Heating - Temperature Adjustment

[Costjim]

Thanks Everyone. I appreciate it.

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[GoodSam]

Auto is great. It's like my house, set a temp and don't think about it anymore. This is close to the best auto system I have had.

Auto does not seem to function that well for me. I often need to set the temperature to above (77F) or below (68F) to get ~72F that I like, depending on outside temperature.

I also wish that the three fan speeds available in Auto would correspond to the fan speed range available when in Manual fan control, that is, Manual fan speed seems to have maybe 7 speeds and the Manual top speed is much more powerful than the top speed in Auto.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I also wish that the three fan speeds available in Auto would correspond to the fan speed range available when in Manual fan control, that is, Manual fan speed seems to have maybe 7 speeds and the Manual top speed is much more powerful than the top speed in Auto.

I find that the speed is more aggressive (faster on III) when the cabin temperature and desired temperature are far apart, be it cold or hot season, as the disparity decreases the fan rate automatically slows to a minimum rate.

 

[GoodSam]

And I think the air flow to the window side vents is too weak compared to the center vents, but maybe Ford has determined that the HVAC works best that way. I think adding heat blocking ceramic coatings to the windows helps a bunch to alleviate the need for window air flow. However, I am still not satisfied with the operation of the HVAC.

When not on Auto, is the system still trying to match the set temperatures? I interpreted some of the remarks that that may be the case, altho' that would not seem to make sense.

 

[TaxmanHog]

When not on Auto, is the system still trying to match the set temperatures? I interpreted some of the remarks that that may be the case, altho' that would not seem to make sense.

I think the temperature is still moderated by activating the PTC heat or AC cycle depending on the situation, you're just getting more or less air flow according to how you manage the fan speed and outlet selection.

 

[Altivec]

The problem I am having with keeping the heating on auto on cold days is window fog up. Yes... I have the A/C on. I've had numerous F150's and when on auto, a tiny bit of air was always directed to the windshield and side windows. That prevented things from fogging up. In the lightning, once the cabin heats up in auto, the air gets directed to the floor and completely shuts off the defroster. Every 5-10 minutes, I need to switch the max defrost and then switch back to auto so I don't roast. As I said, never experienced this in any other F150.

 

[TaxmanHog]

This afternoon, I was tinkering with the AUTO setting button and it's impact on fan speed, we've noticed in the past the AUTO-2 was more reactive and under certain conditions might cause a higher fan speed than AUTO-3, counter intuitive right?!?

Back story, the temp was at 62 which I had lowered from earlier in the day at the close of a long 170 mile road trip, battery was low at 15% {running hard & fast} I wanted to ensure I could get home without stopping for a charge so I went spartan chilly

Made it home OK, then when we went out a couple hours later for a short ride that 15% was fine to make, but the cabin was cold and raw, I forgot to remote start, so I put it in AUTO-2, jacked up temp from 62 to where I normally keep it around 75, then 80, interestingly the fan speeds increased systematically without actually dialing up the fan speed manually.

I repeated this process on AUTO-3, there was no increase of speed until I hit the HI point setting, then the fan increased in speed, same process with AUTO-1.

So, I suspect the dynamic algorithm is failing in AUTO-1 and AUTO-3, @Ford Motor Company , let's get that fixed!

 

[TaxmanHog]

I propose an alternate hypothesis.

The three auto settings don't work as increasing or decreasing intensity, they work as three different techniques to achieve a similar goal.

Hypothetically, since I have not direct knowledge here, the following could be techniques used.

Perhaps

Auto 1 uses varying locations of air. Instead of changing fan speed or air temp, auto 1 is biased towards varying air location, blowing more directly on the driver when needed in order to make the driver feel the correct temp more rapidly.

Auto 2 changes the fan speed, moving more air to achieve the results of the driver feeling the temp changes. When the truck needs to heat, it uses air volume to put BTUs into the cabin, aka faster fan speed and more air flowing.

Auto 3 uses air TEMP to achieve the results. Fan speed won change much, but the temp of the air varies more than in the other settings. Lower amounts of hotter air, etc.

There are a wide variety of ways to make a driver "feel" a certain temp, not all of them involve blowing air harder. It's entirely possible the three auto settings are A, B, and C, not soft, medium, hard.

Maybe, get out there and do some testing LOL

Maybe better documentation by @Ford Motor Company could shed light on the methods of their madness.

 

[GarageMahal]

The problem I am having with keeping the heating on auto on cold days is window fog up. Yes... I have the A/C on. I've had numerous F150's and when on auto, a tiny bit of air was always directed to the windshield and side windows. That prevented things from fogging up. In the lightning, once the cabin heats up in auto, the air gets directed to the floor and completely shuts off the defroster. Every 5-10 minutes, I need to switch the max defrost and then switch back to auto so I don't roast. As I said, never experienced this in any other F150.

This is my experience as well. I find this to be the worst automatic climate control I have had in decades due to the window fog. I have dialed in a manual setting that does a much better job keeping the windows clear but it isnt perfect either.

 

[Scorpio3d]

Pretty much I leave mine on (I guess y’all are calling it auto three)basically three lighted bars on the auto setting. The only thing I adjust is the temperature setting or completely turn it off. I generally precondition in the winter and keep it around 76°F –78°F. Summertime I keep it between 74°F – 76°F.
I did the same thing in my last five vehicles, and it generally takes care of the fog and keeps me comfortable.

 

[TaxmanHog]

The instructions:

 

[GoodSam]

The ICE forum has had discussions about AUTO climate control also:

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/automatic-climate-controls-don’t-work.20733/
"mine hmmmm sucks in auto, it either burns you or lets you freeze
even my dads maverick in auto tries to be smarter than me. "
" I have noticed this too. My 2021 worked fine, my 2023 is the same as yours, fucked. WTF did Ford fuck up? A good friends 2023 is the same way, too."

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/hvac-auto-climate-control-too-hot.20289/
" I fiddle more with this “automatic” temperature control than any I’ve owned."
" Still suspecting it is operating to design on nearly all our trucks, its just a crap design."

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

-30C or +10C (-22F, 50F) I have never noticed any issues, I always use the precondition and the truck is always perfect inside temp and no fogging every time ... I use cabin temp of 22C/ 72F and the truck preconditions every morning and every eaving for my travels.
I always leave it in auto, and just let it run... but only had the truck 6 weeks so far, maybe I will see fogging when weather changes higher humidity ?

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