How do I get just outside air with no heat/ac?

[triangles]

Just wondering how to get what would be equivalent to Vent from the climate controls (no heat/ac just fresh outside air)? I assume I would just turn temp control down to "lo" and make sure AC is turned off.

 

[jmueller065]

Yup: Temp to LO, A/C off and use manual Fan speed controls. (You may have to turn A/C on then off again to make sure its off, and don't use any defrost setting which would turn on the A/C even when A/C is off.)

 

[epaminondas]

yeah - I wrote a post recently related to this. You can also get defrost with very little range loss if you turn ac off, temp all the way down to low, then on the bottom row of buttons push both the defrost and upper vent buttons.

 

[Gigi]

You must also select a vent. If no vent is selected, the AC will run, even if the indicator light is not on.

 

[Neanderpaul]

<rant>
Doesn't this seem complicated... and annoyingly noisy? The blower fan is louder than the car during hard acceleration. This is my first car with automatic climate controls, and it is my biggest complaint about my FFE. And, the buttons are too small for winter gloves.
</rant>

 

[bb6lude]

It is odd that there's no easy way to just get plain air. The joys of Ford climate control.

<rant>
Doesn't this seem complicated... and annoyingly noisy? The blower fan is louder than the car during hard acceleration. This is my first car with automatic climate controls, and it is my biggest complaint about my FFE. And, the buttons are too small for winter gloves.
</rant>

 

[triangles]

It is odd that there's no easy way to just get plain air. The joys of Ford climate control.

Longing for the good old days when you could just put it on vent with no fan and the forward motion of the car would push fresh air thru the vents..... I usually just opt for windows. Now if I can only get the hang of these new fangled powered windows. :lol: I guess using that hand crank is just too hard nowadays....

 

[WattsUp]

It is odd that there's no easy way to just get plain air. The joys of Ford climate control.

I find just pressing the low fan button pretty easy. Also, the lowest fan setting is pretty quiet.

 

[KrazyEd]

I try to use climate control only when necessary.
On my Volt, I would put fan on low. When the
A/C for the battery pack would come on, I would
feel the air from the vent begin to blow cooler,
then, turn fan up to take advantage. Same with the
heat in the winter. This way, I was able to take
advantage of what was already taking place.
Is there a way to take advantage of this with the FFE?
We will be over 100 degrees after this week for the
next few months.

 

[sefs]

I try to use climate control only when necessary.
On my Volt, I would put fan on low. When the
A/C for the battery pack would come on, I would
feel the air from the vent begin to blow cooler,
then, turn fan up to take advantage. Same with the
heat in the winter. This way, I was able to take
advantage of what was already taking place.
Is there a way to take advantage of this with the FFE?
We will be over 100 degrees after this week for the
next few months.

On the FFE there is one A/C compressor, but it has a diverter valve to either send refrigerant to the chiller to cool the battery coolant, or to go to the HVAC system. If it is just cooling the battery, refrigerant will only flow there. So no, there is no way to "cheat the system" like that. If you have the A/C button off on the HVAC, no refrigerant will flow to the HVAC. With that said, A/C running on hot days really doesn't diminish range that much. Nothing compared to heat.

 

[Twinstangs]

Brand new owner of a 2013 here. My wife wants to get outside air through the vents - no heat, no cooling, just ambient outside air. We can't figure out how to do that. Any hints?

Edit - never mind, my Search took me only to the last post, not the whole thread. Looks like it was answered already.

 

[WattsUp]

I suppose you already found your answer, but to summarize anybody finding this post:

For just outside air: With the climate control on, set the temperature to "LO" (in an attempt to avoid active heating), press the A/C button until the display shows that A/C is not engaged (to avoid active cooling), and press the RE-CIRCULATE button until the display shows that outside air is being vented in.

Unfortunately, if the interior temperature is below 60 degrees, active heating may still occur, even when the temperature is set to "LO", simply because the climate control is on.

You can monitor for this possibility on the Energy View on the left-hand dash display. If a few kW is being used for "Climate", almost certainly active heating is occurring. If you want to avoid this energy usage, your only option in this case is to turn off the climate control.

Pro Tip: If the climate control is off, the recommended way to turn it on without inadvertently also turning on A/C or blasting the fan, is by pressing the FAN DOWN button. This will turn the climate control on without potentially blasting it (which can happen if you press the ON or AUTO button instead).

 

[jmueller065]

Unfortunately, if the interior temperature is below 60 degrees, active heating may still occur, even when the temperature is set to "LO", simply because the climate control is on.

I haven't experienced this at all. In the depths of winter here in MI I'd setup the climate control as you describe (manual fan, LO temp, A/C off) and even when it was -15F out I would use no climate power and wear a heavy coat.

Now if I happen to hit the defrost button, well then climate will peg in those conditions.

 

[WattsUp]

I haven't experienced this at all.

Hmm.

Well, maybe I'm thinking of the A/C... I know one of them (heating or cooling) does something a little weird when using "LO", which may lead to unexpected "Climate" energy usage.

I'll double-check.

 

[Robert123]

Ditto on needing both the Vent and the Defrost engaged when running low & AC off to keep the Guess-o-meter from saying you are chewing up lotsa extra battery.

 

[kalel14]

In the depths of winter here in MI I'd setup the climate control as you describe (manual fan, LO temp, A/C off) and even when it was -15F out I would use no climate power and wear a heavy coat.
.

That's one way to keep people from asking you to give them a lift.

 

[campfamily]

I've found the best way to get outside air with no heat/ac is to open the window...... :lol:

 

[ATL-FFE]

This was driving me crazy, because what I was doing wasn't working anymore with the cooler weather.

if the interior temperature is below 60 degrees, active heating may still occur,

That's the key. The only option to get fresh air in without activating the heat is to open a window. Once the temp goes above 60 in the cabin, you can see the heater turn off watching the GOM.

 

[triangles]

Unfortunately, if the interior temperature is below 60 degrees, active heating may still occur, even when the temperature is set to "LO", simply because the climate control is on.

Interesting, WattsUp either you have a malfunction car, or this was a bug with the 2013 cars that was fixed with the 2014s. like jmueller065 my FFE does not use any heating with the temp set to "LO", "AC off" and fan at whatever setting I choose. It is currently 28F in Ohio and I just tested this. All I get is frigid outside air with no usage of heat either by feel or watching the "climate power meter" on the dash. I think jmueller065's FFE was a 2013 so you might have a malfunction with your climate control. Has anyone else observed power being used during "LO" and "AC off" that might indicate the heater coming on? WattsUp how often did your heater kick on with the cabin below 60F? Could you feel the air out of the vents blowing warm?

 

[jmueller065]

I think jmueller065's FFE was a 2013 so you might have a malfunction with your climate control.

Correct my FFE was a 2013 (built in April or May of 2013 if I remember correctly).