Can you turn off the climate control?

dbsb3233

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There are 4 main factors to the climate control: how much the circulating fan is blowing (including not blowing at all), the vents out of which the air is circulated, how much heat is added or removed from the air being circulated, and finally a setting to allow outside "fresh" air in or not.

When you turn on the "auto" modes (low/med/high) the car uses the temperature you set to decide all 4 of those factors on its own. Otherwise, if you have the environmental controls in manual mode (you decide how hard the air comes out of which vents) the temperature you select just tells the car how much heat to add or remove from the circulated air.

Sometimes you are comfortable with the inside air temperature and just want the air circulated without having to guess what that temperature is, so you can tell the car not to use the A/C or e-heat.
Is there actually a MANUAL mode? There's a power button to turn the whole system off, but seems like we only get the 3 levels of AUTO when the system is on.

The question is still what exactly those 3 levels of AUTO do. They seem to affect fan speed, but I think maybe it sets the maximum fan speed, and it automatically adjusts lower as it detects the temp. I have mine set to 3, and I think after the car warms up the fan is automatically slowing down (which is perfect, like a regular car does).

But the really big question is how E-Heat turned ON reacts/adjusts. It's still unclear to me whether the power usage automatically adjusts downward (even to zero) as the car warms up and only needs less heat. (In other words, actually automatic as it should be.) I know we can manually turn E-Heat OFF to ensure it doesn't use any power, but AUTO should be smart enough to not draw power when it detects it's not needed (while being smart enough to add heat when it's getting too cold). That's the whole point of being automatic.
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timbop

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Is there actually a MANUAL mode? There's a power button to turn the whole system off, but seems like we only get the 3 levels of AUTO when the system is on.

The question is still what exactly those 3 levels of AUTO do. They seem to affect fan speed, but I think maybe it sets the maximum fan speed, and it automatically adjusts lower as it detects the temp. I have mine set to 3, and I think after the car warms up the fan is automatically slowing down (which is perfect, like a regular car does).

But the really big question is how E-Heat turned ON reacts/adjusts. It's still unclear to me whether the power usage automatically adjusts downward (even to zero) as the car warms up and only needs less heat. (In other words, actually automatic as it should be.) I know we can manually turn E-Heat OFF to ensure it doesn't use any power, but AUTO should be smart enough to not draw power when it detects it's not needed (while being smart enough to add heat when it's getting too cold). That's the whole point of being automatic.
Yes. Open the fan speed control and set that to a value you like. The "auto" level light will then go out. Next, go into the env controls widget and pick the vents you want open, and whether you want recirculation, A/C, and e-heat on.

Edited my post to remove the "manual mode" comment
 

dbsb3233

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Yes. Open the fan speed control and set that to a value you like. The "auto" level light will then go out. Next, go into the env controls widget and pick the vents you want open, and whether you want recirculation, A/C, and e-heat on.

Edited my post to remove the "manual mode" comment
Ah, ok. I've never seen the AUTO lights go out. Didn't know they could. Not that I want that (I prefer automatic), but good to know the option exists.

I still need to figure out more about what all AUTO really does, and how automatic it is (or isn't). Especially when it comes to power usage (i.e. whether E-Heat power varies when not needed as much, or at all). I really don't want to manually have to turn the E-Heat off and on all the time after the car has warmed up. Hoping AUTO regulates that automatically to apply only the E-Heat power that's needed.
 

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Ah, ok. I've never seen the AUTO lights go out. Didn't know they could. Not that I want that (I prefer automatic), but good to know the option exists.

I still need to figure out more about what all AUTO really does, and how automatic it is (or isn't). Especially when it comes to power usage (i.e. whether E-Heat power varies when not needed as much, or at all). I really don't want to manually have to turn the E-Heat off and on all the time after the car has warmed up. Hoping AUTO regulates that automatically to apply only the E-Heat power that's needed.
A couple of things:
1. the vehicle will use rejected heat from the HV batteries and power electronics as much as possible to heat the cabin. However, there is minimal heat available from these sources, when you first start the vehicle, so that is where e-heat comes in.
2. e-heat means PTC heater. In auto modes, the e-heat comes on by default, when you first start the vehicle in order to get heat for the cabin, until the HV batteries and power electronics have rejected sufficient heat. I haven't checked to see whether the e-heat turns off, after having driven the car for a while. But I'm pretty certain that, for the sake of efficiency, the PTC heater is turned off, after there's enough rejected heat.
 

