AC / Heat actuator ? 03 2.5

N

NovemberWhiskey

Member
Greetings , been having an awful experience getting the AC working in my 2003 2.5 Zed. Little background- bought the car a few years ago and was told compressor was out , belt was not installed. Worked from home past 4 years so never needed to worry about not having AC. Now is a different story in the Texas summer. Had all the under hood components replaced and today we charged the system at a buddies house. Under hood lines get ice cold. Assuming it’s the actuator that switches from heat to cold under the dash. Has anyone faced this problem before ? Everything on the dash works as far as switching from floor / vent / defroster. All buttons work and the recirculate is working. It’s just blowing heat from the core of Hades out of all the vents. Someone please help before I end up divorced 😆. Thanks !
 
Solved the issue, at least temporarily. Foxwell N510 scan tool calibrated the mixer flap and she’s blowing cold air. Switched it to heat with the temperature dial and back to cold and no more AC. Recalibrated it a few more times and she’s back to blowing cold. Not risking the temp dial test again 😜
 
So that implies that the mixer flap is working ok but not getting a signal to tell it to move. Therefore to me that would suggest the temperature dial is possibly the problem?
 
I’m assuming so. Maybe the gear on the dial itself is stripped? Not sure if that’s how it’s designed and don’t know how to pop it off to determine.
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
I’m assuming so. Maybe the gear on the dial itself is stripped? Not sure if that’s how it’s designed and don’t know how to pop it off to determine.
Click to expand...
Not sure but I'd expect a modern version of a rheostat. Maybe simpler to find a replacement control unit.
 
To look at the dial you'll need to:

Remove the vent above the radio

Remove the radio

Remove 2 screws above the climate control unit which screw down into it.

Then there is a tab either end of the climate control unit to release the whole unit out.

Once out there are 6 tabs around the unit easily visible. The casing will open in half and then you can look inside.

Then order a new unit as that will be easier than trying to fix anything inside and pop that unit back in the car.

Unless you are skilled in electronics and working with circuit boards then you may be able to fix it. For the knob to be actually broken I'd imagine the knob would be spinning round and round and not stopping at the hot and cold end points.
 
Found a guide with pictures for you:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techar...placement/164-ELEC-IHKA_Panel_Replacement.htm

You may find it cheaper to buy one in the UK as prefacelift climate control units are plentiful and cheap.

Enuff_zed above likely has one but if he doesn't I have one I can send you, with postage for £30 ($40.)

Hopefully it can be written down as 'Made in USA' because I believe they were. It has a US patent on the back. This will avoid any import fee's, if there are any, on a low value item.
 
Thanks guys! So here’s an update. And it’s not good for me. Last night had cold air for around 2 hours while I was putting everything back together and cleaning up. Drive a few miles and no issues. This morning , straight heat again. IHKA still showing no faults on the foxwell nt510. All the live data test show good. I’m losing my mind over here. About to drop it off at a shop and hope I can afford the estimate
 
Calibration of mixer flap is now failing. Starting to wonder if actuator is good but maybe flap or a gear is stripped so it’s not actually opening/ closing. Just not sure why it would have changed position over night
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom