Heater shuts off

Tiny
CROSS8217
  • MEMBER
  • 2010 FORD FLEX
  • 3.5L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 238,000 MILES
When I turn heater on in dash I start driving down road it automatically shuts off.
Thursday, December 7th, 2017 AT 7:46 AM

17 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,885 POSTS
Is the blower motor turning off, is there a loss of heat? Does it turn back on? Is the engine coolant full?
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Thursday, December 7th, 2017 AT 7:05 PM
Tiny
CROSS8217
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Everything shuts off, my heated seats everything. It is full of coolant. You can feel heat but you cannot do anything until you stop then you can turn it off by hand just hit the button.
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Thursday, December 7th, 2017 AT 8:50 PM
Tiny
CROSS8217
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Yes, seats and everything shut off and it is full of coolant.
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Monday, December 11th, 2017 AT 10:58 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,573 POSTS
That sounds like a bad controller. A dealer or well equipped shop can scan the climate control system and see if it is shutting off because of a bad input or if the controller itself has errors.

Does it shut off if you don't put it in gear and just set there in park?
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Sunday, December 17th, 2017 AT 12:01 AM
Tiny
CROSS8217
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No it doesn't shut off while sitting in park what controller is bad
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Monday, December 18th, 2017 AT 11:29 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
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OK if it works OK while setting still but shuts down when you put it in gear it may not be a bad control head (that is what the in dash controls are called) If it was then it should shut off irregardless of gear or motion.
I would start looking for a loose connection under the dash or at the power feeds.
GENTLY move the harness at the connections first and see if you can get it to shut down.
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Monday, December 18th, 2017 AT 8:54 PM
Tiny
CROSS8217
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STEVE MY MECHANIC UNHOOKED THE CONTROL PANEL I TOOK IT OUT FOR DRIVE THE SCREEN WAS ON I COULD ADJUST IT THROUGH THE SCREEN LIKE TURN FAN UP OR DOWN ETC BUT IT STILL GOES OUT.
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Wednesday, December 20th, 2017 AT 6:14 PM
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
Different tech.

When the heater shuts off did anyone check for power to the blower motor to see if it has lost power source.

Roy
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Thursday, December 21st, 2017 AT 3:44 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,573 POSTS
With the entire system shutting off including the power seats it has to be a power or ground loss that feeds the control head. Removing it and it still shutting off only while moving is going to make it difficult to find unless you trace the harness.
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Thursday, December 21st, 2017 AT 5:52 AM
Tiny
CROSS8217
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STEVE W OK WE PUT IN NEW ALTERNATOR SATURDAY AND IT STILL LOOSES POWER TO HEATER COME TO STOP IT COMES ON TAKE OFF GOES OFF.
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Wednesday, January 17th, 2018 AT 5:04 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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You have a loose connection on either the power or ground side. I would double check the engine grounds and then start moving the wiring. It has to be something shifting more than likely in the engine bay as that would be the only item that really moves during those times. It's making a connection when stopped, then when the engine and trans move as you start down the road it loses the connection. If this was a different model I'd say to check the vacuum lines but yours is all electronic.
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Wednesday, January 17th, 2018 AT 8:56 PM
Tiny
CROSS8217
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STEVE W ANOTHER PROBLEM WHEN YOU GIVE THE VEHICLE GAS LIKE GOING UP A HILL OR PASSING A CAR IT JUMPS AND SHAKES LIKE THERE IS SOMETHING IN FUEL I HAVE PUT FUEL INJECTOR CLEANER IN BUT IT STILL DOES IT BUT NOT AS BAD.
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Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 AT 7:59 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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With that behavior it should be setting a code. I would have it scanned to see if it's a misfire (likely) or if it is losing power to the computer. It's possible that this is related to the heater issue as both seem to happen when you apply power and the engine moves.
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Thursday, March 8th, 2018 AT 7:52 AM
Tiny
CROSS8217
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Only code we found is a bad O 2 sensor
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Thursday, March 8th, 2018 AT 5:41 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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What is the exact code please?
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Friday, March 9th, 2018 AT 12:09 AM
Tiny
CROSS8217
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Right side bank one upstream
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Sunday, March 11th, 2018 AT 7:13 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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If it's sending a bad signal it could be that the substituted values the ECM puts in are not good enough for wide open throttle and you are getting a lean misfire because of that. You would need to watch the live misfire data to be sure. If the code indicates a heater circuit issue and not a signal issue then you may be chasing the same issue that is causing the heater to shut off when it loses power. The only way to know would be to watch the live data from the sensors and for the voltage in the harness as it acts up.
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Monday, March 12th, 2018 AT 6:47 AM

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