Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
I looked in my owner's manual and it says the AC compressor can run in any position but vent or floor (and off is implied). Now it works out that having the air run in the floor-vent combo is a good thing for me. Position 2 (out of 4) is broken on my fan switch so I get output like this: 1,1,3,4. Now 3 is just too much cold air and 1 is too little, but I discovered by moving it to floor-vent, the vent actually puts out about like it would on the 2 setting. Problem solved.
Sometimes it isn't the fan switch that causes certain motor speeds not to work, often the blower motor resistor stops working properly.
Definitely the resistor.
The blower motor resistor is about $20 if I remember correctly from the Ford dealer.
You need to remove the blower motor to get to it. Moving the coolant/washer reservoirs out of the way will help. You have to take out maybe 7 bolts total, so not a huge job. If the bolts are not rusty it's a 20 minute fix easily.
The compressor operation sounds completely normal though. I think it's a good thing overall...keeps it lubricated since most people probably leave it on a/c or vent/floor.
Just looked the part up on fordparts.com. The part # you need is 19A706. The retail price has gone up to $35.26.