Blend Door Step Motors
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If you don’t find a step motor, I recall the common part to fail was a resistor which can be easily replaced.
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do you have further about this resistor? any link?
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I went through this myself, Just check your VIN/Chassis number (Up to --43010216 is the older style motor)
From 43010217-- is the newer motor, that went all the way through 2009....part number # 5048988 (This happened mid year MY2004)
they changed the armature that connects (male female) the motor to/with the blend door over the years after the MY2004 split..... but they should all work. Someone hopefully will correct me if I am wrong.
You can get used for $60 bucks... New seems to be over 200.
I hope this helps.... I think I understand your concern about the very specific 2004 motor.... the motor didnt change after 2004 through 2009, but the armature did slightly.... again it should fit...
From 43010217-- is the newer motor, that went all the way through 2009....part number # 5048988 (This happened mid year MY2004)
they changed the armature that connects (male female) the motor to/with the blend door over the years after the MY2004 split..... but they should all work. Someone hopefully will correct me if I am wrong.
You can get used for $60 bucks... New seems to be over 200.
I hope this helps.... I think I understand your concern about the very specific 2004 motor.... the motor didnt change after 2004 through 2009, but the armature did slightly.... again it should fit...
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48 Posts
Thanks a lot for the info. I know when I took the motors off to inspect I was surprised to see that the part that protrudes into the arm is plastic. I've only seen metal ones online, never plastic.
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Vin is showing 43014084, so that's the older model? Looks like manufacturing date is 11/03
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Was told part number 5172580 is the part number for both sides
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103 Posts
part number #5172580 is "up to VIN# 43010216"
if your chassis # = 43014084 (which means "newer")
then that is NOT the stepper motor for your car.
use part number # 5048988
Have you actually verified the motor is bad? often its just the connection to the blend door arm.
(though with the mid year split the confusion can get crazier see this post about technical bulletin for the mid year 2004 split in design for bled door and stepper motor
but yes, I hear you though about the confusion:
this may help.
1: US model year 2004's are almost all "manufacture in 2003"
all three of my SAABs have a manufacture date on vin sticker that is one year prior to the "model year" (there may be some MY years that have a manufacture date of the same year...but it is not uncommon to have the manufacture year be the year prior to the MY.
my 96 9000 manufactured in late 1995
2004 9-5 manufactured in sept 2003
my 2006 9-3 manufactured in 2005.
so trust the vin split. your VIN means you should use the newer stepper motor, with the plastic arm. Who told you the oder part number? I reckon i can always be wrong
2: I know, i know, ALL the pics online about saab 9-5 stepper motors show the older model with the metal armature....
and it can be very confusing when you open up your mid year 2004 and find a different plastic armature (even different colors! )
by the bye that stepper motor was also used on the 9000 and a few alfa romeos....
3: this is also compounded because most stepper motor issues are 1999-2004 those of us with the newer half year split 2004's also experience blend door issues but have a different motor and armature set up. Generally 2005-2009 do not have the same frequency of blend door issues as they tweaked the design again (see link above to post about that technical bulletin to upgrade the mid year 2004 motors)
i hope im helping... you can verify by looking at the motor you have in car currently...but with your vin... id bet my butt you need the newer part number,
good luck!
and yes the same motor for both sides.... whether its' the older motor or the newer plastic motor.
if your chassis # = 43014084 (which means "newer")
then that is NOT the stepper motor for your car.
use part number # 5048988
Have you actually verified the motor is bad? often its just the connection to the blend door arm.
(though with the mid year split the confusion can get crazier see this post about technical bulletin for the mid year 2004 split in design for bled door and stepper motor
but yes, I hear you though about the confusion:
this may help.
1: US model year 2004's are almost all "manufacture in 2003"
all three of my SAABs have a manufacture date on vin sticker that is one year prior to the "model year" (there may be some MY years that have a manufacture date of the same year...but it is not uncommon to have the manufacture year be the year prior to the MY.
my 96 9000 manufactured in late 1995
2004 9-5 manufactured in sept 2003
my 2006 9-3 manufactured in 2005.
so trust the vin split. your VIN means you should use the newer stepper motor, with the plastic arm. Who told you the oder part number? I reckon i can always be wrong
2: I know, i know, ALL the pics online about saab 9-5 stepper motors show the older model with the metal armature....
and it can be very confusing when you open up your mid year 2004 and find a different plastic armature (even different colors! )
by the bye that stepper motor was also used on the 9000 and a few alfa romeos....
