Blend Door Actuator Adjustment?

[jax1dad]

I replaced the blend door actuator in a 2005 Explorer (fortunately w/o tearing the dash apart) and I still cannot get cold air. I had the A/C recharged immediately after the installation and thought this was the problem because it was almost empty. Unfortunately, no luck.

A dealer service tech said because I turned the ignition to the ON position - initially to see if new motor was operational - w/o the shaft connected, I would have to order another one because it comes pre-calibrated. I find this hard to believe about having to order another one. I unplugged the battery with the hope this would reset the computer and get everyone on the same page but still no luck. The only difference from the initial problem seems to be there is an incredible amount of heat now available. This may, however, be helped by the fact it has been 90 degrees outside.

The initial problem was the normal clicking sound and the original actuator did have the stripped gears that so many posts have mentioned.

Does anyone know if there is an actual calibration step necessary or if there is another area I can look? Thanks in advance.

 

[Exproblems]

I replaced the blend door actuator in a 2005 Explorer (fortunately w/o tearing the dash apart) and I still cannot get cold air. I had the A/C recharged immediately after the installation and thought this was the problem because it was almost empty. Unfortunately, no luck.

A dealer service tech said because I turned the ignition to the ON position - initially to see if new motor was operational - w/o the shaft connected, I would have to order another one because it comes pre-calibrated. I find this hard to believe about having to order another one. .

Before you installed the new actuator, what kind of air temp were you getting from the system, cold or hot? When these actuators go bad, they usually fail to the cold side of the system, meaning you get cold air but no heat. This means the blend door itself is sitting on the cold side of the system. When you go to test the new actuator prior to connecting it to the blend door box, you need to make sure the temp control knob is set to the coldest setting and when you go to test the new actuator, you then turn the temp control to hot, see the actuator arm rotate like it should, then re-set the temp control knob back to the coldest setting and leave it there on coldest, see the actuator arm rotate once more back to it's original out of the box position, which should be the cold position. Now it can be connected to the blend door box. I'm thinking you may have failed to rotate the new actuator arm back to it's original out of the box position prior to connecting it to the blend door box or you had the temp control knob set to the hot temp side when you tested it. The actuator arm is in the wrong position to turn the temp blend door in accordance to the temp control knob setting. Do you follow me? If you failed to reset the actuator arm back to it''s orginal out of the box position during testing, you may need to disconnect the new actuator from the blend door box and energize the ignition while it is out, and rotate the actuator arm by turning the temp control knob back to the other position and leave it there and re-install it and see what happens. One other thing you could have going on is a bad blend door itself, meaning the hinges that this blend door flip back and forth on are broken, and the door won't rotate either way. Usually it is just the actuators that go bad. On the calibration thing from the mechanic, don't know for sure, but it sounds bogus to me. May just need to re-install the new actuator/arm in the correct position. Hope this helps!

 

[jax1dad]

I had originally set the temp to the coldest setting because most of the write-ups always allude to this. I initially connected the motor - only electrically - and turned the control to hot to see if the arm turned. It did turn. I then turned it back to cold and there was no movement. I then connected it physically to see if it made a difference and had no control.

I then removed the cover of the motor and, after placing the large gear in a mid position, turn the ignition on to see which way the motor turned when the control was set to hot and cold. Once determined - let's say the gear turns counterclockwise for cold - I placed the large gear all the way to the side this counterclockwise movement would position it, set the temp to cold, disconnected and reconnected the battery, reinstalled the motor, but now get only hot air. It does seem there is now hot air when initially there was only a cool setting when vent setting was used. As mentioned in the original post, I don't know if the A/C worked because it needed charging and was pretty much empty.

 

[BigRondo]

Welcome aboard!!

From my write up on changing the BDA:

7. Install New Blend Door Actuator

7.a. Connect actuator

7.b. Turn ignition key to run position

7.c. Rotate temp selector from cold to hot to verify operation of actuator – shaft should be moving

7.d. Rotate temp from hot to cold setting – shaft should be moving – leave temp set to cold

7.e. Wait for shaft to stop moving! Then turn ignition key to off and remove key - LEAVE TEMP SET TO COLD

I don't know of any calibration requirements.

 

[Exproblems]

I had originally set the temp to the coldest setting because most of the write-ups always allude to this. I initially connected the motor - only electrically - and turned the control to hot to see if the arm turned. It did turn. I then turned it back to cold and there was no movement. I then connected it physically to see if it made a difference and had no control.

