A/C Mode Door Stuck

[ctyoter]

For a while I had the clicking behind the dashboard issue that was due to a stuck blend door actuator motor/servo. Did some reading and youtubing and was able to pull it, clean it, and replace it to solve that problem.

Since there's no such thing and fixing it the first time, of course, the vent selector doesn't seem to be working correctly now even though it appears to be moving. The window/defrost is always on so I get foggy windows with the cold air running and very little blowing to the floor where it used to blow well. My guess is that I reinstalled the motor in the wrong position. Does anyone know what position it should be in when installed and what position the fan should be set to when doing so? IE, set the fan to straight out and the motor to the 9'o'clock position or something.

I'd totally trial and error this thing if it weren't damn near impossible to remove and replace. Any help is appreciated!

 

[SocalSam]

Make sure the blend door itself if not broken by manually moving door lever and checking air flow to the various vents. Actuator has a sensor inside that stops actuator in desired position. It the sensor is bad, actuator will not know what position it is in. Replace actuator with known good.

 

[AuSeeker]

For a while I had the clicking behind the dashboard issue that was due to a stuck blend door actuator motor/servo. Did some reading and youtubing and was able to pull it, clean it, and replace it to solve that problem.

Since there's no such thing and fixing it the first time, of course, the vent selector doesn't seem to be working correctly now even though it appears to be moving. The window/defrost is always on so I get foggy windows with the cold air running and very little blowing to the floor where it used to blow well. My guess is that I reinstalled the motor in the wrong position. Does anyone know what position it should be in when installed and what position the fan should be set to when doing so? IE, set the fan to straight out and the motor to the 9'o'clock position or something.

I'd totally trial and error this thing if it weren't damn near impossible to remove and replace. Any help is appreciated!

First and foremost the "blend" door changes the temperature not the vent selection, it 'blends" warm air and cold air to get it to the temperature you have it set at, it's the "mode" door that does vent selection.

That being said, I can't tell you which position the motor needs to be in to get it right...BUT what I would do is connect the actuator's electrical connector without it being installed then set the "mode" position of your choice at the switch which should put the motor in the correct position for that selection, then turn the fan/AC system on and manually move the "mode" door until the air comes out of the vents you have selected, that should then tell you the positions of both the motor and door.

 

[ctyoter]

Make sure the blend door itself if not broken by manually moving door lever and checking air flow to the various vents. Actuator has a sensor inside that stops actuator in desired position. It the sensor is bad, actuator will not know what position it is in. Replace actuator with known good.

I'll check that out thanks.

 

[ctyoter]

First and foremost the "blend" door changes the temperature not the vent selection, it 'blends" warm air and cold air to get it to the temperature you have it set at, it's the "mode" door that does vent selection.

That being said, I can't tell you which position the motor needs to be in to get it right...BUT what I would do is connect the actuator's electrical connector without it being installed then set the "mode" position of your choice at the switch which should put the motor in the correct position for that selection, then turn the fan/AC system on and manually move the "mode" door until the air comes out of the vents you have selected, that should then tell you the positions of both the motor and door.

Yes, mode door is what I meant. The blend door moves when raising and lowering the temp so that's in order. Your idea sounds logical so I'll give that a shot and hope it works. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[AuSeeker]

Yes, mode door is what I meant. The blend door moves when raising and lowering the temp so that's in order. Your idea sounds logical so I'll give that a shot and hope it works. Thanks for the suggestion!

Be sure to let us know if that works or not, it will help others in the future.

 

[SocalSam]

Yes, mode door is what I meant. The blend door moves when raising and lowering the temp so that's in order. Your idea sounds logical so I'll give that a shot and hope it works. Thanks for the suggestion!

I don't know WTH I am talking about, lol. Somehow, my sh*t got fixed. This was my actuator noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsB1oacS78s

 

[ctyoter]

Be sure to let us know if that works or not, it will help others in the future.

I don't know WTH I am talking about, lol. Somehow, my sh*t got fixed. This was my actuator noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsB1oacS78s

Mine actually sounded exactly like that. With the dash assembled, it was a faint clicking noise from the right side of the center console behind the glove box somewhere. Looking at the servos, they are different, but rotate in similar manners so they probably manifest their issues similarly. My guess.

 

[ctyoter]

Be sure to let us know if that works or not, it will help others in the future.

It worked!

I didn't go through the painful process of removing the entire motor this time and just removed the back-top and front-top bracket screws so the entire bracket/motor assembly could be detached from the vent mode part. Before I did this, I pressed the motor in place and set it to one of the vent settings so I could feel where the air was blowing for certain (fan on high). Then I pulled the motor back so it was not connected to the vent mode director and set it to the same setting as was actually physically blowing. Finally, carefully pushed the motor back onto it's various holes and tabs being aware of the location of the parts and tested and voila!

