Air vent issue

[williewilkens]

So it was a little chilly this morning, and the windshield was fogged up. I put it on defrost and hit the blower...but nothing was coming out the windshield vents! The blower works, sort of...the high setting in in the next-to-high position, but it seemed the air was blowing out of the dash (not the vents, mind you). As I was on my way to work, I obviously didn't get a chance to look at it yet.

I was wondering if anyone has had anything like this happen, and how nasty of an issue it is. It kind of felt like the vent selector didn't have much resistance, and I couldn't tell if it was really doing anything. The blower is strong, except for the high setting of course. It may just be a disconnected vent tube, but I don't know at this point. Defrost will be a premium here very soon...:flamethrwoer2:

 

[OCMike]

Sounds like the selector is disconnected. Had that happen to an older car once. Just remove the panel and see. You might want to have some super glue handy in case the connection snapped off.

 

[fourwd1]

Could be the cable on the selector knob is seized up, happens a lot.

 

[williewilkens]

Okay...so here's what I found last night (sorry, I didn't take pics). Basically, the metal connector on the end of the cable was not secured to the vent selector arm. It was really easy to get to, because I have a broken a$$ cup holder...like everyone else, I suppose!

There was a small zip tie that was hanging from the cable. I assumed this was the way that the cable and arm were originally attached...so I tried to re-secure it. It wasn't working so well, so I dug up the super glue and put a good coat on and around the zip tie. I made sure to keep it out of any moving parts.

I didn't drive it today, so I haven't tested the strength out yet. Being careful with it may make it last.

Two questions:
1) Was this connection supposed to be secured with a zip tie, or is there a clip that should be there?
2) Is there some lubricant that can be used on the vent cable? (It moved, but was a little "crunchy" feeling)

Thanks!