Well, mission accomplished. I was able to sell the Turbo Coupe for 2k yesterday, and picked up a nice 5.0 Thunderbird about an hour later. It has 110k on it, and runs smoother than I ever could have imagined. I swear, it's like the engine isn't even on when idling.
It's an 87 LX Model, and it appears to be fully loaded with the items available for that model. Keyless entry, Power Locks (Although a loud grinding noise can be heard from the Driver's side door whenever I try to utilize that feature, and the lock doesn't move), power windows, power seats, Electronic Dash, yet for some reason doesn't have System Sentry indicators. I thought that was standard on the LX? Also on it is the dreaded Electronic Climate Control. I must say I'm a bit frustrated at this.
You all might think I'm a kook (And some surely already do..), but I swear on my Blue 87 V6 T-bird, the Air was ICE COLD, and all I did was use a cheap Wal-mart r-134 conversion kit on it. The thing was, it had Manual Air Controls, meaning 4 different fan speeds.
On the turbo coupe, I had many Air Problems. But putting the Compressor and Refrigerant aside, I always thought that "Hi" just wasn't blowing hard enough. Now I get this big V8, with a bigger compressor, and I expect much better from the Air system. (It still full of R-12, and was topped off by a ford mechanic a couple of weeks ago). I push the "On/Auto" button but the same thing. It's cold, but not freezing like the v6 used to be. I'm starting to think the air isn't being blown hard enough into the cabin. Is there anyway to override the speed settings? Or could I just ditch the system all together and install the Manual controls?
(http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/8391/00019406xs.th.jpg) (http://img59.imageshack.us/my.php?image=00019406xs.jpg)
Going from the post, you appear to have the ATC system in your car. That being the case, start here: http://www.coolcats.net/tech/troubleshooting/atc.html
full digital cluster cars didnt' get the systems sentry panel. its in the side of the cluster or something like that.
Ah I see. Yes, having the Fully electronic Dash would explain not having the System Sentry. It's funny though, my RPM's never get above 2k, must be the gearing...
The only other problems I seem to have with the car is the radio seems to be affected by bumps in that when I run over something hard sometimes the sound out of the drivers side speaker stops, or sounds scratchy. Also there is a hissing gas noise coming from the pedals, my guess is either a lose hose or break booster going bad. Also every once in a while the Temp read out on the "ATC" flashes constantly.
Other than that though, everything else seems to check out.
Oh yeah, when I start the car from time to time, Air comes out of the vents even though the Air Conditioning is off. Weird.
It may be the auto parking brake release... we talked about it a month or so ago.... can't remember were it is... but look on the vacuum tree on the firewall... if there is a hose coming off of the B/R port then you have the thing... it is notorious for leaking.
Auto parking break relese. Either pull the smaller vac line off of it and plug it or get a new one, if you can find it. The thing is a little white cresent shaped thing on the lower part of your stearing column. You can't miss it.
You probably have 2.73 gears which don't really let the car rev much in normal driving. Push the pedal harder and it'll go above 2K;)
Yes on the ATC just push "HI" for high speed. "LOW" for low speed, and both at the same time for medium. What temp are you setting the ATC at. Mine dosen't really cool off the car on a hot day unles I set it at about 67*. After it gets cold I turn it up to about 70*.
Hell, I leave the thing on 60 degrees all the time just to keep the car somewhat cool. I swear that when I owned the V6 Tbird with the Manual air controls, it blew out harder and colder.
how long did you have the TC? go through car alittte quick do we?
There is a problem with the ATC system in your car. That's why it flashes sometimes. You can pull a code from it by doing this:
1) Make sure the car is sufficiently warm, at least 50 degrees F.
2 ) Push OFF/AUTO and DEFROST at the same time, then press A/C within 2 seconds.
3) The code will display. This self-test will stop all normal functions of the ATC unit.
4) Exit the self test by pressing the COOL button.
I bet the reason you are feeling the air come through the vents even when the system is not turned on is because the actuator that closes the door to let in fresh air is malfunctioning and sticks open sometimes. I say this because the same thing happens to the system in my car. I hate it and wish I could switch to manual controls but it is way too involved.
