Charger Forums banner

A/C Blend door / Actuator issue - super confused

118K views 43 replies 12 participants last post by  Yuro 
#1 ·
I made a post a few weeks ago regarding what has to either be a messed up A/C actuator or blend door in my 07 charger with dual climate control and after much research I am still super confused.

Recap of what the car was doing:

For a month or so, there would be a rapid clicking / knocking sound in the dash anytime I would adjust either temp knob on the dual climate control from its current position. This sound would last for 4-7 seconds and go away, but the Air would work fine. If I just left it in whatever setting it was on next time i started the car and never touched it, no sound.

As of a few weeks ago:

No more knocking sound at all when I adjust the temp, and the drivers side temp knob does not change anything but the passenger side adjusts accordingly with the knob. Drivers side blows very warm and weaker then the passenger side, which blows correctly to the temp its set on and harder. The driver side will not adjust with the temp control no matter what setting its on, while the passenger side works perfect. The rear A/C vents seem to be blowing the same temp the drivers side does, which varies from warm to very warm.

I tried the process I read about where the ignition is turned to on, A/C off. depress / hold defrost button, turn the Air to high. My defrost light never blinks no matter what, but the air does go through a short series of very faint sounds like its doing something. For the first few minutes after doing this, the drivers side air will blow slightly cooler then before (but not cold) and gradually get warmer as a I drive ultimately getting warm again within 10 minutes, while the passenger side stays consistent on whatever I have the temp dial set to.

Am I doing the "re-cal process" wrong since I never get the blinking defrost light? On my dual climate control, I have the far right knob set to the dash vent only setting (all the way to the right, not the auto setting), and I am turning the far left knob (A/C power level) all the way to the right from off to high, while depressing the defrost button in the center.

I dont have much money to blow right now so I have to try to self diagnose this. Ultimately I would like to drop the car off at a place, pick it up working and be done with it but funds do not allow. How many actuators will I need to order if the entire left side of the car plus the rear blows the warm temp? Are all the actuators the same size / shape or are there different ones for front / back / left / etc? Will there be anything on the current actuator when I pull it out that will be a dead give away on if its the actuator that is the issue or the blend door itself?

Sorry for the big post, just trying to get this taken care of asap as I am going to be selling the car
 
See less See more
#3 ·
The Dual zone climate control system uses two actuator motors to move the two blend doors (one located on each side). There is also a different actuator motor and blend door to change the airflow from floor to defrost to vent, etc. There is a fourth motor and door that controls the recirculation.

There is a floor vent located under each seat that is connected to each side of the dual climate control. The rear center console vent is connected to the driver's side temperature control.

The condition you are describing is most likely a broken blend door on the driver's side (the clicking sound that is now gone is the biggest clue). This can be confirmed by removing the actuator motor from the driver's side and visually inspecting the activation of the motor drive when different temperatures are selected (watch it rotate when temp is changed).

If the motor fails to move the drive when temps are changed, then replace the motor.

If it does move, then manually rotate the drive socket on the distribution box and see if you can manually reposition the door. If you can rotate the drive socket but the temperature does not change, then the door is broken and must be repaired/replaced.

The system is self calibrating and by turning the fan selection to full off and then moving to the auto setting it resets the blend door positions. The procedure you described is for obtaining DTC codes from the manual single zone system (MTC), not the dual-zone automatic system (ATC). Fault codes from the ATC require a scan tool to read. In either case, it is not a recalibration procedure.

Here is the procedure to remove the temp blend door actuator motor...

 

Attachments

#5 ·
#7 ·
I wonder if you all think I have the same problem, or something different? 2010 Charger Police, so NO dual zone climate control. With the Fan and everything Off, air is blowing through dash vents. Feels to be outside temp air. Just started doing this about a month ago. If I change the temp setting it does not effect the air temp coming through the vents.

So then we had a cool night recently, so I turned the heat on, setting it to the lower vents setting and warm temp setting. It worked as it should. After I turned the fan off, but left the vent setting to the foot well setting, the air did no start coming back through the dash vents. So it seems it only comes through the dash vents (again, despite the fan in the off position) when the vent setting is turned to dash setting (the one with the diagram of the body with arrow point toward chest).

A few days later it was warm (it's Florida, so we'll have a day in the 80's and then a night in the 50's this time of year) so I turned the a/c on max recirculate. I could still smell exhaust from cars in front of me, and real strong. I would not normally have smelled outside smells with the a/c in this mode, so I'm sure I was still getting the outside air.

I hope to fix whatever the problem is before Summer comes back around. What do you think?

Thanks.
 
#8 ·
The actuators for the blend door, mode door and recirculation door are interchangeable (same PN for all three). The blend door mixes the hot/cold and is described in the previous posts.
The mode door (driver side under the dash) routes the flow of air to the floor vents, defrost vents and dash panel vents. The recirculation door (passenger side under the dash ... behind the glove compartment and on the left side of the HVAC air inlet housing) allows outside air to flow into the passenger compartment, through the HVAC ducts/vents, or closes the inlet so the air inside the passenger compartment is recirculated.
So it could be one of these actuators or it could be the dash climate controls. You can plug a OBD2/CAN scanner into the car OBD2 port and see if any DTCs are logged. You can try the self calibration, by turning the fan selection to full off and then moving to the auto setting, to see if it resets/calibrates the blend door positions. Some of the newer models require the dealer to perform a Actuator Calibration function in order to reset/calibrate the actuators.
.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ChargerPursuit
#9 · (Edited)
"turning the fan selection to full off"? As in fan off, not full, then off?

