Great news! At least it seems like people are able to get this resolved much faster.

 

Update

I finally got the escape back yesterday. I drove this morning and everything did as expected. This afternoon however, the Air Cond. was cycling again ( with the A/C turned off ). Seems to be Temperature related since it was cool in the morning.

I will update again when I know more.

 

AK, sorry to hear it's still happening. I find mine works OK in the AM as well but it has had all night to cool off. Typically TAV is in the low 70's in the AM and ends around 82 once I get to work (45min commute). When I get back in after too many hrs at work it is still in the 82-84 range. The AC is supposed to kick in at 86. So as soon as I get 2-5 miles into my return commute the AC starts it's cycling. I flip on the front AC to keep it on and bring the TAV back to the 82 range and then I can turn it off again. I'm leaning toward a bad thermistor even though mine Ohms out OK. Does anyone have the part # for the rear AC thermistor for an 06 FEH? I might just but one and try it. CS

 

CraigS,

It is back in the shop again. After reading your post, I turned on the A/C and cooled the battery to about 84. The A/C stopped cycling until the battery temp reached about 89.

I wouldn't think it would be a thermistor because the symptoms for it should be unstable temp readings. If yours is like mine, the temp readings are very steady unless the scanguage only updates every min or so.

I am beginning to think there is a programming error in the Traction control module ( battery? ) It should turn on the A/C to cool the battery and then turn it off again, but not cycle on for 2 -3 seconds and then back off.

I have a feeling that I will be told that it is normal operation.

On a positive note, the service dept seems helpful. The problem is they don't work on many hybrids.

Will update

AK

 

AK, the thermistor I'm thinking of replacing is directly behind the rear AC evaporator. The TAV readings are coming from group of thermistors in the battery module itself, their values are averaged for a battery module average temp. These are independant of the one behind the evaporator which is meant to measure outside air temp (when blend door is open and fans are running) or cooled air temp (when blend door is closed and rear AC is running). I believe that if this thermistor is failing or possibly in contact with the evaporator coils themselves it will provide faulty info to the battery module which will then tell the AC condenser to cycle.

Stevedebi, thanks for the link to the door dtc however I was hoping for a xgauge that would tell me when the door is open or closed, not just not functioning. CS

 

Update

It was diagnosed as an air conditioner problem. It looks like that each of the 2 evaporators have a solenoid to control flow of freon to it. When running the front A/C, everything is good, but when only the rear A/C is on, it is cycling on pressure switches.

They first thing to fix is to replace the rear Solenoid.

Has anyone had this done? Is there a diagram of the rear A/C unit?

Will update when work is completed.

Thanks

AK

 

Any update yet? I've had problems with my hybrid since I purchased it, with issues of it going into battery only mode... only seems to do it when the vehicle is cool... as soon as those batteries heat up i'm assuming, it stops. Eventually, the battery assist stops completely, and you lose a ton of power. I'm wondering if replacing the fans would work... but have no way in knowing if the fans are even working. I'm considering wiring a switch to the fans directly, and forcing them on at all times...

My A/C hasn't worked well since I purchased the truck 3 years ago... so that's probably half my problem... I just find it never blows cold enough... cooler yes... for sure, but not cold.

 

Nitro187,

I also had the problem of it not going into EV mode when it was hot ( sometimes it seemed random, but thinking back it looks like a temp issue ) The battery cooling fans fixed this problem. It will now go into EV mode more often. It seems correct to me, but I am not an expert.

You will need to fix A/C because it uses A/C to cool battery.

I don't think I would wire a switch for the fans. The fan motors go bad?

I take it back to the shop next week. I will update when I know more.

Be sure to read GatorJ's thread about this problem and warranty issues.

Good Luck

 

I guess I should check to see if these fans are even working... but hey, if they aren't, maybe I could give it a shot and try to wire em up.... can't break something that's already broken. lol. $250 is a bit to swallow right now in order to replace them, but at least I know it's an option.

Do you have a link to GatorJ's thread? My truck is no longer under warranty unfortunately though... Thanks.

 

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...battery-27697/

I don't know your background or anything, but just remember that when you open the battery the voltages may be much higher than 12 Vdc. Be very careful in there because the fans are inside of the battery.

Also remember that the warranty on the battery can be as much as 150,000 miles depending on what state you live in. All hybrid batteries have 100,000? mile and 5? year warranty. Not sure the numbers there are correct, but it is more than the standard warranty.