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Blend Door Actuator Issue

6.9K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  191145  
#1 ·
My blend door actuator is behaving strangely. Originally I thought it was broken, so I bought a replacement. Putting that in, it worked fine for a few days, and then randomly it stopped working. I pulled it apart and tested it a little, plugging it in, unplugging it, and changing the temp dial. It seemed to activate pretty randomly. I'm wondering if there's a temperature sensor upstream that I don't know about, controlling some of it's behavior. If it was the relay, I would assume it wouldn't work at all. Any thoughts/knowledge are welcome, thanks in advance.
 
#3 ·
Has your battery been disconnected recently by you or anyone else? This is quick and worth a try - take off the negative clamp for ten minutes. Replace it and start the car - do not touch any controls or turn the car off for at least 5 minutes - this is how the HVAC is recalibrated. If it doesn't help, then you have another problem. It fixed mine, which was errant when I picked it up after a diagnosis and oil change. Previous cars I had going back to 2003 had a procedure for doing this so I questioned on here but it apparently was not known. I eventually found it and did it with great results. I had the classic 'hot on one side, cold on the other'.
 
#4 ·
I'll have to try it. I got a new battery a few years back, and this has been an ongoing thing for a few years, but I can't think if they coincide, only especially worse this past year. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a shot.
 
#5 ·
If you hear a rapid knocking sound from under the dash when you change temp, its definitely an actuator, but they can also go bad without a sound. When you started the car after changing the battery, if you turned it right off again, or turned the climate on or off or hit any other climate control before it recalibrated, that could be it - it can't fix itself without another disconnect and restart, and let it go for five minutes without doing anything. Do let us know what happens.
There are some good You Tube vids on replacing the actuators. You just have to determine which side. the side that does not respond to temp changes is it. the sides can be completely opposite - one cold, one hot, depending on the settings.