Climate Control Questions

[boilermax]

I've had my C-Max SE since November.  Now that the weather is warming up I'm seeing climate control behavior that seems odd to me.

 

I don't need any heat, so I keep the temp set to minimum.  If I just push the ON button for climate control (not in AUTO mode), the AC starts up, even if it hadn't been running previously.  Then I have to tell it to turn off.  The next time I turn the climate control on the same thing happens.  Is there a way to prevent the AC from turning on until I tell it to?

 

I've found that, when the climate control is off, I can push one of the vent control buttons to turn it on, again not in AUTO mode.  The AC does not start when I do this.  However, the fan comes on full blast and I have to repeatedly push the fan down button to slow it doen to a reasonable level.

 

Is there any way to turn on the climate control and have it simply go back to the settings that it had been using before it was shut off?

 

Thanks for any ideas.

 

Bob

 

[StoBro2]

I will occasionally have issues with the dual temperature controls not remembering to keep different settings and both reverting to what the driver's side is set to. But I've never had the fan come on full speed.

 

I may be wrong, but it's possible the AC comes on automatically when it's in AUTO mode and the wipers are on? Maybe it's not that sophisticated, but I've had a couple of cars where the AUTO setting adds defrost to the output when the wipers are on, and defrost includes AC to dehumidify the air.

[fotomoto]

Have you tried moving the temp up one degree from "low"?

[Bill-N]

I've had my C-Max SE since November.  Now that the weather is warming up I'm seeing climate control behavior that seems odd to me.

 

I don't need any heat, so I keep the temp set to minimum.  If I just push the ON button for climate control (not in AUTO mode), the AC starts up, even if it hadn't been running previously.  Then I have to tell it to turn off.  The next time I turn the climate control on the same thing happens.  Is there a way to prevent the AC from turning on until I tell it to?

 

I've found that, when the climate control is off, I can push one of the vent control buttons to turn it on, again not in AUTO mode.  The AC does not start when I do this.  However, the fan comes on full blast and I have to repeatedly push the fan down button to slow it doen to a reasonable level.

 

Is there any way to turn on the climate control and have it simply go back to the settings that it had been using before it was shut off?

 

Thanks for any ideas.

 

Bob

 

See Owners Manual, pg. 149.

[boilermax]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

 

Bob

 

[boilermax]

OK, here's what I've found out . . .

 

As suggested by fotomoto, setting the temperature control up to 60 from LO keeps the AC from starting up when I turn the system on.  That's progress.  However, the fan still starts up faster - in this case half-blast (4 bars on the display) instead of full-blast (7 bars on the display).  This occurs whether I push the ON button or one of the vent direction buttons.

 

So I started experimenting.  Max says the temperature in my garage was 70 this morning.  When I set the temp control to 70 the system started up at 2 fan bars instead of 4.  When I set the temp control to 65 the system started up at 3 fan bars instead of 4.  I concluded that the fan startup speed is a function of the difference between the set temperature - 60 in this case - and the car's measured temperature.  (Some programmer at Ford got cute and decided to put in an "intelligent" fan control instead of letting the driver decide what he/she wants.  That way we have more distractions trying the set the climate control while driving.)

 

I then discovered that if I push a fan speed button while the system is off, the fan starts up at one bar, the lowest setting.  The AC remains off.  That gives me the behavior I want.  Of course, none of this is documented in the owner's manual.

 

Bob

[zhackwyatt]

OK, here's what I've found out . . .

 

As suggested by fotomoto, setting the temperature control up to 60 from LO keeps the AC from starting up when I turn the system on.  That's progress.  However, the fan still starts up faster - in this case half-blast (4 bars on the display) instead of full-blast (7 bars on the display).  This occurs whether I push the ON button or one of the vent direction buttons.

 

So I started experimenting.  Max says the temperature in my garage was 70 this morning.  When I set the temp control to 70 the system started up at 2 fan bars instead of 4.  When I set the temp control to 65 the system started up at 3 fan bars instead of 4.  I concluded that the fan startup speed is a function of the difference between the set temperature - 60 in this case - and the car's measured temperature.  (Some programmer at Ford got cute and decided to put in an "intelligent" fan control instead of letting the driver decide what he/she wants.  That way we have more distractions trying the set the climate control while driving.)

 

I then discovered that if I push a fan speed button while the system is off, the fan starts up at one bar, the lowest setting.  The AC remains off.  That gives me the behavior I want.  Of course, none of this is documented in the owner's manual.

 

Bob

I gotta say your pretty picky about it, but to each their own :).

 

In any case, LO is basically the same thing as hitting the Max AC button.  From the manual:

 

 

In position LO, 59°F (15°C), the system

switches to permanent cooling. In position HI, 86°F (30°C), the system

switches to permanent heating.

Note: If you select either position LO or HI, the system does not

regulate a stable temperature.