Interior Vent Kick Panel Water Coming In

kramttocs · November 18, 2020

The vents do have gaskets on them to seal the sliding door but assuming they are still present, you are still talking about a very thin plate of plastic separating outside and inside. If closed though, aside from whatever leaks are present in the vent door, will there be that much movement or circulation inside the vent/cowl trough? .
Still speaking purely of dealer ac - my grandfather's 85 with the Integrated Controls (IC) and my 80 with the Cubby Controls (CC) both have the fans close enough to the passenger vent to draw fresh air from the kick panel vent. I feel like I've heard the two styles called Deluxe and Economy but the Deluxe wording is confusing since a heat system also had that name. I may be recalling that incorrectly though....but I digress.
The IC unit has the fan opening facing the firewall whereas the CC fan open is almost directly facing the kick panel. I don't know if this is form or function. The IC unit does look cleaner in this regard and is safer or more kid friendly.

So that's just recirculation V once through the evaporator?

I guess the answer would be yes to that. It's similar to the Integral AC with how it can draw fresh air or cabin air (max ac) based on the recirc door position. The difference is that the dealer ac fan will always pull some cabin air since there is a gap between the fan and the vent.
*note* This whole fresh air/recirc with the dealer ac is based on observation. I haven't read any dealer ac official documentation on how the operation or usage is outlined by Ford. While the fan and vent are in close proximity to make this seem plausible, there also isn't really anywhere else Ford could have easily put the fan.
I am looking for the doc packet that came with the 85 to see if it has a pamphlet for the IC.
Some dealer a/c photos: http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/Dealer-Aftermarket-AC-Photos-td44293.html