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July 22, 2008

Auto Scanner: When sun shines in, AC shuts off

By Larry Rubenstein

Q: I have a 2000 Mercury Sable wagon with 75,000 miles on it. For several years now, on hot days if the car is parked in the sun, I have a problem with my air conditioner. Generally the AC works fine, but after sitting in the sun, when I get into the car and start it up, the AC will work for less than a minute and then it will blow very hot air and short out the radio and clock. The unit that houses the AC/heat control is one panel that also houses the radio/CD/tape and clock. When the AC is not working that whole panel shuts off, meaning I have no radio, no clock and I can't control the fan or turn off the hot air blowing out at the maximum fan speed. Once the car is parked in a cooler spot and it has cooled down, the AC is fine. The dealer has replaced the panel twice and also replaced sensors for the AC, but more than $1,000 later, it still happens sporadically. If I use the auto setting for the climate control the AC works fine and I don't have this issue at all. Any suggestions?

A: This is a great question. I did a search of the IATN, and also checked the archives on the All Data Web site. There are no mentions of your problem. I do know the system that's in your car, and I feel Ford did a very poor job with the design of integrating HVAC and radio into one module. What I think may be happening is as follows: As the sun hits the plastic case of the HVAC controls, the housing is expanding and causing a power wire or circuit to short out. To further check this problem, and make an inexpensive repair, purchase a foldable visor that goes inside the windshield to block the sun. You can also try leaving a white towel over the dash board area of the controls. Put this sun blocker in place, and see if the problem goes away.

Q: Twice in the past year, the air conditioner condensation drain tube in my 2005 Subaru Outback has plugged and caused the floor of the passenger front seat to become soaked with water. It is easily cleared by the dealer garage (for a price) but I wonder if there isn't a permanent cure to the annoying problem.

A: Your car has a cabin air filter. Quite often the manufacturer leaves the filter carrier empty and you are getting a lot of debris in the HVAC box. This debris will block up the outlet tube. If the filter is there and the filter is clean and this just happens to be the nature of the design, I recommend you use a regular repair shop for your oil changes and I am quite sure, while they are changing the oil they will blow out the tube at no additional cost because you are a regular customer.

Car Care Tip: Please help this writer to protect animals that are left inside of parked cars on warm days. At 80 degrees outside the inside of the car can reach well over 100 even with the windows partially open. If you see a dog in a closed car on a warm day, try to find the owners. If you can't find them within a very short time, please call the police to prevent the pet's probable death. This writer thanks you.

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Larry Rubenstein is a master technician who owns a North Shore service station. His column appears Tuesday in the Biz North section. Write to Larry at Salem News, c/o Auto Scanner, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915, or send e-mail to scanauto@aol.com.

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