and did the same test. This time, I about 3 clicks from the coldest setting the nub rotating roughly the same amount of distance. One more click to the right, and the numb rotated all the way to the other direction. I decided I'd still try to install it, but I'm still not getting full control of the temperature. It's either too cold, or too hot, even with the extra position that I now gained with the replacement blend door controller.

I'm also noticing that at least when I'm using heat, I'm getting hot air out of the dash vents when the middle dial is set to Floor only. Not much air... I don't feel it hitting my face, but if I put my hand near the vent I can feel it the heat. Is this normal for these cars, or do I maybe need to replace my in-dash heat / AC controls?? Thanks!!

-Andrew
 
Mine has been doing the same thing since last year. I think that I will remove the controls and do a visual check.
 
Just an update.... turns out my blend door controller was fine, but the temperature adjustment dial (the far-right dial on the HVAC controls) was worn internally. I found one from a 100,000 mile Contour in a local junk yard, swapped it in, and problem solved!
 
No problem! Yeah it took me several blend door controllers and 3 different temperature selector switches to figure out the problem... but you can separate the temperature selector switch and see wear on the contacts if you have a bad one. No plans on getting another CSVT?
 
Oh, great!! Glad yours went to such a good home! I'd like to get back in the the S.H.O. game again some day. I had a heavily-modded '92 Taurus SHO that got totaled (someone hit me head-on), then later bough a '96 SHO. Both very fun cars like the CSVT! It's hard to part with cars like these and never come back to them!
 
HA! Yes I did buy "Bill's" CSVT :-) This one has been loved a little better so it is in great working order minus a few little wear items here and there... Bill has suggested that my "crazy" driving might be causing some of the issues I've run into with it LOL! But I know it is just the age of some things! My old CSVT was full of problems! probably only ran about 60% of the time I owned it and I loved it so much when it DID run that I bought another one knowing that could be the case again! I think that qualifies as insanity but I just LOVE the CSVT, gotta be the favorite car I've ever owned... and I have had quite a few cars...

The SHO was, and is again, a very cool car! It's everything I love about the CSVT but I personally don't like the styling of the SHO as much as the CSVT. I love the "sleeper" aspect! I pulled up next to a V6 mustang (I know JUST the V6 stang but still funny) the other day and I may have embarrassed him a little when he struggled to keep up... I asked him "did that surprise you?" to which he grinned and said ya, NICE car!

Love it!
 
Thanks for posting the fix to this problem. I might just fix this and replace my AC compressor so everything works again. My contour has 44,000 miles and the control should be fine. If the control isn't the problem on mine where is the blend door controller? AAAHHHH Contour electronics, Don't you just love them.
 
Jbalch said:
HA! Yes I did buy "Bill's" CSVT :-) This one has been loved a little better so it is in great working order minus a few little wear items here and there... Bill has suggested that my "crazy" driving might be causing some of the issues I've run into with it LOL! But I know it is just the age of some things! My old CSVT was full of problems! probably only ran about 60% of the time I owned it and I loved it so much when it DID run that I bought another one knowing that could be the case again! I think that qualifies as insanity but I just LOVE the CSVT, gotta be the favorite car I've ever owned... and I have had quite a few cars...

The SHO was, and is again, a very cool car! It's everything I love about the CSVT but I personally don't like the styling of the SHO as much as the CSVT. I love the "sleeper" aspect! I pulled up next to a V6 mustang (I know JUST the V6 stang but still funny) the other day and I may have embarrassed him a little when he struggled to keep up... I asked him "did that surprise you?" to which he grinned and said ya, NICE car!

Love it!
Click to expand...

Yeah that's the only down-fall to buying cars this old, and with such high mileage in my case also. I bought mine back in August of last year, and have already had to replace the starter, alternator, tensioner, idler pulley, 3rd catalytic converter and flex pipe, front engine/trans mount, roll restrictor, ball joints, parking brake cables, rear calipers, purge solenoid valve, MAF, and spark plugs. Quite the laundry list! And still have subframe bushings, CV joints, struts/springs, strut mounts, sway bar end-links, brake rotors, brake pads, headers (front catalytic converters are going bad), and a dyno tune on the list. And then replace the clutch when that time comes. I need to find a second full-time job! lol

Yeah the Gen I and Gen II SHO doesn't look as nice as the CSVT. The SHO is roomier and a little more of a sleeper though, I feel. I definitely think the Gen III SHO is very similar to the CSVT. Round body style, subtle exterior changes over the base model, leather interior, and both sound great! But the sound of that 3.4L V8 in the Gen III SHO is pretty damn hard to beat!
 
No problem, I always try to post the fix for those having the same problem. What problem are you experiencing? With only 44,000 miles everything on your car should be working great! The blend door controller is between the glove box and the stereo... that little area that you can get to if you crawl under the glove box and look in the direction of the stereo. This is what it looks like:

images
 
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