Problem with Replacing blend door actuator on 98 Explorer

[Edgar94xlt]

The blend door actuator on a 98 Explorer EB with EATC has stripped gears. I got a replacement Dorman 604-201 which doesn't operate when hooked up. The old actuator (Ford F87-19R694-AB) moves with the EATC self test, but the new one doesn't (gives 024 code). Rockauto sent a 2nd unit and it doesn't operate either. I contacted Dorman and they swapped a new unit (604-201) with 1 from Rockauto. The one from Dorman direct behaves the same as the ones from Rockauto. Since the old, broke actuator rotates (even with the stripped gear) anyone got any suggestions?

Mike

 

[swetrid]

I have never had an aftermarket one work properly. Do yourself a favor and buy a ford one and make sure the blend door itself is not broken.

 

[Edgar94xlt]

I have never had an aftermarket one work properly. Do yourself a favor and buy a ford one and make sure the blend door itself is not broken.

The blend door itself is fine. I took out the post from one of these and put it in the top. I'm going to wire it to close off the heater core until I can get one of them to work.

Mike

 

[TOMANDPAT]

Try this...............Run the self diagnostic test, then hit "Defrost" It clears the codes and usually gets the actuator working again. Worked for me

Tom

 

[Edgar94xlt]

Try this...............Run the self diagnostic test, then hit "Defrost" It clears the codes and usually gets the actuator working again. Worked for me

Tom

Been doing that whenever I run the test. I've also pulled fuse #10 and #36 for 2 of the new ones.

Mike

 

[TOMANDPAT]

You might be getting the wrong unit. The Dorman 604-200 and 604-201 look identical but are not interchangeable. I can't remember which one is for EATC and which is for manual climate control, but the electronics for the two are different. If you've got EATC and are trying to use the wrong actuator, you're beating your head against the wall. The parts guys at most Ford dealerships don't really know the difference,either.

Tom

 

[Edgar94xlt]

You might be getting the wrong unit. The Dorman 604-200 and 604-201 look identical but are not interchangeable. I can't remember which one is for EATC and which is for manual climate control, but the electronics for the two are different. If you've got EATC and are trying to use the wrong actuator, you're beating your head against the wall. The parts guys at most Ford dealerships don't really know the difference,either.

Tom

The 604-201 is for the EATC. If these are 604-202 in 201 boxes from 3 separate lots-which seems unlikely. Do you know how to check them?

Mike

 

[BurnTheLight88]

I'm halfway through this repair (yes I know this an old post) and was about to order the same part from RockAuto...in my opinion the 604202 looks like the one that I pulled off my car even though RockAuto states that it is for manual AC and mine is Auto.

Did you ever get this mess figured out, or did you buy the Ford part in the end?

 

[Turdle]

Try this...............Run the self diagnostic test, then hit "Defrost" It clears the codes and usually gets the actuator working again. Worked for me

Tom

Explain this please? Where do I find the diagnostic test procedure?

Also, could someone tell me how to check the eatc unit for signals to the actuator motor?

The 604-201 is for the EATC. If these are 604-202 in 201 boxes from 3 separate lots-which seems unlikely. Do you know how to check them?

Mike

Inside the assembly ( for eatc) is a potentiometer of sorts with some contacts on the sector gear. You have to dis assemble the unit to get to the sector gear. Under it are about 7 metal sliding probes which contact the printed potentiometer on the PCB. I assume this is a position sensor.

 

[SoNic67]

I have just pulled the actuator from my Automatic A/C. It looks like the Dorman 604-202. 604-201 is also listed as compatible, so I did get both to return the one that is not working.
I did had in my hand the 604-204 and that one is definitevly for the manual A/C controls.

LE: Got the parts.
604-201 is for Automatic Control, actuator mounted with push-pins on a plate that is mounted with screws.
604-202 is for Automatic Control, actuator mounted with screws only.

Unfortuatelly they don't work, even after performing EATC reset. Codes 024 and 025

 

[SoNic67]

So... nobody knows what is the meaning of error codes 024, 025 and 052?

 

[lmlahaye]

I am in the process of replacing the acuator motor, I am at the point of do I cut the plastic framing, or take the time to remove the rest of the dash. I have everything stripped off, ie. radio, under the steering wheel covers, the speedometer cover, console, and various other covers. Need to know what next. I want to remove the frame that spans from the drivers side to the passenger side to access the acuator motor easily, don't really want to cut even though it is easier.

Please help.

 

[SoNic67]

I have replaced the actuator with an original Ford one - the Dorman ones did not match my original and did not work.
I have the model with three bolts - the rear one it was painfull to get out - I had to cut a cheap 8mm "S" wrench in order to be able to remove it.
The replacement part came with the extra (improved) plate with click-in-place holders - I had to remove it before installation in my system.
List of compatibilities with third party actuators. It shows that the Dorman ones actually are not compatible with my 1998-2001 EATC system (regardless what Dorman say on their site).

 

[Turdle]

A 1/4" craftsman ratchet with a 8 mm socket. hold it in place with left fingers-one click at a time with the right fingers and it will come all the way out. it will get loose enough to turn the socket with finger force.

one cruel screw.

 

[SoNic67]

My 1/4" ratchet was a tad too long. Or the socket was too high? I was hitting the top part (airbag?), could not have it completelly level to turn.
I didn't put it back, there is no force required to move that door - I was moving it with one finger/thumb.

