Can someone explain our HVAC system?

[BadlandsCable]

I've now had my OBX for roughly a year and a half and this vehicle has one of the oddest HVAC systems I've ever encountered. I'm very curious if it operates differently based on outside temp.
I keep my temp at about 70F almost year round. During the summer months, 70F blows cold air with A/C turned on. Once the outside temp dips below about 60F, the HVAC blows hot air at 70F internal even with the A/C turned on. During summer, recirculate stays on at all times. During winter, even with A/C turned on, recirculate turns off at about 60 seconds and needs to be turned back on if desired.

I've noticed other quirks as well. What in the world is going on with this crazy HVAC system?

Don’t pay attention to what temperature is saying but adjust to your comfort.

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[Herewegoagain]

You press the power button

What ever

 

[Farm8265]

I've now had my OBX for roughly a year and a half and this vehicle has one of the oddest HVAC systems I've ever encountered. I'm very curious if it operates differently based on outside temp.
I keep my temp at about 70F almost year round. During the summer months, 70F blows cold air with A/C turned on. Once the outside temp dips below about 60F, the HVAC blows hot air at 70F internal even with the A/C turned on. During summer, recirculate stays on at all times. During winter, even with A/C turned on, recirculate turns off at about 60 seconds and needs to be turned back on if desired.

I've noticed other quirks as well. What in the world is going on with this crazy HVAC system?

Not user friendly, I don’t like having to select 3 different levels of Auto. The system in my F350 is far better.

 

[Wark]

This is the base unit. Sometimes simple is better. While there are things going on in the background sometimes with the outside air damper, the temperature adjustment is predictable.

 

[555-RGNE]

Thanks for posting this. I have a Base and keep recirculation mode on all the time to combat the high humidity we get due to our proximity to the Gulf Coast. When the outside temps drop into the 60s, the system will kick out of recirculation mode after 60 seconds, allowing damp air to blast into the cabin. The light on the recirculation button goes off until I manually press it again, then it'll only stay on for another 60 seconds. If the outside air is in the 70s or above, the recirculation mode functions as I'd expect and neither the light nor recirculation feature will turn off automatically.

 

[emmaginn]

Anyone else's air randomly go full blast even if the fan speed is on 1 and then randomly go back to normal speed a few minutes later? Seems to happen at higher speeds for some reason.

 

[Roofus]

Thanks for posting this. I have a Base and keep recirculation mode on all the time to combat the high humidity we get due to our proximity to the Gulf Coast. When the outside temps drop into the 60s, the system will kick out of recirculation mode after 60 seconds, allowing damp air to blast into the cabin. The light on the recirculation button goes off until I manually press it again, then it'll only stay on for another 60 seconds. If the outside air is in the 70s or above, the recirculation mode functions as I'd expect and neither the light nor recirculation feature will turn off automatically.

Precisely my experience.

 

[duel007]

Anyone else's air randomly go full blast even if the fan speed is on 1 and then randomly go back to normal speed a few minutes later? Seems to happen at higher speeds for some reason.

Same thing I posted about earlier in this thread, apparently it's a feature, not a bug. https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/can-someone-explain-our-hvac-system.84417/post-2091463

 

[El Bronco Blanco]

So went on a trail today. Front vehicle so not too much dust, but super fun for the dumb recirc button to shut itself off ALL day. All of a sudden it’s just pumping in the dust that is able to be put into the cabin.

Any way to turn this off? FORSCAN?

 

[Ducati1098]

So went on a trail today. Front vehicle so not too much dust, but super fun for the dumb recirc button to shut itself off ALL day. All of a sudden it’s just pumping in the dust that is able to be put into the cabin.

Any way to turn this off? FORSCAN?

Probably time to check/replace your cabin filter.
There is no way to turn it off. At least not that anyone has found.

 

[HighVelocity]

God I wish auto manufacturers would include some sort of documentation that would explain such features to the users.

 

[Roofus]

God I wish auto manufacturers would include some sort of documentation that would explain such features to the users.

I mean they do, it’s just that it’s nonsense.

 

[BadassBroncosaurus]

I've now had my OBX for roughly a year and a half and this vehicle has one of the oddest HVAC systems I've ever encountered. I'm very curious if it operates differently based on outside temp.
I keep my temp at about 70F almost year round. During the summer months, 70F blows cold air with A/C turned on. Once the outside temp dips below about 60F, the HVAC blows hot air at 70F internal even with the A/C turned on. During summer, recirculate stays on at all times. During winter, even with A/C turned on, recirculate turns off at about 60 seconds and needs to be turned back on if desired.

I've noticed other quirks as well. What in the world is going on with this crazy HVAC system?

So, my Bronco had the same issue and thanks to a terrific foreman working on it with me for the better part of an hour, I have the answer, good, and bad news…

Vehicle: 2023 Bronco Wildtrak 4DR

Problem: On cold days (sub 50 F), I would set the HVAC to manual, console vent only (middle/face vents on, no foot or defrost vents), and set the temp in the low 60s. No matter what temperature I set it on, 60-80, with or without AC on, it blew what felt like max hot air for 30 minutes!!! The only way I could get anything but piping hot air was to set the system to LO or MAX AC. These two settings set the damper to max cool air and ignore what the vehicle temperature sensors are reading. This was the clue we needed.

