95 Contour / defaulting to defrost - ideas?

[nuttinbutfords]

Hi all, new here, but came from the crown vic / grand marquis board. Got a Contour for a song, but needs some fixin. The diverter / vent control defaults to defroster. Blower works fine, temp switch works fine. Heard somewhere that the vent switch is a common failure on these cars, and a symptom of that was the defrost default, so I replaced the switch. No help, still was stuck on defrost.

Through patience and multiple throwings of the switch (engine running), was able to get it to move the diverter and send air through the panel vents, but it still isn't right and will likely go back to default soon. Also, the A/C compressor is not engaging at all, and the 134A shows correct pressure in the lines.

So, what is the next most common failure on these cars in this situation? Need somewhere to go next as it's getting pretty warm around here. Any ideas / suggestions?

Thanks!
Dave

[goon]

when there is a vaccum leak the system will go to defrost.

[nuttinbutfords]

Yeah, I got that. Just curious if anyone had an idea of common failure points in the lines, or has actually repaired one with the same problem. And the vac line leak doesn't necessarily explain the compressor not engaging. Thanks
Dave