My ac turned itself into a heater

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SaltyBeefCubes
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Location: Rocklin, CA

My ac turned itself into a heater

Post by SaltyBeefCubes »

My fiancé borrowed my car and turned the heater on this morning. Now when the ac is on the heater still blows instead. The compressor still turns on and all the ac lines are
Ice cold but for some reason the vents belch out the furnace of hell from my vents. Wtf is going on?
FundamentalyConfused
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Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:04 pm
Location: Flint, MI

Re: My ac turned itself into a heater

Post by FundamentalyConfused »

When you change it from vent to defrost does it actually change where it's coming out from? Maybe your vent selector is shot.
1999 Forester S 5MT 200,000 miles and counting.
1990 Legacy L Sedan AWD 5MT Retired at 369,471 Miles
SaltyBeefCubes
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Location: Rocklin, CA

Re: My ac turned itself into a heater

Post by SaltyBeefCubes »

Ya it changes from the vents to the defroster. I'm wondering if I'm actually having trouble with the temperature selector. Like maybe for some reason inside the control unit it's stuck on the hot option and won't shift to the cold.
FundamentalyConfused
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Re: My ac turned itself into a heater

Post by FundamentalyConfused »

Do you have the digital or analog HVAC controls?
1999 Forester S 5MT 200,000 miles and counting.
1990 Legacy L Sedan AWD 5MT Retired at 369,471 Miles
SaltyBeefCubes
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Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 11:57 pm
Location: Rocklin, CA

Re: My ac turned itself into a heater

Post by SaltyBeefCubes »

I believe analog. It's just a lever that you slide left to right to control temp. and buttons to press for ac, heat, defrost, etc.
FundamentalyConfused
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Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:04 pm
Location: Flint, MI

Re: My ac turned itself into a heater

Post by FundamentalyConfused »

I would suggest checking fuses if you already haven't before you attempt removal of the HVAC. It could just be something simple and not like mine. I had to take mine out to re-solder some of the circuit board because it wasn't turning on my fan when I changed the vent selector.
1999 Forester S 5MT 200,000 miles and counting.
1990 Legacy L Sedan AWD 5MT Retired at 369,471 Miles
Alphius
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Re: My ac turned itself into a heater

Post by Alphius »

the slider for hot/cold just moves a cable that pulls on a select door in the heater box. It's completely manual. I am gonna guess your selector cable either broke or came disconnected. It's pretty easy to see where it goes if you pull the HVAC panel and the glove box.
SaltyBeefCubes
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Location: Rocklin, CA

Re: My ac turned itself into a heater

Post by SaltyBeefCubes »

Alphius wrote:the slider for hot/cold just moves a cable that pulls on a select door in the heater box. It's completely manual. I am gonna guess your selector cable either broke or came disconnected. It's pretty easy to see where it goes if you pull the HVAC panel and the glove box.
You were right! Thanks a ton! This forum never fails to amaze me at the amount of knowledge on here!
Alphius
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Re: My ac turned itself into a heater

Post by Alphius »

Glad you found it. :) I've had the dash apart several times, it's pretty easy to see how it works once you've taken it all apart. :)
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