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I haven't checked to see whether the e-heat turns off, after having driven the car for a while. But I'm pretty certain that, for the sake of efficiency, the PTC heater is turned off, after there's enough rejected heat.
The E-Heat button doesn't actually turn on the PTC heater, it just allows it to be used if needed. So if the E-Heat button is on, the PTC heater will be used if needed, but won't be used if it's not needed. If the E-Heat button is off, the PTC heater will never kick on. Maybe it would have been clearer if they called the button "E-Heat Disable" or something.
 


dbsb3233

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The E-Heat button doesn't actually turn on the PTC heater, it just allows it to be used if needed. So if the E-Heat button is on, the PTC heater will be used if needed, but won't be used if it's not needed. If the E-Heat button is off, the PTC heater will never kick on. Maybe it would have been clearer if they called the button "E-Heat Disable" or something.
That's good. I think the AUTO fan speed might work the same way (i.e. 3 may be just the MAX speed when needed, but it lowers the speed after the cabin gets up to temp... I think?).

A quick read on PTC suggests it inherently does exactly what I was hoping: self-regulate the power it uses to meet demand. So if it's 40F, it'll consume max power to heat as fast as possible. At 50F it'll consume less, 60F less than that, 70F less than that, etc. And hopefully none (or very little) when the temp gets over the set point.

If that's the case, then just leaving E-Heat turned on in all cold months, with Auto fan speed set to 3, seems like it should self-regulate to keep the cabin temps where desired without wasting extra energy beyond what's needed. Perfect.

I know some like to go further to "disable" E-Heat and higher fan speed, but as long as the car adjusts both intelligently to maintain the set temp, I much prefer that.
 

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I still need to figure out more about what all AUTO really does, and how automatic it is (or isn't). Especially when it comes to power usage (i.e. whether E-Heat power varies when not needed as much, or at all). I really don't want to manually have to turn the E-Heat off and on all the time after the car has warmed up. Hoping AUTO regulates that automatically to apply only the E-Heat power that's needed.
I would expect the heat only to come on if the ambient air in the car is colder than the temp you have selected. Whether that means it comes on stronger when there is a large difference and less when the ambient is close to the selected is unknown.

This is a case where the manual should should definitely do more than the typical useless stating of the obvious.

The E-Heat button doesn't actually turn on the PTC heater, it just allows it to be used if needed. So if the E-Heat button is on, the PTC heater will be used if needed, but won't be used if it's not needed. If the E-Heat button is off, the PTC heater will never kick on. Maybe it would have been clearer if they called the button "E-Heat Disable" or something.
Exactly - the selected temperature AND mode (auto low, med, high or manual) determine if (and how much) e-heat is needed, but it is only turned on if enabled in the controls. Incidentally, if you manually select the windshield vents you can't disable the e-heat (it immediately is reenabled).

That's good. I think the AUTO fan speed might work the same way (i.e. 3 may be just the MAX speed when needed, but it lowers the speed after the cabin gets up to temp... I think?).

A quick read on PTC suggests it inherently does exactly what I was hoping: self-regulate the power it uses to meet demand. So if it's 40F, it'll consume max power to heat as fast as possible. At 50F it'll consume less, 60F less than that, 70F less than that, etc. And hopefully none (or very little) when the temp gets over the set point.

If that's the case, then just leaving E-Heat turned on in all cold months, with Auto fan speed set to 3, seems like it should self-regulate to keep the cabin temps where desired without wasting extra energy beyond what's needed. Perfect.

I know some like to go further to "disable" E-Heat and higher fan speed, but as long as the car adjusts both intelligently to maintain the set temp, I much prefer that.
And it appears that is what the car does, but that should be explicitly stated in the manual for the few of us who actually read them.
 

