heater box inner workings question

6030 Views 15 Replies 6 Participants Last post by 9-5r, Jan 11, 2015

deeph8

Discussion Starter · Nov 12, 2014

I am trying to get heat on the left side of my 2000 Gary Fisher and am puzzled by the inner workings of the heater box (error code 1-8). I removed the stepper motor and snorkel and have tried to manually move the blend door flap by reaching around inside to the inner part of the shaft. I can't really get it to move and am not sure of which direction to turn it anyway. Has anyone here taken apart a heater box to see how the innards work? As you can see on the attached picture, the yellow inner shaft appears to be inside of a larger wheel. I tried turning the larger wheel and it appears to change the direction of the airflow (floor vent to upper vent/defrost). Is this correct? Is there any way to manually move the blend door (which I now assume is inside of the heater box assembly)? I have ordered a blend door shaft repair kit from eeuro but am doubtful that will fix the problem. I have also scanned the web to try to find a diagram of the inside of the heater box but have not found a good one yet.

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unclemiltie

· #2 · Nov 12, 2014

The eeuro site where you find the repair kit has an installation document that has a lot of photos of the heater box taken out of the car so that you can see what is going on inside.

Dielectricgrease

· #3 · Nov 12, 2014

If I remember correctly, if you remove the plastic piece that diverts air to the floor, you can manually turn the blend door. The drum which diverts air flow from defrost/vents/floor is controlled by the second stepper motor on the right side- it's the one without the "R" on the housing.

You might spray Teflon dry-lube into the area and see if that might free the blend door. Don't force it from the shaft because if the shaft fails inside the box where it engages the blend door you could be out of luck to the tune of $600 and many hours of standing on your head.

deeph8

Discussion Starter · #4 · Nov 12, 2014

unclemiltie said:
The eeuro site where you find the repair kit has an installation document that has a lot of photos of the heater box taken out of the car so that you can see what is going on inside.

I have looked at that document many times. My problem is I can't tell which part is the blend door and which way it rotates. My guess is that the moving door is the part that I have highlighted below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0yX2OOZnAi0WUp5UmpaemtvQ3VpbV9qQUNEUDhWUUlHd3dN/view?usp=sharing

unclemiltie

· #5 · Nov 12, 2014

yes, that is the blend door, that plastic thing. I don't know which direction it moves. I'm not sure that yo'll be able to move it by hand either given the limited access.

Is the shaft on yours broken? if not you should be able to put the motor into it and turn it by just twisting the motor housing. The stepper takes a good bit to get it going so that should be enough to move the door.

deeph8

Discussion Starter · #6 · Nov 12, 2014

alternative method (dremel tool)

Yes, the shaft is broken. For certain the outer part of the shaft that connects to the motor has split from the inner part. I am not sure if the inner part is connected to the door itself. I have ordered a shaft repair kit and will try that, hopefully this weekend. If the repair kit doesn't work, I may cut my own access door through the outside of the heater box with my trusty dremel. Not sure if I will go through the footwell or the area behind the radio cage. I know it is drastic, but I am not prepared to go through the agony and expense of pulling out the entire box and installing a replacement.

unclemiltie

· #7 · Nov 12, 2014

most likely the repair kit will solve your problem. Getting the old stubby piece of the shaft out is the hardest part. Make sure you reach in there with your finger and support the back half of the remaining shaft as you put the new lever/stop arm on.

deeph8

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 15, 2014

done

Well, the kit did the job, but I must say it was one of the more painful experiences I have had in 30+ years of working on cars. One really needs to be a contortionist. I also replaced the thermostat today, so I am feeling a sense of accomplishment. Still have the ACC 19 error, which I understand to be the recirculation flap. I am hoping it is stuck in the open position, since I never use the recirc function anyway.

JohnLear

· #9 · Nov 16, 2014

deeph8 said:
Well, the kit did the job, but I must say it was one of the more painful experiences I have had in 30+ years of working on cars. One really needs to be a contortionist.

Ditto...

deeph8 said:
Still have the ACC 19 error, which I understand to be the recirculation flap. I am hoping it is stuck in the open position, since I never use the recirc function anyway.

It's often the resistor on the recirculation motor circuit board, which isn't too hard to change. Mine was blown, changed it fairly easily, then it blew again, changed it, blew again, gave up. There must be another problem causing mine to burn out, changing the resistor has worked for others.

I'm considering installing a manual 'push / pull' cable (like an old school choke cable) to open / close the flap, if I ever have the time, or, just fitting another motor complete, if I ever have the money...

deeph8

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 16, 2014

Is your car a 6 or 4 cylinder? I have been doing more on-line research and I have found a number of posts that imply that the ACC 19 error is not relevant to my car, which has the four banger.

Dielectricgrease

· #11 · Nov 16, 2014

Yes, 21 is the code for the recirculation motor.

egwelke

· #12 · Dec 22, 2014

Blender Door

Is it a blender-door issue when the wrong type of air starts coming out? i.e. cold air when it is trying to heat up. Or different temp air coming out of different vents?
thanks

unclemiltie

· #13 · Dec 22, 2014

Start car
Push off and auto on the ACC panel to initiate self-test
left number is the number of errors
right number is the error codes for those errors

08 is the code for the blend door

egwelke

· #14 · Dec 22, 2014

Thanks!

Thanks!

deeph8

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jan 11, 2015

blend door direction

For future reference, turning the (driver side) blend door clockwise yields more heat. Full bore heat is at around five o'clock position. Hope this helps someone else in the future.

9-5r

· #16 · Jan 11, 2015

On a side note, I just learned two days ago (accidentally) the recirc. can be engaged while the ACC is turned off. I went to go turn the heat on, since it was 8° outside, and hit the recirc button on accident, which stopped the cold draft from entering the cabin through the vents.

It's been years I've been driving Saab's and I still learn about thoughtful little functions.

Clever, clever, Swedes.

P.S.

If I ever had to replace anything other than the cabin filter, the entire dash is coming out.

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