My car A/C works, but doesn't blow through vents?

[sifuschwager]

Recently my 97 subaru was in a small collision. Now the A/C and heater have problems. They work, but the air only blows through the vents on the top of the dash near the windshield (de-foggers). This is a strange problem....Anyone have any ideas on what happened or if its easily fixable?

 

[JeMe1]

You might want to take a look and see if your car is equipped with a "Blend door actuator". Typically, this part allows airflow into the cabin space of the vehicle. If that's not it, make sure your vent ducts didn't come loose because of the impact.

 

[friedach]

In-dash plumbing has prob come off its joints, or a valve on the heater box is not operating. Is the cabin fan running? Have you got the levers in the correct positions? Or has your a/c circuit been punctured and lost refridgerant? [likely]

 

[GomerP]

Sounds like a vacuum line was knocked off or broken during the collision. You may have also broken a vacuum reservoir. Check where it got hit and see if you see a box with vacuum lines going to it. Vacuum is what controls the a/c outlet direction. Probably an easy fix cheap to if you don't have to replace a canister or remove the dash.

 

[MichaelS]

Look in the engine compartment for a small vacuum hose that goes through the firewall. Most cars default to the defroster position when the damper door vacuum is lost.

 

[DaveS]

Several things could cause this. There is what is called a blend door in the dash of your car that diverts the air flow to whatever you have selected on the control unit on the dash. (defrost, floor, dash etc.) Older vehicles were cable controlled, while most vehicles now are vacuum controlled. By default, and for safety reasons, they are made to divert all of the air to defrost if anything malfunctions. You either have a faulty control unit, lack of vacuum to the unit or a stuck control door. Any of these are easily fixable, however control units can be somewhat pricey.