1995 Ford Contour Air Distribution Issues?

Question

I am working on a friend's car. Her problem is that the air distribution system only gives air out of the defroster. We replaced the switch to no avail. I took the body interior trim off to see if I could find the issue, and what I found was some odd little air lines (vac. lines?) Four run off to two solenoid / diaphragm looking systems with some plastic arms. When I move those it changes the air flow to the correct areas. the other two lines run off somewhere I can't see.

Anyone out there know what the deal is with these lines and if there is some way to troubleshoot this system to get the A/C back in the front vents where it belongs?

Answer 1

What you have here is a vacuum holding ball.  On the contour, it is usually located inside of the right side fender.  The lines you see lead to the ball which holds vacuum in it.  But it may have been hit in that area at some time and the vacuum ball cracked and won't hold a vacuum anylonger.  When you accelerate, the vacuum from the engine usually sucks the regulators to where all of air comesw out of the defroster instead of the a/c vents, or the floors.  Also the contour has a cabin air filter under the cowl and it is recommended to be replaced every 15,000 miles.

Answer 2

When a vacuum or electric system fails it defaults to the defroster for safety to keep the windshield clear. You probably have a vacuum leak somewhere or a bad diaphragm in the blend door.

Answer 3

Brian has it. And he said it in about 1000 less words than it would have taken me!