2003 Ford Taurus AC Problem

DEBB104764

MEMBER
2003 FORD TAURUS

I have '03 Ford Taurus SE SVG sedan 3.0 L with about 50,000 miles and about 2yrs ago I replaced the ac compressor with a rebuilt one and the ac started cooling again. Now about a couple of days ago in the morning (5 am) the ac blows cold and when I leave work in the afternoon it blows semi cool and every now and then blows cold. I read the other ac problems here on the forum and I haven't checked any of the fuses ( not sure which ones to check)before I take it to someone to recharge the ac. I am like everyone else financially strapped for cash being a single woman so any help would be appreciated. My ac controls in the car are manual and one of the vents did seem to not blow until I kind of smacked it and it started to blow. Would blowing out the condensor help too? And how would I change a cabin filter on this model?

9 Replies

FISHERMAN

MECHANIC
937 POSTS

I don`t think its a fuse problem.

Looks like you have Refrigerant leak, when you take your car to fill it out tell them to check the system for leaks.

Well As for the cabin filter, the cabin filter would likely be located in a compartment on the passenger side, at the base of the windshield. You'll need to open the hood, remove the clips that hold the flat black plastic in place, and the filter should be under the plastic cover

Some cars do not use cabin filters if so, should be in that spot.

Thanks for your support!

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Wednesday, September 26th, 2007 AT 10:43 PM

DEBB104764

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Thanks for the help.I was planning on taking it to jiffy lube since I need an oil change anyway and I saw on their website they also recharge ac's. Would that be a good place or should I find a specific garage that only specializes in ac's? I appreciate you responding so quickly.

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Thursday, September 27th, 2007 AT 8:50 PM

DEBB104764

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THANKS FOR THE HELP. BUT I DON'T HAVE AN AIR COMPRESSOR AND I LOOKED UNDER THE HOOD LAST NIGHT AND I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT. SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT A COMPRESSOR LOOKS LIKE. MAYBE I AM BETTER OFF GOING TO A MECHANIC. SO DO I STILL NEED TO RECHARGE THE A/C?

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Friday, September 28th, 2007 AT 10:40 AM

FISHERMAN

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937 POSTS

Hi Debb.
Recharging the a/c its an easy DIY task.

If you buy the kit it come with the hose (and gauge) and a couple off R-134A Tanks If you like to do it yourself let us Know and we can tell you where are the HP side And the LP Side (you can`t go wrong they are different size connectors.

Also to blow and clean your a/c condenser you can go to the tire shop and gave them a couple of dollars to do it.

Well that way you save some money and the next time you can do it with no problem!

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Friday, September 28th, 2007 AT 11:32 AM

DEBB104764

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THANKS I LIKE THAT BETTER. COULD U TELL ME HOW TO RECHARGE IT DETAIL BY DETAIL. SOMEBODY TOLD ME IT MIGHT ALSO BE A SWITCH THAT WENT OUT TOO. THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP

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Friday, September 28th, 2007 AT 12:08 PM

FISHERMAN

MECHANIC
937 POSTS

Hello Debb.

Ok Lets start:
First clean the fins on the condenser (like I said earlier go to your nearest tire shop and ask them to do it with care)

Then we are going to find the port where we are going to charge the system, the low port is on the pass. Side close to the firewall on the FAT hose and usually is partially hidden by a wire harness.
Once you find it, engine at idle.A/C set to NORM. Blower on high. Temp set to full cold. Connect your hose and attach The R134A can and add the refrigerant (follow the instruction on the can), to the system until the compressor stops cycling on/off. Then fill in small stages. Pausing 30secs between each addition of Refrigerant until the gauge reads in the norm range.

Usually they sell a kit with a hose (with pressure gauge) and a couple of cans of R-134A and instructions.

Remember you should charge the gas on the LOW port.

That should do the trick.

Let Us Know about any question!

You may need a cycling switch but do the cleaning and recharge first.

Good Luck!

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Friday, September 28th, 2007 AT 4:52 PM

FISHERMAN

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I got an schematic and info from: Justanold (an expert Ford Technician)

Thanks Steve

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Friday, September 28th, 2007 AT 5:18 PM

MCKID

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Had to do this to ours. The blower fan gets water in it from condensation and rainwater due to the fact the air intake is down by the air dam. Heavy rain will easily get in.
Dealer wanted $1500 to "fix".
Three screws hold the blower fan on in the cabin just above the passenger foot area. Remove the blower, dry it out and reinstall. You'll know when to do this as water will drip on the floormat just before your cooling drops.

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Friday, October 5th, 2007 AT 4:52 PM

DEBB104764

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Well I want to thank all you guys for all your help with my a/c. Unfortunately I couldn't attempt to fix it on my own and I chose to take it to a retail car repair(Pepboys) and they did the ac check and they informed me it would be $ 1200.00! Appartently I had a leak in the compressor and they wanted to practically replace everything. I told them I couldn't afford that and it was better to just keep running the a/c till it died and they came back with another solution of an a/c recharge and a sealant for the a/c that only cost 116.00 w/ labor. I can't believe they wanted to redo everything I had paid for 2 yrs ago that cost me less than $600.00 to do. I really think they thought they could scare me into thinking I was stupid enough to pay that. Especially to go from 1200.00 to 116.00. Well right now the a/c is blowing cold on low temp and as far as I am concerned that's fine with me. So thanks guys for all the help. I appreciate it.

Deb

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Friday, October 5th, 2007 AT 7:50 PM