Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting How can this not turn up in a search?

Started her up this morning (98 SVT) to head to work and noticed it was nosing over like the AC was cycling. When I arrived at work I popped the hood and saw that it was in fact on, cooling fans and compressor clutch in motion. The dash switches are all off, low, and warm. Couldn't find a similiar problem ( hard to believe) when I searched so maybe someone here will know of this PIA.

OK, I pulled the relay for the AC and the fans still run but the compressor as expected does not. Does this indicate a bad switch possibly? The dash switches still operate as before (normal)don't know how common it is for the switch to go. Any ideas?

Do you have the HVAC controls turned to either of the two front defrost positions? The A/C compressor is designed to run when in defrost mode to help dehumidify the defrost air to clear the windshield better.

No, the controls are in the off position! They seem to still operate the venting correctly and the fan as well, the compressor and it's circuitry act as though the switch is in the "on" position. I've unplugged the relay for now but the fans continue to spin even with a cold start up. Wonder if this could be a PCM relay or High Psi. switch? Any ideas? Thanks........

The high pressure switch turns on the radiator fans to high speed. I don't think it would override the a/c controls in the dash. Do you have a Ford service cd, they have them on e-bay, or go to www.alldatadiy.com and sign up for online manuals, you need the schematics. You could try disconnecting the mode switch, and see if the a/c will then stop, if it does switch likely bad. There is a hidden screw on the bottom of the radio dash trim if you try to disassemble.

Could you give me some idea what to look for with regard to the location of the mode switch? For the moment, I have removed the A/C relay to disable the compressor, however the fans continue to run. I do have the CD's so I'll see what I can come up with. Is it really possible that the dash switch could have gone bad without any warning? Any other switches in the system that could override the dash controls? ?????????????????????

I took a look at the schematic, I don't think any switches would override dash controls. There are 2 pressure switches, 1 kicks the fan higher, one cuts out the compressor to prevent overpressure. The relay you removed could stick, check its contacts while it is removed. This might take a bit of patient study of diagrams. Does your check engine light come on, scan for codes even if it does not.

The CEL does not pop up but I'll check for codes just the same. What's got me stuck is the fans are staying on as if the A/C circuit thinks the switch has been activated. I thought the relay might have tripped the fans as they relate to the compressor, guess not. This is telling me that somewhere a sensor, switch or relay of some kind is telling the A/C to cycle. In the past, the fans rarely came on, only in extreme heat scenarios ( other than the A/C activation ). I went through the blower motor issues on both Contours I've owned and I hope this does not turn out to be the same exhausting process!!!!!!!

My bad.... I should have thought a little more about the " Mode switch" comment. My brain should start working again shortly!

That might be a "relatively" easy test. Sometimes it takes longer to think it through than to actually do the repair!