3: this is also compounded because most stepper motor issues are 1999-2004 those of us with the newer half year split 2004's also experience blend door issues but have a different motor and armature set up. Generally 2005-2009 do not have the same frequency of blend door issues as they tweaked the design again (see link above to post about that technical bulletin to upgrade the mid year 2004 motors)
i hope im helping... you can verify by looking at the motor you have in car currently...but with your vin... id bet my butt you need the newer part number,
good luck!
and yes the same motor for both sides.... whether its' the older motor or the newer plastic motor.
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I brought my 9-5 to my mechanic who put his tech 2 on it. He was able to "reset" the steppers and run the heat correctly but once the car was turned off and on, the motors wouldn't engage again. Manifested with no heat on driver's side and only heat on passenger side while set to "HI". Once brought down to 82, starts blowing cool.
Also here are the codes the tech2 threw,
1) B-2495 Heater Flap Motor Left
2) B-2295 Heater Flap Motor Right
3) B-2405 Air Distribution Motor Flap
I know that's 3 motors. Might as well replace all 3? What do you think?
I did an inspection of the passenger side and determined everything looked fine. I looked at the driver side and said, no way. Of course I'll move the obstructions when I have the proper motor in hand.
And thanks for all your thorough answers. You are very helpful, especially having the right part numbers!
Also here are the codes the tech2 threw,
1) B-2495 Heater Flap Motor Left
2) B-2295 Heater Flap Motor Right
3) B-2405 Air Distribution Motor Flap
I know that's 3 motors. Might as well replace all 3? What do you think?
I did an inspection of the passenger side and determined everything looked fine. I looked at the driver side and said, no way. Of course I'll move the obstructions when I have the proper motor in hand.
And thanks for all your thorough answers. You are very helpful, especially having the right part numbers!
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103 Posts
Driver side is not friendly for access I have found removing a bar that sort of acts as a stop to the brake pedal is worth the effort to clear more space. And I invested in something like this
Lisle-55250-Carburetor-Adjusting-tool or some other similar brand (just make sure its really flexible. some flexible screwdrivers dont flex enough)
was worth its weight in gold for this job.
I also had those exact codes (though not the B2405)
1) B-2495 Heater Flap Motor Left
2) B-2295 Heater Flap Motor Right
3) B-2405 Air Distribution Motor Flap
from my Tech2,
...it does not automatically mean new/replace stepper motors...
in fact i think its more often the motor armature and blend door collar are cracked and not functioning properly, but the motor is still fine.... its worth verifying as you can save significant money....replacing the motor may leave the cracked collar and armature unresolved... and issue will remain.
I dont want to assume wether you have performed or mechanic performed this, but you can run a recalibration program on the ACC pressing AUTO and OFF (i believe) and it will run through and check your system and display fault codes in numbers 1-22. There's plenty of info here about what those codes mean... But a good way to avoid the tech 2 if you dont have one.
the
the mid year 2004's split is just confusing...
i hope you have good luck with it going your way during repair...
Lisle-55250-Carburetor-Adjusting-tool or some other similar brand (just make sure its really flexible. some flexible screwdrivers dont flex enough)
was worth its weight in gold for this job.
I also had those exact codes (though not the B2405)
1) B-2495 Heater Flap Motor Left
2) B-2295 Heater Flap Motor Right
3) B-2405 Air Distribution Motor Flap
from my Tech2,
...it does not automatically mean new/replace stepper motors...
in fact i think its more often the motor armature and blend door collar are cracked and not functioning properly, but the motor is still fine.... its worth verifying as you can save significant money....replacing the motor may leave the cracked collar and armature unresolved... and issue will remain.
I dont want to assume wether you have performed or mechanic performed this, but you can run a recalibration program on the ACC pressing AUTO and OFF (i believe) and it will run through and check your system and display fault codes in numbers 1-22. There's plenty of info here about what those codes mean... But a good way to avoid the tech 2 if you dont have one.
the
the mid year 2004's split is just confusing...
i hope you have good luck with it going your way during repair...
The Tech II is able to command the blend door to be anywhere from fully closed to fully open. Did the mechanic try that?
If the blend door moves correctly when commanded by the Tech II, I don't see that it's a blend door motor problem. Or maybe not a blend door motor problem.
