Active Grill Shutter aka Louvers - how do they work??

[Lake Tahoe Traveler]

(May 2022)
This happened in my 2021 Black Diamond 2.7 (4dr, SASQ, tow, soft top)....
Early in the morning I had the heater/AC off.... 65 degrees outside heading from CA to Flagstaff AZ for Overland West. I was starting up the Altamont pass and saw the temp go from 190 to 225 in a matter of minutes. At the top I pulled over.... at idle all of the louvers front both intercooler and radiator were completely shut. With this, I took it straight to my dealer.... They said nothing was wrong that is just the "AERO" benefits of the louver system... Had you had the AC on it would not have heated up????
What???? so the louvers would have opened to let air condense the AC refrigerant .... However with the AC off they just stayed shut....

EVEN AT IDLE????? Who uses their AC when the temp is 65 degrees????

Come to find out later, the louvers are suppossed to open under 16 mph which they clearly were not doing. Dealership service guys are BS artists!!!

So having said that,.... one fellow Bronco owner at Flagstaff who lives in AZ, was having the same problem, Temp hovering around the 205-210 range with his AC off and 190-195 with his AC on....
______________
(MOVE AHEAD Oct. 2022) NEW BRONCO ARRIVES
(finally after 2 years picked up my originally ordered 2dr Badlands 2.7 SASQ)

.... I have been keeping the AC "ON" to keep the louvers at bay from my passed learned experience....

Yesterday I was coming home from Lake Tahoe with the AC on going on hwy 80 from Truckee to Donner summit..... Same drill.... I was babying the car not pushing it over 65mph.... Same thing!!!! the temp sored to 230 ... pulled over at the summit.... LOUVERS nearly shut (at idle) with the intercooler louvers wide open.... Again this makes ZERO sense????

Also,,, Went up to Genoa Peak the week before with my '75 bronco in 2 wheel drive (1st gear) no problem reaching the summit zero coolant issues...

However...When I reached the Top on Saturday with the new BADLANDS Bronco the temp was 235 in 4WD Low..... AGAIN I COULD SEE THE LOUVERS WERE STARVING THE RADIATOR AND INTERCOOLER FROM GETTING AIR!!!!!


Is there anyone who knows how this interactive louver system is supposed to work?????

IS THERE A WAY THROUGH FORD SCAN TO PROGRAM THEM TO STAY OPEN????

Any help here would be greatly appreciated

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[ColonelAngus]

My f-150 used to run with them closed in all kinds of different scenarios. 230 isn't exactly a dangerous temp but the shutters are probably working as designed... I never really understood the logic for what position they run so I can't offer much there. Even if they are shut, air does get to the radiator and intercool when the fans run... so the shutters being closed while stopped is not really doing that much as far as influencing temps, other ones ive seen on the road they are opened at low speed and closed at a stop.

Hopefully someone can pop in with a better breakdown of it... just wanted you to know you aren't the only one.

 

[IDyeti]

Your under 1000miles on the engine/trans aren't you?

I am convinced that there is break in period that the louvers do not open. I noted insanely high temps on my Bronco until broken in. A bit of speculatin on my part as I have no hard evidence on this but having flashbacks to my first 1000 miles and heat concerns.

 

[Lake Tahoe Traveler]

Colonel Angus and IDyetti thank you for the replies....

These louvers make a ton of sense in the winter when it is cold... on the Highway...
However they have NO place.... in 4 wheel drive Low off road..... they should be wide open...period!!! IMO

When you see the turbos making boost the temp moves quickly. Again,,,, so should the louvers open to mitigate the heat generated.... I don't think this is rocket science.... but I don't see this happening from my experience.

I think it would be great to know what scenarios (temps... AC on or off .... break in period) play out as to when the fans come on.... when the louvers are supposed to come on or off...
Is this information in any ford literature?????

Inquiring minds????

 

[ColonelAngus]

Below is an excerpt from the shop manual for an Escape which has the same tech. Could be some differences but I'd imagine its the same in principal. Still doesn't answer every question but it does shed some light. It annoyed me on my truck but I never had issues so I packed all of those thoughts into a box... thanks for opening the box again....


"During normal operation, the grille shutter may be partially to fully open when the engine is off depending on the ambient temperature. When the engine is started, a calibration of the grille shutter system occurs which typically takes 15-20 seconds. The grille shutter system performs the calibration sequence by detecting the end positions, open and closed. The calibration sequence can begin in either direction, open or closed, and continues until it is successful or a fault is sensed. A long pause may occur between the 2 portions (open/close) of the calibration sequence. Calibration of the grille shutter system cannot be manually requested, it only occurs as determined by the grille shutter actuator. If certain faults are present (shutter blocked or actuator error), a recalibration is initiated in an attempt to resolve the problem. If the problem is not resolved after a calibrated number of attempts (usually 3 or 4), a timer starts and sets a DTC when the timer reaches a predetermined limit.

The PCM communicates the desired position (open or closed) of the grille shutter based on various PCM inputs (vehicle speed, coolant temperature, ambient temperature, A/C system pressure, etc.). The PCM communicates to the grille shutter actuator via a LIN . The LIN supports bi-directional communication between the grille shutter actuator and PCM, allowing the grille shutter actuator to communicate position and fault information to the PCM."

 

[Lake Tahoe Traveler]

Thank you...

 

[Ground_zero298]

I know on my burban they are to decrease air resistance on the Highway for better gas mileage. I’ve seen mine over 230 when out crawling with it. 220-225 was normal for summertime driving.

With the new hood with vents and wheel well liners with vents I’ve dropped around 20 degrees from what I’ve seen so far. Have not crawled with it yet.

 

[indio22]

I was thinking about mounting my front license plate in the red box area shown below. But just became aware of the louvers in that area. Does anyone think mounting a plate there will cause an issue with needed air flow? (Especially I want to avoid overheating on hot days when off-roading.)

 

[mike8675309]

I'm curious what temperature you think it should be at. Production cars have been running between 200 and 230 regularly since the late 1980s. This helps fuel economy, and the shutters will be used to improve aerodynamics and heating when at highway speeds. It also helps with start-ups in cold weather.
Someone will need to track down the stock thermostat temp to really understand if that temp is wrong. Some thermostats in engines these days have an opening temp of 221 f.

 

[orion]

I was thinking about mounting my front license plate in the red box area shown below. But just became aware of the louvers in that area. Does anyone think mounting a plate there will cause an issue with needed air flow? (Especially I want to avoid overheating on hot days when off-roading.)

Your fine, this is how I roll...

 

[dgorsett]

Interesting about the AC being on opening the louvers. My Bronco actually runs cooler now in 100 degree heat AC on then it did at 60 degrees no AC...

 

[broncorik]

I was thinking about mounting my front license plate in the red box area shown below. But just became aware of the louvers in that area. Does anyone think mounting a plate there will cause an issue with needed air flow? (Especially I want to avoid overheating on hot days when off-roading.)

If you want to avoid overheating/warranty issues for overheating don't put anything there...

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