Diagnosis: When the shop foreman, service manager, and I sat in the car with a scanner attached, we found the problem. In manual HVAC mode, with only console (face) vents selected, the vehicle software still looks at the temp sensor by the driver’s right knee to determine if the set temperature is being achieved. BUT, this sensor doesn’t get air blown on it without foot vents selected and stays cold due to its location in the footwell which isn’t well insulated. So even though the cabin is roasting with hot air in your face, the HVAC thinks the cabin is still in the 50s and needs hot air.

Solution: The solution is the HVAC system should only read the console vent air outlet temperature sensor, when in manual, console vent only. Thus, the air you feel will be at the temperature you set. This is how my other Fords (F-150 and Explorer) work. Either that or the temp sensor for those vehicles is in a better place to actual measure what the occupants are feeling.

This issue appears multiple times in Bronco forums, over the last two years, with multiple owners frustrated. It is a fleetwide problem, but would require only a one line software correction to fix. I implore Ford to make the above correction. Until then, the Bronco HVAC system appears to be malfunctioning, and essentially, it is. If the Ford representatives in this forum are listening, please see Technical Support Request 120304178.

Imperfect Workaround: On cold days, if you want to use manual HVAC, set the vents to blow air through the console AND the footwell vents. The footwell vents blow air on the driver’s right knee temp sensor and allows the HVAC system to get a relatively accurate reading of the cabin temperature. Sadly, this makes the system louder and limits make console vent flow, but until Ford fixes the issue, it’s all we’ve got.

I love my Bronco and want to do whatever I can to make it great. If Ford wants me to come to Dearborn to work on it with them, my rates are reasonable and I’m happy to fly coach. Special thanks to Mac Haik Ford Service for taking the time to figure this out. You are awesome.

 

[Roofus]

So, my Bronco had the same issue and thanks to a terrific foreman working on it with me for the better part of an hour, I have the answer, good, and bad news…

Vehicle: 2023 Bronco Wildtrak 4DR

Problem: On cold days (sub 50 F), I would set the HVAC to manual, console vent only (middle/face vents on, no foot or defrost vents), and set the temp in the low 60s. No matter what temperature I set it on, 60-80, with or without AC on, it blew what felt like max hot air for 30 minutes!!! The only way I could get anything but piping hot air was to set the system to LO or MAX AC. These two settings set the damper to max cool air and ignore what the vehicle temperature sensors are reading. This was the clue we needed.

Diagnosis: When the shop foreman, service manager, and I sat in the car with a scanner attached, we found the problem. In manual HVAC mode, with only console (face) vents selected, the vehicle software still looks at the temp sensor by the driver’s right knee to determine if the set temperature is being achieved. BUT, this sensor doesn’t get air blown on it without foot vents selected and stays cold due to its location in the footwell which isn’t well insulated. So even though the cabin is roasting with hot air in your face, the HVAC thinks the cabin is still in the 50s and needs hot air.

Solution: The solution is the HVAC system should only read the console vent air outlet temperature sensor, when in manual, console vent only. Thus, the air you feel will be at the temperature you set. This is how my other Fords (F-150 and Explorer) work. Either that or the temp sensor for those vehicles is in a better place to actual measure what the occupants are feeling.

This issue appears multiple times in Bronco forums, over the last two years, with multiple owners frustrated. It is a fleetwide problem, but would require only a one line software correction to fix. I implore Ford to make the above correction. Until then, the Bronco HVAC system appears to be malfunctioning, and essentially, it is. If the Ford representatives in this forum are listening, please see Technical Support Request 120304178.

Imperfect Workaround: On cold days, if you want to use manual HVAC, set the vents to blow air through the console AND the footwell vents. The footwell vents blow air on the driver’s right knee temp sensor and allows the HVAC system to get a relatively accurate reading of the cabin temperature. Sadly, this makes the system louder and limits make console vent flow, but until Ford fixes the issue, it’s all we’ve got.

I love my Bronco and want to do whatever I can to make it great. If Ford wants me to come to Dearborn to work on it with them, my rates are reasonable and I’m happy to fly coach. Special thanks to Mac Haik Ford Service for taking the time to figure this out. You are awesome.

I may be missing something. Clearly this is an issue but how is that affecting recirculate turning off?

 

[Ducati1098]

I may be missing something. Clearly this is an issue but how is that affecting recirculate turning off?

It isn’t. Everything you explained in the original post from how the temperature was working to how the recirculate door was working is exactly how it’s designed to work.


Cabin air refresh (CAR) purge operation of the Air Inlet Door Actuator (Recirc door/fresh air inlet)

NOTE: The Bronco blower fan operation seems to change blower fan speed. Due to windshield design it is a build up of air pressure at the windshield cowl. Aerodynamically air is forced through the vents on the highway and not forced out sometimes causing a higher concentration of air.

The normal operation of the air inlet door (recirc) actuator performs a cabin air refresh event (CAR) purge of cabin air the usual time is every 35 minutes for 45 seconds with time adjusted for air quality measured of the passenger cabin air. The air refresh function works to maintain a certain cabin air quality. The air inlet actuator normal purge operation can allow air inlet door movement of up to 50 percent while operating in Recirc mode. Monitoring of the Air Inlet Door PID with the FDRS tool confirms this movement. This is a normal operation of the climate control system, no repairs should need to be attempted.

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