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you can also manage it by messing with the fan speed by opening up the fan speed control to the left of the volume knob:

Ford Mustang Mach-E Can you turn off the climate control? 1617103831222-


then sliding around and getting it to turn off (I admit I'm not sure exactly how).
That's what I normally do. Set fan speed to 0 turns off climate control. I prefer doing it this way. Opening up the full climate control menu would block navigation screen. But both works.

Separately, I find it annoying that "recirculation" sometimes turns itself off. I haven't found out why and under what circumstances the car does that. I don't like it that I cannot see the status of recirculation unless I open up the full climate control menu. I like to keep recirculation on whenever fan is on because I don't like the smell of tail pipes.
 

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That's what I normally do. Set fan speed to 0 turns off climate control. I prefer doing it this way. Opening up the full climate control menu would block navigation screen. But both works.

Separately, I find it annoying that "recirculation" sometimes turns itself off. I haven't found out why and under what circumstances the car does that. I don't like it that I cannot see the status of recirculation unless I open up the full climate control menu. I like to keep recirculation on whenever fan is on because I don't like the smell of tail pipes.
someone elsewhere on the forum posted - and I think it's doc'd in the manual as well but I'm feeling lazy and busy so I'm not looking right now - that the car will do this if it has to for things like ensuring proper air quality, windshield visibility, etc. on a humid day and the like.
 

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Separately, I find it annoying that "recirculation" sometimes turns itself off. I haven't found out why and under what circumstances the car does that. I don't like it that I cannot see the status of recirculation unless I open up the full climate control menu. I like to keep recirculation on whenever fan is on because I don't like the smell of tail pipes.
Other cars I've had do that when you turn on the windshield defroster, so that may be why - just like it forces e-heat on with the window vents on
 

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dbsb3233

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That's good. I think the AUTO fan speed might work the same way (i.e. 3 may be just the MAX speed when needed, but it lowers the speed after the cabin gets up to temp... I think?).
I finally took some time to play with this yesterday. Disappointingly, it appears the 3 AUTO fan speeds aren't automatic at all. Even on a nice day (~60F) and long after the cabin temperature was at the set temp (70F), the fan speed stayed on high when I had AUTO on 3 (and medium on AUTO 2, and low on AUTO 1). In other words, it appears fan speed is totally manual, not automatic as advertised.

That sucks. There should be an actual automatic fan speed like nearly every other car that has a thermostat setting.

A mitigating part is that the fan is not very noisy, even on high. So it's not too bad to just leave it on 3. But still, there should be an automatic choice for fan speed. AUTO should include fully automatic.
 

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I finally took some time to play with this yesterday. Disappointingly, it appears the 3 AUTO fan speeds aren't automatic at all. Even on a nice day (~60F) and long after the cabin temperature was at the set temp (70F), the fan speed stayed on high when I had AUTO on 3 (and medium on AUTO 2, and low on AUTO 1). In other words, it appears fan speed is totally manual, not automatic as advertised.

That sucks. There should be an actual automatic fan speed like nearly every other car that has a thermostat setting.

A mitigating part is that the fan is not very noisy, even on high. So it's not too bad to just leave it on 3. But still, there should be an automatic choice for fan speed. AUTO should include fully automatic.
That is a bit of a step backwards Tim.
 

dbsb3233

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That is a bit of a step backwards Tim.
It is disappointing, unless I'm just missing how to set fan speed to auto.

To be fair, it's not quite as needed on this car as most. First, as I said, the fan isn't as noisy as most cars, so just leaving it on 2 or 3 isn't overly bad. Second, remote start is easy in this car, so as long as you do that on cold or hot days, the need for high fan speed early is reduced. That's where automatic fan speed is most needed - getting into an ice cold car and wanting it to warm up ASAP, then automatically reduce fan speed when good. With remote start, that's mitigated.

Still though, there's times we'll forget to remote start. Then we have to manually move it to 3 for fastest heating/cooling, then back to 1 if we don't want it to stay there.
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