 

[albi1cnobi1]

To enter diagnostic mode Push and hold the OFF button, and while still holding the OFF button press the FLOOR button. After pushing the FLOOR button release both and push the AUTOMATIC button. You should see a little line "rotating" in the center of the screen. When that's done it will flash numbers. Write them down because they only flash for a moment.
022,024 - blend door actuator shorted
025 - blend door not responding properly
030 - cabin temp sensor shorted
031 - cabin temp sensor not connected or failed
040,042 - ambient temp sensor shorted
041,043 - ambient temp sensor not connected or failed
050,052 - sun load sensor shorted
051,053 - sun load sensor not connected or failed
115,125 - bad/no data from vehicle network

Pressing the DEFROST button exits diagnostic mode.

The above info was pulled from "THE EXPLORER ELECTRONIC AUTOMATIC TEMPERATURE CONTROL (EATC) MOD" on cardomain.com.
Unfortunately I don't know who the author is so I hope this is o.k. with the admins.

 

[Edgar94xlt]

I pulled a drive shaft out of a Dorman unit, I put it in the blend door and wired it so the heat was off for the summer. I got an actuator from a junkyard, saw the gears were good. Swapped the middle 2 gears from the junkyard unit to my EATC unit, the self test showed no problems. The repaired unit is now working and I hope to have heat and A/c defrost in the mornings.

You've got to be sure your problem is just stripped gears. With the actuator removed, plug it in and run the self test. Watch the drive shaft and if it is working or trying to work the motor and controls are intact and the gears are stripped.

The drive systems in the Dorman units are not the same and not interchangeable with the Ford units.

Do not plug a manual actuator unit into an EATC harness or vice-versa. I've read on this site of some electrical damage one way or another.

The drive systems on the 2 Ford units are the same. My new gears come out of a manual actuator and my EATC is now functional.

I'm halfway through this repair (yes I know this an old post) and was about to order the same part from RockAuto...in my opinion the 604202 looks like the one that I pulled off my car even though RockAuto states that it is for manual AC and mine is Auto.

Did you ever get this mess figured out, or did you buy the Ford part in the end?

 

[haggai]

Strongly recommend going with the Ford Motorcraft part. It was worth the extra $15 to know I had the right part. Either the F87Z-19E616-AA or F87H-19E616-AB part seem to work. If the part comes with the mounting bracket, you will need to take the bracket off to fit the mounting points on the plenum area of a 98-01 Explo.

BTW, one test is to run the diagnostic check mentioned above and listen for the sound of the actuator motor during the test. The test runs the door from the fully open position to the fully closed position, and then back again. If you cannot hear the actuator motor turning while the self-test is in progress, there is a good chance the actuator is toast. The actuator is probably still good if you can hear the actuator motor moving the blend door during self test.

 

[bgk]

I know this is an old thread but just went through a lot of trouble replacing my blend door actuator and wanted to help others who might be in this boat -- it is mentioned in many posts but the SINGLE MOST important thing to know up front in my case: know which type of HVAC system you have (EATC/automatic has the digital screen with buttons for temp settings; Manual just has knobs you turn manually) and then ENSURE the actuator you buy matches that type of system. Duh! It's not super easy to clarify, so take the time to ensure it's a match. In my case both types showed up as a perfect MATCH for my vehicle on the auto parts site, and not knowing any better I bought the cheapest one (which it turns out was for manual, which I do not have). Both types of actuators look exactly the same and even have the same plug configuration so you'll hook it up and think it's a perfect match, but unless you get the right one it will not work! You'll check fuses and waste time thinking you've got a short somewhere and read a thousand threads when all you had to do was buy the right type! For my 99 Eddie Bauer, the Dorman 604-201 worked first try once I knew the difference (it's EATC). The 604-202 Did not work (it's manual -- and unfortunately that's what I bough first). To add to the confusion, the 604-201 had an extra plastic base fitting attached to the unit, so online and in person it looks totally wrong, but that base fitting just pops off and viola it's perfect! OK, I am sorry for the length and now I will shut up and enjoy the heat. p.s. to do the diagnostic, it's a QUICK press of OFF+FLOOR, the AUTOMATIC (do not hold them down).

 

[Steeda04SVT]

I know this is an old thread but just went through a lot of trouble replacing my blend door actuator and wanted to help others who might be in this boat -- it is mentioned in many posts but the SINGLE MOST important thing to know up front in my case: know which type of HVAC system you have (EATC/automatic has the digital screen with buttons for temp settings; Manual just has knobs you turn manually) and then ENSURE the actuator you buy matches that type of system. Duh! It's not super easy to clarify, so take the time to ensure it's a match. In my case both types showed up as a perfect MATCH for my vehicle on the auto parts site, and not knowing any better I bought the cheapest one (which it turns out was for manual, which I do not have). Both types of actuators look exactly the same and even have the same plug configuration so you'll hook it up and think it's a perfect match, but unless you get the right one it will not work! You'll check fuses and waste time thinking you've got a short somewhere and read a thousand threads when all you had to do was buy the right type! For my 99 Eddie Bauer, the Dorman 604-201 worked first try once I knew the difference (it's EATC). The 604-202 Did not work (it's manual -- and unfortunately that's what I bough first). To add to the confusion, the 604-201 had an extra plastic base fitting attached to the unit, so online and in person it looks totally wrong, but that base fitting just pops off and viola it's perfect! OK, I am sorry for the length and now I will shut up and enjoy the heat. p.s. to do the diagnostic, it's a QUICK press of OFF+FLOOR, the AUTOMATIC (do not hold them down).

Having an issue, went to go use heat and seen my blend door actuator is actually gone. So gonna try ordering the 604-201 and hope it works. Still going to have to go the local pick n pull to get the screws for it as mine are gone as well. Hoping to get this fixed soon before winter as I have the EATC as well in my 98 EB 5.0.