The Tech II can also show what the ACC senses as the interior, exterior, and air blend temperatures, and what it's trying to do with the blend doors and distribution.
I think it's very odd that all three motors would go bad together. It's possible that the ACC is confused or has a problem with its power outputs to the stepper motors. Do you or the mechanic have a spare ACC to pop in and see what happens?
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48 Posts
You make good points. I did see a slight crack in the collar. Hmmm.
I did the Auto Off recalibration, codes 8 and 11, blend door issue. Tried it with a different ACC unit too, same codes.
I know of a Saab dismantler near me so I'm going to take a chance, order the parts and see what happens. I'll post my follow-up. Then, I'm probably going to go ahead and sell the car. It's a beautiful drive, comfortable but I would like something with better gas mileage. Of course, I could always change my mind. Thanks again for all your help.
It's a lot easier to get at the passenger side blend door motor than for the driver side. Since apparently all three are troublesome, if you get to the point of replacing motors, start with that one, replace, and see if that fixes the passenger side.
I spent a bunch of time getting at the driver's side blend door motor on my 2003 because as everyone says "the blend door motors fail!". Although the ACC had no codes. Turns out that the A/C system was simply low on charge. Fortunately my back recovered in a week or two. I hope never to actually have to go in there (but I do have spare motors in case).
I spent a bunch of time getting at the driver's side blend door motor on my 2003 because as everyone says "the blend door motors fail!". Although the ACC had no codes. Turns out that the A/C system was simply low on charge. Fortunately my back recovered in a week or two. I hope never to actually have to go in there (but I do have spare motors in case).
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103 Posts
ive been there too with just a low charge issue that showed very similar to blend door issues...
Do you have a Tech II? Have you reassembled the passenger side?
If the motor is still visible, you could try changing the temp settings and see what the motor does.
No, state of A/C charge won't show up as blend door errors in ACC anyway. And it manifests itself as insufficient cooling on the driver's side in hot weather.
If the motor is still visible, you could try changing the temp settings and see what the motor does.
No, state of A/C charge won't show up as blend door errors in ACC anyway. And it manifests itself as insufficient cooling on the driver's side in hot weather.
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103 Posts
I second EdT again here:
and note*** I have an acc that wont clear the 08, 11 codes, nor the tech 2 codes when i read the body codes with that, but the stepper motors and blend door arms are fine and work. verified by: tech 2 readings; seeing the motor engaging the flaps and watching; my saab indy mechanic (who says he doesnt have the foggiest idea why the codes keep showing even though everything works)
on that car it drove me nuts getting the codes, and going under the footwells 5 or six times to look at everything scratch my head and wonder....
after three seasons i finally let it go and trust the tech 2 readings, my own vision and my mechanic, that problem is resolved, even if the codes remain.... weird. (i have a theory (has to do with the wierd mid year armature designs) but no need to muddle this post up more with describing it)
not sure if you have tested the system for functionality or just did the acc reset.... if you haven't tested the functionality yet, give it a try... it may have been resolved? (and just have a wonky acc unit like mine that will keep throwing the codes)
maybe i am more forgiving with all this as my 9000 goes through like 2-3 acc units a year (25 year old electronics) (some work in winter but not summer, and some in summer but not winter etc....so i swap them out accordingly...)
and note*** I have an acc that wont clear the 08, 11 codes, nor the tech 2 codes when i read the body codes with that, but the stepper motors and blend door arms are fine and work. verified by: tech 2 readings; seeing the motor engaging the flaps and watching; my saab indy mechanic (who says he doesnt have the foggiest idea why the codes keep showing even though everything works)
on that car it drove me nuts getting the codes, and going under the footwells 5 or six times to look at everything scratch my head and wonder....
after three seasons i finally let it go and trust the tech 2 readings, my own vision and my mechanic, that problem is resolved, even if the codes remain.... weird. (i have a theory (has to do with the wierd mid year armature designs) but no need to muddle this post up more with describing it)
not sure if you have tested the system for functionality or just did the acc reset.... if you haven't tested the functionality yet, give it a try... it may have been resolved? (and just have a wonky acc unit like mine that will keep throwing the codes)
maybe i am more forgiving with all this as my 9000 goes through like 2-3 acc units a year (25 year old electronics) (some work in winter but not summer, and some in summer but not winter etc....so i swap them out accordingly...)
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