Ford HVAC System Stuck on Defrost: EATC Control Head Repair 

These are the Parts and Supplies used in this video: Silicone O-Rings- amzn.to/2q0G7wo Silicone Grease- amzn.to/1pfNywv A basic pick set can help allot- amzn.to/1TihEtL

Unbelievable, such a simple fix. The amount of dirt and dust that came out of the vent for the first time was astonishing. Greatly appreciate the expertise.

Wow a tech that knows what the hell he is doing instead of ripping people off. Finally, we need more Brian's out there like you

Hey Dude. I know that you posted this years ago but I just did the repair today, thanks to you. I just wanted to say thank you! You saved me hundreds. Best regards. -Frank

Awesome video and great info! I have been a certified ford tech for 7 years and I never knew this was an option. I have always just replaced this unit in other vehicles in the past to be able to provide a better warranty to customers. I ordered the o-rings and used them on my 2003 f150 today and my AC modes have never worked this great!

This worked perfectly for me, thank you! For anyone who needs to know how to get the vacuum line connector off the back of the unit when removing, use a 10mm socket (doesn't need to be deep) and it comes right off! It wasn't sure how to remove at first, but I hope that helps!

YOU'RE AWESOME!!! Went to the hardware store & picked up some o-rings, installed them, and now my heat is finally working just in time for winter!!!!

Did this on my 2003 F150 Lariat and it worked!!! For all of $10 and an hour of fidgeting, my A/C now blows out of those beautiful panel doors and I learned a lot about how the old HVAC systems worked in the process! Hardest part was getting the spacer to line up when reassembling. Thanks for the tutorial, I will be sure to share with others!

$2.50 for the O-rings from my local hardware store + 1 hour and 15 minutes and I'm back in business!! Thank you so much!! I love it when a plan comes together.

O rings came in.. Took my time and finished mine in an hour.... Thank you so much for this video saved me a ton of money and now my car is blowing snowballs

THE BEST "HOW TO VIDEO" I've seen on this particular issue. Fixed my '06 Crown Vic 100%...Thanks!

I just did my 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis in 39 minutes out and back in, it was a breeze. Worked like brand new....thanks for the video

did your repair on my 05 marquis it was perfect, worked the first time when re-installed, thank you for a little known, well hidden item on these control panel heads, or eatc's

Know this is a old video but I just followed this guide and fixed my 06, worked perfectly. Thanks man, subscribed also

Just finished doing this, i had so much stuff fly out of my vents, i had AC but it was stuck on defrost and now it works great, lightly greased the new o rings and the connectors inside the module and in the car as well as the jelly piece that holds all the vac lines in place, thank you for the video 04 crown Victoria LX

Did this on my 02 grand marquis a little over a year ago and just a few weeks ago the same issue started up again. I used rubber orings that i got at autozone for the sake of getting it done a few days sooner instead of waiting for the correct ones to come in. They obviously worked for a while but i just finished the repair again and made sure to get the suggested silicone orings. Hopefully a more permanent repair. Thank you for the video.

Excellent fix. The 2001 navigator had no screws on the valves ( all spot welded). Just turn the assembly upside down (wiring harness up) and use a small drill bit at the spot weld dimples where screws would have been and voila, the assembly is free ( 8 locations). Then follow instructions as in this video. After putting back together, rosin core weld back or simply use high temp electrical tape and wrap around the frame on each side to hold the valves in place. Make sure they are lined up as to not to stress the plastic manifold.

after replacing vent motor in back of dash that did not fix it replaced 4 o rings in control unit like video said. Works like a champ. Mine was stuck in defrost mode. Thank you so much life saver.

Just did this on Sunday (Father's day). Watched the video as I did the work. Other than one of those springs flying across the room (my fault and thank goodness my kids immediately went after it and found it), everything went smooth as silk. Thank you for this. Now I'm comfortable on my 50 minute drive to work and back.

Nice Repair, After watching your video I was able to repair my Grand Marquis and it is fine now. Saved me 300.00 for a rebuilt Head unit. Thanks again.

Thank you so much for this video!! It fixed my HVAC system in my wives 2003 Ford Crown Victoria. I had to copy and paste the product description in Amazon search, because the link provided was sold out. Same part came up with less o-ring quantities to chose. Your video was so easy to follow and exactly like mine. My wife is so happy now and I am a hero, thanks to you. Local salvage yard had one and wanted $250.00 for it and on Amazon they are over $650.00. You saved me so much, thank you for taking the time to help us!

