I’m not sure if my climate controls are operating correctly or not. My “new to me” 2003 Ranger w/AC blows cold air with the selector in A/C or MAX A/C position just fine, however, it appears to also blow cold air (I can hear and feel the compressor kick on) in the “Face & Foot” vent positions also as well as the two position that includes the “defrost” icon. In the “Face only” or “Foot only” vent positions, the compressor unlatches and outside air enters as I would expect. Is this normal operation? If this is it’s not how it’s supposed to work, I’m open to suggestions.

 

That is correct, only OFF and VENT selections will allow AC Compressor to turn off

AC is used to dry the air in the cab, the Temp control allows the air to be heated by passing thru heater core, but AC compressor is always on
(the water you may see dripping out from firewall in engine bay, that's the water that's NOT in the cab now, lol)

Its the same on all vehicles now, not a Ford thing

It was always used in Defrost, just expanded to work in the other settings now

 

Thanks. My car has an A/C on/off button and a separate vent position selector - makes sense to me, the Ranger setup - not so much. At least I know it’s working as designed, albeit counter intuitive and a duplication of functions

 

Problem car makers were having was a musty smell in the HVAC systems when cars started to come with AC systems as standard equipment
That smell was from moisture in the cab and vents, created by the condensation generated by making your own "cold air"
i.e. glass of cold beer on a hot day, glass gets wet on the outside, warm air touching the glass cools down and leaves its moisture behind

By installing a drip pan and running AC all the time the musty smell can be "mostly" eliminated

 

I’m thinking of adding an interceptor switch to disable AC for a little fuel economy. It drives me crazy when people turn the vents completely off. Keep a little air flowing, Use AC on humid (hot or cold) days and it won’t get musty.

—-defrost should definitely trigger AC and that’s why Ii haven’t started…

 

So 1999 Ranger?

If you select PANEL on the switch then AC compressor will stay OFF, but blower/fan will still work, as would temp control, just no AC
Any other selection(i.e. panel/floor) will turn AC compressor back on, except OFF of course, and fan is off as well

 

Yes. Got that figured but my daughter drives it occasionally and if it doesn’t say AC, it must not do AC…. Maybe I’m working on the wrong repair project.

 

Yes, education is not always cheap but might be worth the effort in this case