Five problems related to defogger controls have been reported for the 1997 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The heat actuator "broke" and eliminated any heat to defrost my windows.
Defroster does not defrost/defog windshield due to the heat/ac blend door being broken. Common problem for Ford Explorers. Ford is remiss in not recalling the vehicle to fix this hazardous condition.
Ford Explorer heater plenum/actuator stopped working this past winter. Climate control is stuck on cold and defrost does not work in cold weather. During a road trip to a nearby city early this spring I was barley able to see out the windshield because of the ice and fog on my windshield. I believe this is a known mechanical defect by Ford and dealers. This is a very dangerous problem. In contacting several seattle-area dealers, all refused to fix as a safety problem, said no recall had been issued, said I was out of warranty, this is absurd for a problem they caused with faulty design and parts that causes serious visibility problems in many older Explorers.
The a/c and heat was unable to come out of the blend air door. The dealer was notified. Ford found that they installed the wrong blend air door acuator during the manufacturing process. Ts scc.
Temperature control switch broke, cold air was being distributed. Consumer unable to defrost windshield.