As far as "auto setting" I guess I can't do that because I have a 2010 Police car with the basic a/c, so no dual zone, no auto setting.

Anyone advise if another way to calibrate, and what DTC's is referring to? I don't have my own scan tool and therefore am not familiar with all the acronyms.

Thanks.
 
#10 ·
Ddaddy: Those pics you posted from Service Manual. What manual is that? Is that a Factory Service Manual? CD, or book, and where do I get one? Thanks.
 
#11 ·
Can someone really dummy down the steps for me on resetting/recalibrating blend doors/actuators for a SINGLE ZONE climate control (2010 Charger Police)? Or, do I just need to take apart lower dash and replace part?

Thank you!
 
#15 ·
I've replaced the "mode door actuator" on my 06, single zone, beneath the drivers side and it is the rear of the two and a little tough to get to.

I had my wife do it as she is smaller and could get in the spot easier than me. LOL..

Did not need to recalibrate just swapping them out.

Griz
 
#18 ·
Thanks for added information. I still have my Jotto Desk console out and just replaced the HVAC controls with new one because lights were all burned out. Just been too busy to start pulling panels but want to get to it soon! I'm pretty skinny so hopefully this is one time being skinny is a good thing :)
 
#16 ·
Did not need to recalibrate just swapping them out.
The Actuator Calibration function will either run automatically or it can be actuated manually


The automatic calibration occurs in two ways:
1. 10 minutes after turning the ignition off after a specified number of ignition cycles
2. Turning the ignition on after reconnecting the battery
Once actuated, the calibration function will run to completion even if the ignition is turned off. The entire process takes approximately 90 seconds. Upon completion, all air-door actuators should return to the position that the system is currently requesting.


To run the Actuator Calibration manually, you're in luck if you have the MTC (manual temp control) versus the ATC (automatic temp control). With the ATC you need the dealership to perform the Actuator Calibration using their diagnostic system. With the MTC you can perform the procedure yourself:
1. Turn the ignition to the On/Run position (but don't start the car)
2. Turn the blower motor control to the Off position.
3. Press the rear-defroster button down for five seconds and release it.
.
 
#19 ·
I tried the recalibration method twice, but unfortunately no-go. It was simple enough to try. So I'm hopefully off Monday (if the phone doesn't ring AGAIN), and will be working on removing old blend door actuator.
 
#21 ·
All the actuators for the Dodge Charger (e.g. blend door, mode door, recirculation door) are interchangeable ... they use the same part number. For a 2010 the actuator Mopar OE PN is 68299450AA. They are not that expensive from the dealership so you can purchase OE.
.


.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ChargerPursuit
#22 · (Edited)
It states "most vehicles use more than one". You think that means interchangeable, and not that most vehicles have more than one installed? I see. I was reading it with a different meaning, lol. Thanks.
 
#24 ·
I ordered one online to replace the one I think is bad in mine. If when I am in there and decide at the time to replace more, I run to the dealership and hope they have one in stock. Headed out there right now to remove panels and the old one. Thanks for all the help. Feel bad I kind of hijacked this thread. Hope it was all relevant enough to o/p's issues.
 
#25 ·
I have the silencer panel off. Looking with a bright flashlight, I see the two actuators way over by the side of the center console. Can these actually be replaced without removing center console??? Even with my skinny arms??? I guess so because the instructions say nothing about removing center stack, and others have done it, but wow, they are waaayyyy back there!
 
#27 · (Edited)
I definitely read that and was thinking I was ok with my skinny arms. Granted, I only looked for a minute or two so far, but it looks more than tight. It looks out of sight and blocked out but other stuff, and too far away. I have to take another look. Thanks for the tips!

2nd look: I feel like I'm going to have to be looking up at it. Sure would be easier with driver's seat out and laying down with my legs toward the back seat. I am not sure how I'm going to do this. I'm not super tall at 5'10", but I have to figure out a way to have my head down on floorboard looking up at the underside of dash.
 
#28 ·
PLEASE, someone who has replaced these on their own, tell me how you positioned your body. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to contort myself to get to the screws. I'm 5'10, 140.
 
#29 · (Edited)
I'm sorry to keep dragging this on. I squeezed under there again today with a bright flashlight, and it looks to me the screws are the plastic thumb screws? Like maybe I need needle nose pliers to remove them? The head is black, and looks to be plastic and not anything I can use a screwdriver on. I don't know if all the 05-10 LX's used the same fasteners for these, but the new actuator did not come with new fasteners and I don't want to destroy anything. My next step (hopefully someone here knows though) will be to parts department at dealership to see if they have listing for the screws/fasteners so I can see the head. The next time I have to do this, it'll be so much quicker! Thanks.
 
#30 ·
Called the dealership. The screws/fasteners are not listed as separate part :( and come as part of the entire HVAC box, which costs hundreds of dollars. Also, the diagram does not show the type of head on the screw. I'm stuck.
 
#31 ·
This guy replaced his driver side actuator by removing the dash bezel. You don't need to do this to replace the actuator but it helps with the video to show the actuator replacement. Maybe this will help?



.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top