Hello all,
I have a 2002 Harley Davidson edition and am only getting heat with the control set at 90 degrees max. Anything below this basically sends in the outside ambient air. I have a $1,300+ warranty which I purchased from the dealer that should cover the repair. Unfortunately, the service writer called me today to inform me that the heater control is working and there is nothing wrong with it! Come on, I am very mechanically inclined and as a teacher have even taught auto shop. The blend door or actuator are obviously broken or not working. What this boils down to is this is a very labor intensive job and I am sure that the dealer’s warranty doesn’t pay the tech enough to take my problem seriously. I just went by to look at a friend’s 2001 Supercrew but it has the manual blend **** unlike my digital control, sure enough there is a smooth progressive transition from cool to warm to hot. I have told the service writer I would like the tech's name who made the OK status of this toggle switch problem and I am going to get it repaired correctly. I will then name them in a small claims case to recover my cost of solving the problem. Would you have any suggestions for me in getting this done? I would even appreciate it if one of you could meet me at North County Ford in Vista CA, to show them how the temperature switch should work. She as much as told me that this existing problem is NOT A PROBLEM! My memory is not that bad, I have had this truck since it was driven off of their lot and it certainly did not have this toggle switch heat issue before. Please let me know if you can help me…
Thanks,
Bart

 

Isn't there anyone out there that has had this problem? There is no progression of temperature, basically ambient air temperature at the vents in the vent position until whammy, a ton of heat at the max 90 degree setting! Seems kind of funny but I have colleague that I work with who has a Supercrew Lariat 2003 with 77,000 miles on it, she has the same problem with hers and didn't even realize it. Is this blend door problem a common issue with these trucks?
Thanks,
Bart

 

I have a 2003 king ranch with the digital eatc, my temp control gradually changes from ambient to hot when I run through the temps. It is cooler in MN tonight and mine changes fine. I also work for a ford dealership and I have not seen any concerns like that. I just actually replaced my eatc unit due to the fact I could not get any air flow to the floor either defrost or vent. There was a vacuum concern internally to the eatc unit. I would ask to show the technician the concern and verify with him that it does not operate correctly. What about in auto mode does the tempature change ok then or is it cold to hot toggleing. I would have to say you have a definite concern and they should try again, You paid for the warranty they should do something for you. I know our dealership would not blow you off like that. Good luck.

 

Try running your EATC self-test.

Steve

 

take it again, or take it to another dealership

 

Thanks guy! I can't take it to another dealership because the "Portfolio" warranty that I was encouraged to buy is through the dealer's network and I can't take it to another dealer unless I live further than 25 miles from the dealer I purchased the truck from! I'll keep you posted!
Thanks again,
Bart

 

Sure enough, I e-mailed the higher ups at the dealership and get a call from a manager. Gee Mr. Schwarz what seems to be the problem? Well, I took my truck in for warranty work with specific details on two problem areas and the service writer tells me there is not any problem with the heater in my truck. The manger asks "has this been an intermittent problem or constant?” It has been constant! Manger “Could you come out and meet with our tech and show him?” Sure, I’ll be there this afternoon. I get there not exactly in a good mood, traffic is terrible on the way over and it is 20 miles each direction. I ask the tech to sit in the truck with me and get it warmed up. As with most F-150 truck owners we place our EATC button on vent and then adjust the temperature with digital read out screen, most likely selecting a temperature which is comfortable for us. This adjustment manipulates the blend door… When I show the tech that there is nothing but ambient air coming through the vents until the 90 degree maximum setting he goes WOW, you do have a problem! When I asked how they were checking my heater out they stated they were doing it on the automatic setting! To make a long story short, I hope that all of you that have an existing warranty on your trucks with the EATC panel go through the same procedure that I have mentioned. Get the truck up to operating temperature, go to the vent mode and progressively increase the temperature in 10 degree increments 60 -70-80 -90, you should obviously feel or use a thermometer in the dash to see if the blend door is functioning properly. Make sure that they use this method and save yourself a major headache. I hope that this helps you guy’s out! I might add that his is a very labor intensive job and some dealers are not eager to diagnose it properly as to the cost of the repair.
Bart

 

glad they are getting you squared away