Sad to here the software didn't fix the problem but I can't say I'm supersized I wasn't convinced this was a simple logic issue. I had planed on getting the update today but after seeing the post this morning that it didn't fix the problem I decided to hold off and do some investigating myself. Bare with me this is going to be a long post. After some investigating, which Ill go through in a moment, I have come up with a theory. My thought is that the problem is not with hardware or software but is a design flaw with the system itself. Don't let them tare your dash apart as changing parts probably wont fix it. I'm sure the update makes the control slightly better since any control system has room for improvement so it likely wont hurt to get the update anyway. As I said in an earlier post I believe the issue is with the location of the interior temperature sensor. Back on page three there is a diagram that shows it is in the dash behind the lcd this is where the design flaw in the system is. I noted that the lcd gets quite hot and as a result so does its surrounding area. I'm talking about the plastic area in the center of the dash. How hot, well today I took my temperature gun out and found that after running for a few minutes (15-20) the lcd can get up to about 110F+ yikes. This makes for bad news as the surrounding dash can get as hot as 93F in some areas and an average temperature of about 85F. My thought is that this is the cause of our issue the temperature sensor is always telling our control unit that the car is hot, very hot. So it always blows cold no matter how you set it unless you put it to HI. To make sense of this I'll explain how I think this system works and how this design flaw fits in.
I want to start by saying I have not conferred with any ford engineers and everything I am writing is based on my own observations, opinions, and knowledge. That being said I am a Mechanical Engineer and I have some experience with control systems and basic design knowledge. As always realize this is opinion and not necessarily correct. It is my best guess and understanding of the system.
From what I gather our climate control system takes the interior temperature from the sensor and then determines what temperature air (hot or cold) to put out of the vent to maintain the set point chosen with the knob. It does this in both manual and auto as long as the setting is between 60 and 85. Auto simply takes over fan speed and direction control. HI and LO seem to override the sensor and just put out max hot or cold regardless of what the sensor is picking up. Which is why most of us get cold air until we put it to HI. This is where the design flaw comes into play. As I stated the average temperature of the plastic area around the dash gets to about 85F and as high as 93F thanks to the lcd. From the above description of how the system functions its clear that even at a setting of 85F the system would be correct in blasting you with cold air if the sensor is reading 93F. Which is why I have said I don't believe this is a hardware or soft ware error. During testing I found that when the dash was hot above 85F it always blew cold in manual with the temperature of the output air decreasing as I lowered the set point from 85 to 60. When I left the AC on at 60 the temperature of the dash and lcd came down to about 78F. Despite the interior temperature being at 60F in auto the fan was still blowing hard and cold trying to get the car even colder probably because the sensor was still getting 78F not 60F. I then observed that the output air would clime in temperature with it getting warm then hot as I passed the dash temperature of 78F; the dash temperature quickly rose back to 85F once the ac was off. When doing the same test in auto mode I observed the fan speed slowing as I approached the temperature of the dash and then rising again as I got closer to 85 and slowing again and becoming cold once the dash temperature was above 85F. For me that behavior confirms that the sensor is simply giving our controller a false reading thanks to the lcd. Its not necessarily doing anything wrong. From the control systems perspective the car is hot so it needs to take appropriate action to cool it off to the desired temperature even at a setting of 85F. So if its 60F outside and you try the heat it will still blow cold because by the time the engine is warm enough the lcd has already warmed the sensor to a temperature hotter than 85F. So there is no way to get heat with out setting it to HI. I assume moving the temperature sensor to an area not effected by the lcd would resolve this issue. I have pictures of the testing but I'm too lazy to put them up on an image hosting site.
I haven't looked into the possibility of truing off the lcd yet, but I plan to try and shut it off completely and then retest. If the dash isn't being heated by the lcd and the problem is resolved it will clearly show this as the cause. If not then its back to the drawing board I'll keep you guys updated.