Maybe when another board member comes down here, we can hang out. I'm in Tucson right now. I'd like to see the new bird.
Ok, here's some more info I need.
I plan on going to the junk yard on wednesday to pull some stuff I need for the car. Glove Box latch, cover for fancy light fixture, Cover for Spring Loaded Ash Tray...etc. What I want to know is what type of bulb goes with that Fancy (Chrome) light that is in my car, and also, aren't there supposed to be lights underneath the Dash that come on when you open the door? I had them with the Turbo, but nothing lights up at night down there.
(I pulled the vaccum line from the "B/R" and it stopped the constant air noise I was hearing, however, when I push on the brake pedal and hold it, I can still hear air....does this automatically mean I need a new Brake Booster?)
Ok, I've got some more strange items to report. Yesterday I left for work just like I normally would. I turned the A/C on, pulled out of the driveway and headed out onto the street and got up to speed. After about a minute of driving I saw a Shot of water shoot out onto the passenger side floor mat! It was uncanny, like someone was sitting in the firewall with a supersoaker. I then felt me right foot get cold. I looked at it, and it was soaked in water as well. This didn't happen again nor did it happen on the way home, but I can't have water randomly squirting out some phantom location.
Also, right when I got into my car to leave for work, I noticed that the bottom of my steering wheel was....melted? It was like the rubber had liquified into a black gooey substance. I don't want to get a Wheel cover, so can I just take some 409 to the wheel to try to clean this stuff off?
sounds like your heater core is gone
and your steering wheel is deteriorating
Was it water, or antifreeze? I bet the drain for the condensing unit is clogged up...thus the water (condensation) has no where to go.
The hissing noise you heard might be from the hose that connects to the brake pedal for the cruise.....
Yeah I'd check to see if the condensor drain is plugged. If it was coolant it would have been hot and probably burned a little. Also if you have the auto parking brake try pulling the smaller of the two vac lines connected to the relese and plugging it. That should make the hiss go away.
How does one locate this Condenser Drain? I should also mention that I attempted to get the heater to turn on by setting the Temp to 90 degrees, but I couldn't get any hot air to blow from the vents.
I pulled the following Code from the ATC system:
05 Blend actuator over current.
Now what? Oh yeah, I still don't know where the Condenser Drain is located???
condensor drain will be on the pass lower area of the firewall near the exhaust manifold /pipe .
Little rubber plug about 1-1/2" diameter, stubby hose in the middle.
.
Well, I took a wire to the Drain plug and sure enough, when I pushed it through, a bunch of water came spewing out. Problem solved.
Now to the next item of business, what does my ATC code mean?
05 Blend actuator over current.
The "blend" door is the one that manages temperature (by blending hot and cold air). Yours may be stuck, which would explain not getting cold enough air (it may be blending a bit of hot air in), or the actuator motor may be shorted. Either situation would result in the overcurrent situation, as sending power to an electric motor that can't move will cause high current
Well, what should be my next move?
I dunno, haven't done much work on the ATC systems in these things, but my guess would be to pull the actuator off (but leave it plugged in) and see if you can move the flap by hand. Also try moving the motor with the EATC controller...
close or open the door manually.
Does anyone have a schematic of any kind that shows the physical location of the various ATC actuators? I think that one of them is directly behind the glove box door but I am not sure about any of the others.
Here ya go - sorry for the poor image quality, I think Mitchell1 used old faxes for these diagrams...
Thank you Carm! You have now confirmed my suspicion that the blend door actuator is buried beneath the dash to a point where it is virtually inaccesible!
Well that's exactly what I wanted to hear. I need to tear up my Dash to get to the thing....
Hey, my car is equiped with the fully Electronic Cluster (Tach, Fuel Economy, etc). If I were to find one of those buttstuffog clusters off an 88 Sport or XR7, could I place it directly in without going through the rewiring hell I had to deal with when putting the Turbo Cluster in my v6? (I'm asking this because I was doing some tests with other cars...and a cop....and I found out my Electronic Speedometer is reading 5 mph slow. I.E., I'm really doing 45 when it's showing 40. And that's never good.....)
Umm.. if you put an buttstuffog cluster in it will read 5 mph off as well.