Code P0538, A/C not working properly?

2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID
240,000 MILES • 2.3L • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
Avatar
MILKJPG
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
The A/C in my vehicle listed above has not been working correctly for a few months now (just blows out hot air), and it is honestly pretty brutal in Texas heat. I used ForScan to give the car a scan recently and it gave me "P0538. A/C evap air temperature circuit high input". After searching the code, I ended up just seeing a lot of results for the evaporator temperature sensor for a Ford Fusion. I also can't seem to find any location for an evap temperature sensor in this year Escape Hybrid and I was wondering if there was anything I was missing.

I'd also like to note that the car doesn't go into EV mode, which sort of defeats the whole purpose of having a hybrid. Thank you!
Aug 17, 2022 at 8:20 AM
Advertisement
Avatar
STRAILER
  • CERTIFIED EXPERT
  • 53,854 POSTS
A P0538 code means the PCM voltage from the evaporator temperature sensor that are outside of specification. The car doesn't go into EV mode will need to be its own question please post your new question here, you must be logged in.

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/new

Here is the location of the evaporator temp sensor so you can change it out, The ACET sensor monitors the evaporator air discharge temperature. The ACET sensor is a thermistor device in which resistance changes with temperature. The ACET sensor is used to more accurately control A/C clutch cycling, improve defrost/demist performance and reduce A/C clutch cycling. The electrical resistance of a thermistor decreases as the temperature increases, and the resistance increases as the temperature decreases. The PCM sources a low current 5 volts on the ACET circuit. With SIG RTN also connected to the ACET sensor, the varying resistance affects the voltage drop across the sensor terminals. As the A/C evaporator air temperature changes, the varying resistance of the ACET sensor changes the voltage the PCM detects.

You may need to remove the evaporator core which requires vacuum down and rechrage of the system. Check out this video to show you how and the diagrams in the images below to show you how to do the job.

https://youtu.be/4EqdrBVb0sY

Check out the diagrams (below). Please let us know what happens.
Images (Click to enlarge)
Attached Media
Attached Media
Attached Media
Attached Media
Aug 17, 2022 at 5:57 PM
Avatar
MILKJPG
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Okay, so this definitely is not something I'll be able to do anytime soon, but this does appear to have exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much!
Aug 17, 2022 at 6:20 PM
Advertisement
Avatar
STRAILER
  • CERTIFIED EXPERT
  • 53,854 POSTS
Good to hear, please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help.
Aug 18, 2022 at 2:19 PM