Cranked the cold all the way down and blowing out front and no fogging and not a hint of air coming up at the windshield. Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[AuSeeker]

It worked!

I didn't go through the painful process of removing the entire motor this time and just removed the back-top and front-top bracket screws so the entire bracket/motor assembly could be detached from the vent mode part. Before I did this, I pressed the motor in place and set it to one of the vent settings so I could feel where the air was blowing for certain (fan on high). Then I pulled the motor back so it was not connected to the vent mode director and set it to the same setting as was actually physically blowing. Finally, carefully pushed the motor back onto it's various holes and tabs being aware of the location of the parts and tested and voila!

Cranked the cold all the way down and blowing out front and no fogging and not a hint of air coming up at the windshield. Thanks everyone for the help!

Awesome, glad it worked, you posting the results WILL help others in the future!!

 

[SocalSam]

Which one did your replace? I'm guessing it was the upper servo on the right side of the blend box. That one is a pain to reach the top screw. Mine was the servo on the left side which was a breeze.

 

[ctyoter]

Which one did your replace? I'm guessing it was the upper servo on the right side of the blend box. That one is a pain to reach the top screw. Mine was the servo on the left side which was a breeze.

Yes, the upper right servo. The main issue is the blower is in the way and I could see no way of easily moving it even after removing the big screw on the front left side; it's still attached in unknown places. So, to get to the bottom smaller screw to get the servo off the bracket (forget about reaching the bottom back bracket screw) you need a really low-profile right-angle screw driver or something similar but even then your range of motion is not much. I have big hands, am 6-feet tall so it wasn't comfortable.

 

[parsky1]

The mode servo isn’t that bad. Just set it to dash vent which is “home”. New servo will come set to dash vent. Mark on the white wheel with a marker where it meets a known location on the servo so you remember how it’s clocked. Just take the front bracket screw out then remove three tiny screws holding servo to bracket. The back bottom screw can be accessed with a thumb screwdriver if you cut a chunk out of the blower assembly with a bare hacksaw blade. It’s just useless structure and then you can get a thumb screwdriver in there. You will know what I’m talking about when you see it. Remove screws. Bend bracket to get it out. Pull the wheel off the old servo. There is a detent tab recessed in the hole holding it on down inside. Install wheel first in dash. Make sure all levers move by rotating the wheel, the rear most is defrost and easy to miss. Then install the servo and bend bracket back.


https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Tools-...sprefix=thumbwheel+screwdriver,aps,137&sr=8-1

 

[ctyoter]

The mode servo isn’t that bad. Just set it to dash vent which is “home”. New servo will come set to dash vent. Mark on the white wheel with a marker where it meets a known location on the servo so you remember how it’s clocked. Just take the front bracket screw out then remove three tiny screws holding servo to bracket. The back bottom screw can be accessed with a thumb screwdriver if you cut a chunk out of the blower assembly with a bare hacksaw blade. It’s just useless structure and then you can get a thumb screwdriver in there. You will know what I’m talking about when you see it. Remove screws. Bend bracket to get it out. Pull the wheel off the old servo. There is a detent tab recessed in the hole holding it on down inside. Install wheel first in dash. Make sure all levers move by rotating the wheel, the rear most is defrost and easy to miss. Then install the servo and bend bracket back.

That's good info, thanks!

 

[maxdef]

I actually just did this job the other day, I had both the rightmost (recirc- orange) and bottom left (temp blend door- green [removed in this pic]), with the last denoted by the red arrow. The recirc one was terrible, and you can see I tried to remove the whole thing but I couldn't get it to budge, even though the manual implied it was easy. 1/10 would recommend, but I'm glad it's done.

 

[SocalSam]

I actually just did this job the other day, I had both the rightmost (recirc- orange) and bottom left (temp blend door- green [removed in this pic]), with the last denoted by the red arrow. The recirc one was terrible, and you can see I tried to remove the whole thing but I couldn't get it to budge, even though the manual implied it was easy. 1/10 would recommend, but I'm glad it's done.

How did you drop the blower air box?

 

[maxdef]

How did you drop the blower air box?

There are only 4 fasteners that hold it in, so that's easy enough, but the hard part is pushing the left side slightly up to clear a small claw, while being mindful of the heater hoses that the backside hooks around, and then not mashing all the harnesses on the right side while bringing it down, which is at least the easiest part.

-"Release the 7 clamps and disconnect the connectors."

-"Remove the bolt and 2 screws and nut.
---
-Release the claw fitting and remove the blower
assembly."