This was great 👍 exactly what my 2003 f150 King Ranch needed. I have the automatic temperature control unit and bought the O-rings you recommended and replace them following your guidelines and it worked beautifully. However for anyone doing this make sure that the stopper that is inside and the spring that is inside both get replaced correctly! The stopper which is the hexagonal metal piece that the spring pushes into place and tightens up we must have the rubber end against the center airway! So when you take apart the first solenoid take it all the way apart paying very close attention to how the pieces go back in! When I first did it I did three of them correctly but the fourth one I put in backwards! Just so happen to be the vent so then I went to a whole bunch of other diagnostic stuff that I didn’t need to do and then I went back and reworked the solenoid‘s and I found the one that I put in backwards! It was so simple to do because both ends look very similar unless you look at them very closely and then you’ll realize that one has is more metal the other one is rubber make a note of it! Save yourself some time! Excellent video

Worked for me , took just over an hour, taking my time. Props to you!

This not only fixed my AC vent stuck on defrost issue. It fixed my 4 wheel drive issue. 2003 f150 king ranch. struggled to get the 4 wheel drive to engage at about the same time my vents stopped working. Just for the heck of it after successfully fixing the vents thanks to this video, I took it out on the road and turned the 4x4 knob and it went right in. Turned it off and it came right out!!!! Been struggling with this for a year. You are AWESOME!!!! Thank you.

You are AWESOME!!!! Thank you SOOOOOOO much for this video....I am broke and this fix was $1.75...sooo grateful to you!!!!

Great video, thanks, fixed two units today, but over 4 ours of work. Other important item is that there is a check valve on which the spring acts which is not shown in the video and it has two different ways to go in of which only ONE is the correct way. The larger "pad" is towards the vacuum ports and the smaller pad towards the solenoid spring. Also it is really important to put MORE of the O ring sealer/lubricant on the vacuum plug assembly as any small leak there will also cause malfunction as well.

My '03 Grand Marquis just started to change to the dash vent under acceleration and was slow to switch between vents. I had read that the EATC o-rings needed to be changed. I ordered the o-rings and followed your video to a T and the problem was fixed in about 30 minutes total. Thanks for taking your time to make this video.

Thanks to your very informative video, I was able to save my EATC! 2006 Grand Marquis, blower motor cutting out during uphill acceleration, blowing on DEF and FLOOR all the time, not responding to buttons, certainly don't have the money to buy a new one....so, feeling confident after seeing your video, I took the plunge and spent about an hour to fix it, I just went slowly and inspected everything for any breaks or cracking in the plastic...found that two of the 'plunger solenoids' (on the same side) were difficult to pull out, which I would think indicates sticking o-rings (what else could be holding it?) Lined up the silver metal 'collars/spacers' with the ridges on the vacuum manifold assembly so hardly any 'turning' was necessary during reassembly...put it all back together and BLAMMO! Works perfectly! My wallet and I both thank you! Keep up the good work and thanks for the video!

Just finished the O-ring replacement on my 2002 F-150 King Ranch. The EATC module is now working perfectly. I bought the 007 o-rings on Amazon ( 100 pieces for $3.50 ) as they didn't offer 10 packs. With the help of this video, the fix was very easy to do. A couple of big box auto parts stores wanted at least $400+tax for a replacement EATC module. The local Ford dealership wanted $965.00+tax..........just for the part. 😱 I used $0.14 worth of o-rings 😎 Next is the cruise control. Replaced the switch /relay on the master cylinder today, but no go. Looks like I have to pull the airbag and replace the control buttons on the steering wheel......uggghhh. Thanks for the video sir !!!!!

Thank you, everyone shows how to replace, not repair. Just got my 03 LX Sport, and already did the blower motor and resistor just to get it working at all.

I did this for my mom's 2002 Ford Expedition this past weekend and it worked great. The only difference is that the bracket holding it is metal, not plastic. I had to drill the welds out to fix it.

Thank you SO MUCH! Sat up my laptop at the kitchen table and it was a piece of cake. Should note though to pay close attention and mark the top of each solenoid with a sharpie showing which side was facing up inside its housing. Thanks again. Saved about $500.00.

Excellent instructions. After being told yesterday that the Climate control unit wasn't switching between the modes such as "Vent", "Floor", etc, and was provided an estimate of over $400 to fix it, I researched the issue and fortunately found this video. This video provided clear and concise instructions on how to fix the issues with my 2003 F150, and I was able to fix the problem in less than an hour, for a whopping cost of less than $4 ( for the four (4) o-rings from the local O'Reilly Parts store). I am so impressed with the quality and value of this video. Thank you very much. Keep up the good work.

