You suspect the Blend Door Actuator is to blame for your car’s faulty air conditioning system. If you don’t know how to test it or correct it, we can help.
The warm air may not reach the passenger compartment if the blend door actuator malfunctions. From personal experience, I can attest to the fact that this is a frustrating issue to deal with. So that you can determine if a new actuator is required, I’ll go over the signs of a bad actuator.
What’s A Blend Door Actuator?
The passenger and driver side blend doors are normally moved by a blend door actuator in vehicles without a traditional mechanical coupling. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) must be manually controlled in the car.
An actuator for a mix door typically moves in one direction to defrost and another direction to cool. The HVAC is operated by an electronic control unit (ECU) that employs vacuum lines and electrical connectors to move the blend door actuator, which often has a small motor within.
Blend door actuators aren’t usually maintained; instead, they just stop working when the internal motor or gears wear out and are no longer available from the manufacturer.
All of the cabin air is conditioned before it enters the vehicle’s passenger compartment thanks to a mix door actuator.
When the heater or air conditioner is on full blast and the blower fan is set to recirculate mode with fresh air shut off, you’ll require a fully functioning blend door actuator. To turn on recirculation mode, the mix door must be moved by this actuator.
For example, you can set your car or truck’s temperature to 70 degrees Fahrenheit with full heat, but you’ll only feel frigid air because there is no method to reroute this heater hose away from the passenger area. It just erupts in a flurry of activity.
If this occurs, you may expect nothing but very cold air to come out of your vents.
When your blend door actuator breaks, your windows lose their ability to defrost properly and become fogged up quickly.
Additionally, if your defrosting system isn’t working properly, you may see greater ice buildup on your windows in the winter. This is because the deicer grid in front of the AC evaporator core freezes water vapor as it goes through the blower fan and evaporator.
In the event that your mix door actuator fails, you should have it replaced quickly by a service facility to avoid any further negative consequences.
How To Replace A Blend Door Actuator?
You will need an 8mm socket and a tiny flat blade screwdriver to repair a blend door actuator in your heater box. Here’s how it’s done:
Step 1
Your vehicle’s negative battery cable should be disconnected. Just in case there’s an electrical surge while you’re in there, this will shield you.
Step 2
Pull the glove box out and then lift it up to free it from its holding knobs so you can remove it. Once the glove box is opened, take all of the contents and place them in a safe place.
Step 3
Reconnect the heater core wiring harness by unplugging it from where the glove box used to be. Pulling off the plastic clip allows the plug to be removed out of the socket and replaced.
Step 4
By looking up, you’ll find two holding screws that hold this air filter system together. There is a black plastic item covering most of the space where your glove box used to be.
Depending on the year, make, and model of your car, 4 10mm bolts secure this part in place. After removing the black plastic cover, remove the four 10mm bolts.
Step 5
There should be an area about 6 inches wide by 3 inches high behind the glove box with HVAC printed on it, which stands for heater, ventilation, and air conditioning. Six 8mm bolts keep this section in position.
Pull this little portion out of the main assembly and pull it back a bit so that you can access the blend door actuator. Remove all of them and set them aside.
Step 6
Using a flat-bladed screwdriver, pry apart the black plastic sleeve from the metal holding clips after removing all of the 8mm bolts. Then, remove the HVAC system from the car.
Damage to any of these clips will result in a warm air blowing from your complete A/C system (and pretty much act like your heater is jacked up). When removing clips, you may require more than one screwdriver at a time. Set it aside once you’ve removed the sleeve.
Step 7
The mix door actuator may now be clearly seen. You can see it mounted on the side of this black plastic area. It measures about 6 inches broad by 3 inches high.
The mix door actuator is held in place by two 8mm hex head bolts, so unscrew them and remove the old part by pulling up on it while working your way around all the corners to remove any residual wiring harnesses, etc.
As long as you don’t yank it too hard, other parts in the back could break if you do!
Step 8
In order to avoid missing any steps or forgetting anything, completely remove the old device and reinstall everything in the opposite order.
Reconnect the negative battery cable after the rest of the system has been repaired or replaced.
Even if your vehicle doesn’t use the blend door actuator, the steps are the same regardless of where it is placed or what kind of vehicle you possess.
The most important things to remember are to disconnect the negative battery line before working on anything in there, and to always replace anything that is suspicious or may create problems in the future when it is so simple to do so!
FAQs
How Much Does A Blend Door Actuator Replacement Cost?
An actuator replacement can cost up to $150 depending on where you go, but it will cost you $120 to replace the item.
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Can You Manually Turn A Blend Door Actuator?
You can, after all. You can find two sorts of mix doors: manual ones that open all vents at once, and automatic ones that limit airflow based on the outside temperature and engine heat.
A motor inside the vehicle rotates the automatic doors in response to sensor input on either side of the vehicle (A/C system). The location of the vents is independent of the heater core’s ability to direct airflow. The doors are responsible for all of that.
Manual blend doors are pretty much always found on heater cores (where they restrict airflow to some or all of the vents when turned open), and sometimes there can be an issue where these doors get stuck in position so air only comes out of one vent no matter what position they’re set to.
Conclusion
As a result, if your heater started blowing warm air after operating the car for 30 minutes, it was most likely because your blend door actuator failed. Fortunately, it’s a simple fix that might save you hundreds of dollars in repair bills.
You should be able to take this to a nearby mechanic shop if you’re not confident enough to replace it yourself.