I then removed the cover of the motor and, after placing the large gear in a mid position, turn the ignition on to see which way the motor turned when the control was set to hot and cold. Once determined - let's say the gear turns counterclockwise for cold - I placed the large gear all the way to the side this counterclockwise movement would position it, set the temp to cold, disconnected and reconnected the battery, reinstalled the motor, but now get only hot air. It does seem there is now hot air when initially there was only a cool setting when vent setting was used. As mentioned in the original post, I don't know if the A/C worked because it needed charging and was pretty much empty.

When you tested the new actuator plugged into the wiring harness while holding it in your hand and went to switch the actuator back to the cold setting, the arm should have returned to the cold position. Why it didn't, I don't know. You may have gotten a faulty new actuator? One thing I know is, parts stores or dealerships generally won't allow you to return electronic parts for an exchange or refund. Once you buy it, you own it. I've had many places tell me that over the years. I also wouldn't have opened up the new actuator housing and moved the gears by hand. Don't know why you did that. You are probably looking at starting over by buying another new actuator and follow "BigRondo's" Blend Door Actuator R&R directions to the letter. BTW, from your original post, I knew you had mentioned the AC issue you had, but I when I made reference to the "cold side" of the system in regards to the blend door actuator, I was referring to the "outside cold air" coming thru the vents, not whether your AC was sending cold air to the dash.

One other thing, where did you buy the new actuator from, a parts store or a Ford dealership? It is recommended to buy a Ford replacement part and make sure you use your vehicle VIN number when ordering the new actuator, using your VIN ensures you get the exact part for your vehicle. Good luck!

 

[jax1dad]

I appreciate everyone's input. I actually printed out the above instructions in its entirety prior to installing the new actuator. I hope I can give a rundown of all the asked questions.

I did buy the part from a Ford dealership.

When I held the actuator in hand and turned the setting from cold to hot, the shaft did move. When I returned to the cold position, the shaft did not return to the original position. This is when I felt there would be a problem, which there was. I opened up the new actuator after talking to the dealership and them telling me that I was stuck, as I mentioned above. I then put the non-stripped gear of the new actuator inside the old motor with the hope the electronics were good and now the gears were also good. Same problem - moved from cold to hot but did not return to original position.

I was aware turning to the cold position did not involve the A/C but was unsure if movement to cold position was working because outside air was about 98 when I was doing the job so I wasn't sure if air temperature difference would be easily felt.

It was the dealer who said if I turned on the ignition without the motor being completely installed that there would be a problem. His term was that they came pre-programmed and any such action would lead to having to buy a new one. It just seems to be unlikely the electronics lose their setting without being able to be fix the issue unless a new part is purchased.

Thanks again for all the responses.

 

[Exproblems]

.


It was the dealer who said if I turned on the ignition without the motor being completely installed that there would be a problem. His term was that they came pre-programmed and any such action would lead to having to buy a new one. It just seems to be unlikely the electronics lose their setting without being able to be fix the issue unless a new part is purchased.

.

Lets say this guy at the dealership is right and by operating the new actuator while it's disconnected from the blend door box caused the actuator motor or gears to "over spin" and lose their pre-programmed operating range. That doesn't explain why the problem you are having after following the BDA repair instructions posted in this forum hasn't happened to anyone else in here that has done this same repair, following the same instructions. You may have some other type of problem going on with your temp controls, possibly in the temp control knob itself, I don't know. But since this problem hasn't happened to anyone else that I know of in here, I tend to think this dealership parts guy is lying to you on the pre-programmed nature of these actuators. Maybe when you told him you him you energized the new actuator and turned the temp control knob to see the actuator arm move, he saw an opportunity to sell you another part and blame you for why the new actuator he/they sold you doesn't work now? Did you wind up buying another actuator or did you just say the hell with it for now? Just curious.

 

[Voodoo]

Oldie but goodie...

I realize this is an old thread but I wanted to respond since this is the only other one I could find that had almost the exact same issues as mine. I replaced the blend door actuator on my 2006 explorer and it does not seem to go "all the way" to the cold position. I believe this is because it actually failed in the cold position and we had a local shop manually move it to the hot position this past winter. We then took it back when the temps started to rise and they couldn't seem to move it back to cold fully. I broke down, did my homework, ordered and replaced the part myself.

I know it was the actuator because I took the old one apart and found broken teeth on the smallest gear. The new one rotates when connected, etc. so my plan is to take the new one back out and see if I can tell what position the actual blend door is in. I don't know what the inner workings of this mechanism look like exactly but I feel that if I can get it "all the way" to the cold side I can re-insert the actuator and be home free. I will post my results in the event that anyone else is having, or has had, this issue.