Great tutorial, thank you. My '04 Grand Marquis is starting to default to defrost randomly, so looks like this is the culprit. Sad thing is, I had a '92 Grand Marquis with this same problem and I replaced the EATC control twice in that car. Thank God for RU-vid and people like you! Got my bag of O-rings on the way!!

Awesome fix for my son's 2010 Mercury Grand Marquis. Be careful when you pull the solenoid apart. There is a piston on the other side of that spring The larger rubber end goes back in first. Works perfectly now.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Well worth the hour it took me to do this fix!!

In my last road trip, the A/C stopped blowing though the dash, and every setting went to the defrost. Found this video when I returned, ordered the O-rings and the pick tools, followed the instructions to the T, and it worked like magic. I noticed one of the old O-rings was split, the others just looked worn, but now every setting is working as it should. Thanks for your video for us that like to try and keep our older vehicles working. My f-150 is a 2002 Lariat 4WD with 181K miles, looks good and drives great. I think its good for at least 10 more years.

This was a great video, was able to complete it in under an hour on my 2003 Mercury Marauder. Worked like a charm. Air now blows through the vents like it's supposed to. Total investment about $5 and an hour of my time. Thanks!

You saved me havin to waste my money on a new control unit. Did as you said and now it works perfectly. Cost me $6 with the lube. You’re the man

Success!! I used the O-rings you listed and some silicone dielectric grease I have and I was able to successfully replace my hardened O-rings...I did not have dash level air flow before, only defrost and floor. Now everything works perfectly. Thankfully the vacuum line to the unit is functioning as intended. I have a 2006 Grand Marquis LS. Thank you so much!! The O-rings cost me $2.68 and a half-hour of time. So easy! Also, I didn't purchase the motorcraft dielectric grease. I just had a tube of dielectric grease from harbor freight, food safe, that I purchased for my vintage mercedes window mechanism. I think it cost 6 or 7$.

Just did this fix today. No more air blowing on the windshield unless you pick defrost. Outstanding video.

Air was going to floor and defrost, when put on vent it was warm. Did the O-rings and put it back in and it works great!Thanks

Unbelievable that this can be repaired. Well done.

Another happy viewer! Easy, less than an hour, Max AC now blows out the vent and not defroster. Crazy how simple this fix was and thank you for the time.

The heater controls on my 2003 Mercury Grand- Marquis would not switch from floor vent to the dash vents. I took my car to the neighborhood repair shop and he diagnosed it as needing a new control unit on the dash and wanted a little over $800. to replace it. I came home and watched your video I ordered the o-rings from Amazon and after they arrived I removed the control unit from the dash and followed your instructions and replaced the O-rings. After reinstalling the unit and starting the car the unit worked fine. The O-Rings cost me $10.00 for 100. Your video saved me $800.00. Thanks for a great video.

Thank you!!! I finally tackled this job! And now my ac don't blow up the defrost when I gas it!

Looked this problem up watched your video. Did what you said to do and it worked. Can’t believe for 3 bucks and a little time my vents work again. Thanks for the video. Keep up the great work.

After dealing with the problem of my A/C doing this for 4-5 years, I found this video and figured I would give it a shot, and if it did not fix the problem I would take the dash apart and check for a broken blend door or actuator. Well, after the recommended o-rings came in yesterday through Amazon, I got to work. I changed the O-ring using this video as a guide, and re-installed it in my 00 Expy. It was the culprit and my air is running the way it should! THANK YOU! FordTechMakuloco for this video tutorial, it was a life and time saver!!

it worked almost perfect for me !!!...my grannys 98 grand marquis had a metal frame holding the solenoids in place, drilled out the spot welds, and then used small bolt, washer, and nut.....installed and worked like new.......thank you sir !!!!

Thank you for this. Saved me $80. Spent $4 at OReilly for national 007 o-ring gaskets which are same dia. same day pick up. had repaired in less than one hour, I have air blowing out my vents again. Cannot thank you enough.

I just bought a 2004 Grand Marquis last month and the air would just blow out the defrost, just like you mentioned. So I order the O rings off of Amazon ($6.00) for 100 and did the repair and guess what? I now have cold AC and a hot heater and everything else works just fine! Gotta love the internet and RU-vid. Thanks for this video it saved me a whole lot of cash! Buy the way you got a new subscriber. The link for the O rings have changed but if you search they still can be found.

I did this to my 2000 expedition but it was a little different than yours there were no screws to take out holding the solenoids it was all clipped and maybe you forgot to show the actual insert on the inside of the spring that plugs or opens the vac line, Mine fell out when I was replacing the o-rings. It will also need checked for ageing on the sealing surface. The o-rings definitely were hardened from age. Love your videos has helped me alot on my older vehicles, Thank You!

