I have a 96 Ford Contour. The air conditioning blows cold but only out of the defrost vents. When I turn switch to floor vents and panel vents nothing comes out. Does anyone know how to check this/fix this. Please help! Rebecca

 

You may have a vacuum leak to the HVAC controls. Generally the switches themselves are relatively reliable. Or it may be a problem with the unit (and/or levers) that controls the dampers. From a vague memory, it seems I saw a little valve near the levers that was vacuum operated. I would check for a vacuum leak first - after all these years, the tubes and hoses aren't what they used to be. Checking for this isn't too bad. But doing so may involve removing parts on your dashboard to get a good look at things. That won't be a lot of fun, so checking the lines from the engine side is probably an easy first step. This isn't hard to do, but be prepared to spend a little time and to suffer a little muscular discomfort if you have to do anything under the dashboard.

 

Agree with tennesseesaturn. Heating/ Air conditioning systems are designed to default to the defrost mode. Suggest that you start from the engine and look for a vacuum hose that is broken or came off. The majority of the time the vacuum leak is in the engine compartment. The hose goes through the firewall into the inside of the car.