Auto Air Conditioning & Heater Repair: 1997 Ford Windstar, air conditiong, ford windstar

Question
Okay, I have a problem with my air conditiong unit. I went to turn on the A/C the other day and I heard it switch on, but nothing was coming from my front vents (however, I did feel some cool air coming from somewhere near my feet, but not a steady flow of air). Then it took about 2-5 minutes and finally the air came through the vents. What could be causing this? Also, my back air conditioner vents do not work at all anymore. Could something be blocking them?

Answer
Cheryl,
As for your back vents. There is a possibility something is blocking the airflow from them, but that is not likely. It is much more likely you have a problem with your rear blower motor or the power going (or not going in your case) to it. If you have a multimeter and a basic understanding of making electrical checks, I will be happy to walk you through the wiring diagram for your windstar.

As for your front, from your description this could be caused by a number of different issues.
The first thing that comes to mind is that you may have a small leak in one of your vaccuum hoses that control the ventilation directional door actuators. These doors open and close by a vaccuum being pulled on the actuator themselves. If one of yours has a leak, then it may take a moment to pull the proper door closed, or it would not operate the door at all.
Another issue may be that your blower motor itself may be going bad and is taking longer than usual to get up to speed. You said that you heard it switch on... does that mean you heard the fan come on and if so did it sound as though it was blowing as strongly as it usually does? If so, then I would concentrate more on the door actuators, if not, then I would look into the fan motor or motor wiring. Again... if you need I will walk you through the wiring diagram if you need me to.


Thank you for your question, I hope I was of some assistance. If I can do more to assist either now or in the future, please do not hesitate to ask. If you found this answer at all helpful, please remember to rate this answer. Thanks again and good luck in everything.