This is the kind of videos I like. Bad problems that are easily and cheaply fixed. Really lied how you explained everything and still managed to teach us some really important tips and tricks. Mahalo's Bruddah!!

Commenting just to thank this man and remind everyone, make sure your vents are open before you panic after rebuild!! Thank you!

I just fixed my 2003 F-150 I'm so grateful for the video I was without control for 5 years. Thank you.

Excellent video. Just completed this on my parents, original owner 2003 Crown Victoria. In the summer was getting ac through the Defrost and only low-cold air flow in floor for heat!. Now, after following this video (watched about 3 times) the EATC Unit appears to be working Fine. Once i got a T20 screwdriver, and the right size o-rings, it took me about 2.5 hours (moved thru it slowly). We have Heat! Thought i was going to have to change my Blend Door because my EATC self-test code indicated 024 (blend door short). Not so. This guy is helping so many people save a lot of money!! Thank you.

You're a lifesaver! No one on the forums knew what I was talking about on our 1999 Expedition. Two days after fixing the ac by putting in a new condensor, the ac is stuck on window defrost! I think it might be an engine vacuum issue but if not, I know this will fix it! Thank you!

Glad you made this video Brian.. I been knowing about this repair for yrs and told my service writers about it but as you know.We are not allowed to do such things and rather hit the customer for a new unit which is over the roof price.... Keep up the Great work..

Your info in the beginning helped me find that i had a broken line. I don't know why it took me so long to find it, but thanks for the extra little stuff you put in the vids!

had this problem on my 2003 Ford Supercrew where the AC only blew out defrost...purchased o-rings from NAPA for less than $1...followed this video step by step and AC is back to normal. I'm far from being mechanically inclined...this was excellent tip...thank you so much!

Bro I can't believe it, it worked. Air only came out of defrosters and and floor, but not the front vents. I replaced the O rings and sure enough it worked immediately. I appreciate the video, saved me alot of money

Update: I did this repair and it fixed the problem this morning. Glad that I'm subscribed, also changed out the accumulator that rotted out.

thank you for the video, just replaced the four O rings and fixed the problem with my 05 grand Marquis. cost 4x.79 cents.

Just fixed my 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis today. Works perfect

This video changed my life I've had a 03 f150 over 5 years with the air blowing on defrost had 2 or 3 mechanics tell me it was gonna be 500 dollars for a new module. Little did I know for less than 3 dollars and 45 minutes of my time my air blows out the vents like it's supposed to. Worked like a charm

I've checked every source for a leak this is my last resort. I'm glad I found this video. I can essentially fix my $350+ unit with some couch change and a lil elbow grease. 🤣🤣 Wow. I will be doing the repair tmrw. I will update 👍 Update 6/13/22 put 4 new O-RINGS a lil silicone grease and my ac is back to normal 🙏

Worked! Fixed the EATC in my new-to-me 2003 F-150 HD Edition! I don't know who's happier, me or my wife!

Would you mind making a video just going through all of the vacuum lines for a 1997-2003 Ford F150 4.6 4x4? I think it would be a great help since those trucks are so vacuum based (and a royal pain to find leaks on at times). I haven't found anyone who has presented a really thorough breakdown of the vacuum systems from start to finish. I think it would be worthwhile and help out rookies like me who don't do well reading diagrams. Thanks in advance if you do that!

Glad to see you added this video! I did this rebuild a few weeks ago but unfortunately I needed a new air box and had to take it to the dealer. Cost: and hope everyone is sitting down while reading this --- ready?' 🙈 $1350.00!!! BUT!! I'm still glad I replaced the O rings because now my vac system runs the air box in much stronger fashion. I think this rebuild should still be done regardless. My grand Marquis was experiencing no defrost vent only so air box was required according to the dealer.

Thank you for the video, I thought I had a broken blend door, but several hours of working at taking parts off and cutting behind the glove compartment, I realized that was not the problem. I found you video and in 30 minutes the air was working fine.

Worked liked a champ!!! Mine was stuck in defrost mode. I also had to replace the two little 90 degree vacuum lines by the throttle body because they were rotted. Whole job was an easy fix for a couple dollars!!! Thank you so much for posting this video. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

I just fixed my AC because of your video!!! Thank you so much for making videos like this, I appreciate it for real!!!

