Air Conditioning vent problem 2006 Ford Explorer XLS

Ford Explorer

I turn my Air Conditioning on max, or any other setting and cold air comes out the main middle vent for about a minute. Then it quits and the air comes out of the defrost vents for a few minutes. And them it starts coming out of the main vent again for just a few minutes to the top and comes out of the defrost vents only. This cycle continues. What is the problem? Thanks for your time. Jeff Duty


The system is designed to divert to defrost when the control panel looses vacuum and this is usually caused by a vacuum leak in the supply line to the controller. Start by locating the vacuum reservoir under the dash on the passenger side and make sure the hose is connected and has good vacuum to it.
The reservoir is #2 in the diagram. If you find good vacuum at the reservoir and no leaks then the control panel will need to be remove and further testing done.

Air Conditioning vent problem

Vacuum Reservoir

2006-ford-explorer-vacuum-resivoir

ItemPart NumberDescription
1W701696Vacuum reservoir screw
219A566Vacuum reservoir
3Vacuum connector (part of 18C581)
Removal and Installation
  1. Remove the vacuum reservoir screw.
  2. Remove the vacuum reservoir.
  3. Disconnect the vacuum connector.
  4. To install, reverse the removal procedure.