Dude! You Rock!!! My 03 F150's AC had a mind of its own. Couldn't control it. It would cycle between each setting no matter what was selected. Followed your instructions to the letter and now it functions perfectly! Thanks so much!

I have a bag of these little O rings. I have had my 2004 Mercury Marauder for 17 years and it needed this fix even with only 55K miles. I think I have fixed maybe a dozen of these for fellow forum members and quite simple it can be done while you wait.

This was the issue with my 03 F150, such a simple and cheap fix. I have ice cold Max AC again!!! Thank you, so much, I've learned a lot from watching your videos. 😊

Thanks! This was super simple to do thanks to the video. My unit was stuck in the vent position and wouldn't go to the floor or defrost but figured this was the problem and it was. Took me maybe an hour at most.

Thank you! For less than $10 and an hour and a half, everything is working normally again. I have had the damper actuator cable-tied for two years, which means I had no defrost. I did not need to disassemble the solenoids. Two of the four hard o-rings broke coming off. 2002 Lariat fx4.

Just wanted to say thank you we finally got this fixed for my son. He followed the video with me supervising and now ac is blowing out of all the vents. My wallet thx you sir

This repair worked great on my 2003 F150, thank you for the info. Also when I ordered the o rings from Amazon they sent me a 100 pack. Have enough to last several life times.

I have a 2000 Ford Expedition that only blows aur through the defrost section. I am going to watch the video and do anything I can to repair it. Thank you so much!! 😃😃😃👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Saying thank you, I did this yesterday on my Crown Vic. Saved $$$, thank you for sharing.

Just took over my Dad's 03 Crown Victoria with this problem. Thank you so much.

Thanks for the video. My 06 grand marquis AC would switch to defrost under acceleration. I bought the o rings, replaced them and works perfect now! I had to buy 100 o rings lol but so nice having working AC! I found 1 of the original o rings was actually cracked and all others seemed deformed and brittle.

Just remember to check your vacuum lines on your engine under the hood (because they are easier to check) before you start taking your dash apart. No amount of work done to the control unit will help if the vacuum is not getting to it.

Thank you for this instructional video! I lived without heat coming out the floor and only defaulting to the defrost for 2 winters and once I finally figured out what the problem could be I found your video. the O-rings on Amazon are discontinued but I was able to get the same o rings from my local Hydraulics store by taking them the specs from the Amazon site. it ended up costing me $2 and about 45 minutes of my time. thanks again!

Excellent, I have a 2003 Ford F-150 Supercrew that wouldn’t blow heat on the floor. I put new o-rings in just as the video recommended and that solved the problem. Thanks for the video.

Thanks, you just saved me $1,000.00. Took one hour, fifteen minutes

Thanks a ton! Just did this fix and it worked perfectly! Took me about an hour.

I was a Ford Senior master tech and have been doing this fix for years, Glad you waited till i retired to share with the public.

thank you !!!! fixed my problem of max a/c being on defrost,,,but there is a plunger in the body of the manifold that must be put back in with tiny o ring towards plunger you are working on,,,if it happens to fall out like mine did and had to start another one to make sure how to put it back together.Thanks again!!!

I am not mechanically inclined, but following the instructions i managed to fix the problem....all buttons went to defrost air....07 grand marquis... the video i watch 3-4 times was very detailed and i managed to take all the control buttons off and replaced the O RINGS.. took about an hour. BUT I DID IT BY REPLACING ALL THE O RINGS!!!!

Another great video! Professional, accurate abd to the point. Thank you 😊

Many thanks for posting this! I just fixed a 2003 Ford F150 for $2.67 in seals. A new AC control unit is $409!

I bought those O rings for my Crown Vic EATC head unit. Though its 25 years old, still functioning fine, i will install them on my leisure time 😂

I just did this and this really work. It was only coming out of the defroster. But its all good. It was quick and eazy. And it working like new.

Just fixed mine after watching this a few times couple things to note those four metal spacers need to be rotated to align in order for them to fit back onto the tubes flush one of the tubes also has a metal screw head looking thing that falls out you only need a $2 bag grease from auto zone make sure to do each calanoid one at a time as to not mix things up front dash part just pulls off and you'll need a wrench to take the faceplate screws off of the head unit you'll really need to wiggle the tubes off

This fixed my HVAC Controls. 2006 Crown Victoria LX. Blend door actuator was working and the HVAC controls had a vacuum.

Going through this now on my Crown Vic. Good to know this repair is simple. Just waiting on the o-rings to come in.

this worked perfectly for my 2009 grand marquis i bought one at the junkyard replaced it fixed ac then used this tutorial on the original one that went bad and now i have two that work thx

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