VE HVAC actuator replacement.

[mickyd1970]

Hey Craig, no cutting the tab off hasn't affected it at all. Apparently it's just there in the unlikely event that motor tries to turn the door passed it's limit and causes the spindle to pop out of the hole as the actuator keeps turning forcing it inwards as teeth of the actuator spin on the spindle. If that makes any sense at all.

Anyway, good luck, and if you need some more advise drop me a line.

Micky

 

[Phil M]

I'd had a problem where my heater stopped working (all the vents and the fan worked as they should but was blowing out cold air) and I checked out the actuators as described in this thread and they were all ok. I had the car in at the auto elecs for an unrelated problem and he made a comment about the heater nor working when he took it for a test drive. He checked the coolant level to make sure it was ok and that it wasn't low and not going through the heater core. He said that as it was green, and Holden usually use a red coolant, that the two may have mixed in the heater core and as they're not compatible it turns into a gel and blocks the heater core. I've only had this car about eighteen months so didn't know the history behind the coolant change.

Before checking the recirc door I thought I'd try and flush the heater core which seemed like a job that would be a lot easier to do. Only took a few minutes to loosen the clamps on the two heater hoses and poke a water hose in one heater hose. I turned the water on low to start with and there was only a small trickle out of the other heater hose, then there seemed to be a bit of crap come out of the heater hose and the water started to flow more freely. I turned the water hose up and the water started to flow really easily through the heater core. I put the water hose into the heater hose that the water had been coming out of to reverse flush it, and the water flowed freely out of the other hose.

After putting the heater hoses back on and tightening up the clamps I topped up the coolant and then ran the engine to warm everything up and the heater worked a treat! Obviously the core had been blocked but I can't say for sure that it was as a result of the incompatible coolants being mixed or whether it was rust or something else. It only took about twenty minutes from start to finish, so fortunately a nice easy fix.

Hope this can be of help to someone. This is my first post but I've checked out this forum a number of times to sort out a few problems I've had with my car and always came away with a solution or at least a few clues to get the job done, so thanks to everyone for that.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Hi, long story short, I need to replace the recirc door flap on my VE series 1.
I've searched the interwebs on how to actually do this, but can't find some sort of procedure.
I have removed the blower motor, flap door is easy to move, leading me to believe that is in fact broken, and needs replacing.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Any idea how much a replacement door flap costs?
Cheers.

Totally not fun. The whole HVAC will need to be removed.

This is the door. Maybe you could remove it by detaching the actuator behind the globe box and right up high on the left side.

Then remove the wiper shroud/cover entirely. That will give you access to the door and you already have the blower off.
It might even be the actuator that’s the problem. You’d be lucky.

You might be able to work the door out with everything in. If not, it’s easy enough to put it all back and plan to remove the entire HVAC.

You could almost detach the blower duct from the side of the HVAC if it were for 2 or 3 screws just out of reach on the back. Also the TX valve is attached to it at the top from memory. (Could be wrong)

I’m going to do a write up on this once finished.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Went through all my photos and neglected to get a photo of the HVAC assembled as a complete unit.

 

[Craig3070]

Ok, so I haven’t been on here for a while.
I did end up replacing the recirc door successfully.
I removed the blower motor, and the actuator, then removed the pollen filter, and went in through there.
It was an absolute bitch of a job, but the few little tips Micky D gave worked for me. Also my Tetris skills in removing and replacing the door.
Thanks for the help on here guys.
Cheers

 

[Yonnee]

I've got another curly one with the dreaded HVAC actuators...
How critical is doing the "relearn" with the doors open?
My issue seemed to be a common one where everything works as it should except the Driver's side blowing only Cold air.
Performed the "Demister" test and found the Drivers lower actuator not working (#25 in the diagram on Post #67). Awesome, should be an easy fix... ordered a new one from Holden.
Having pulled the old actuator out the previous weekend and finding the flap drops with gravity to the Cold setting, I had managed to refit the old actuator with the flap partially up so that I had luke-warm air on the Driver's side for the past week. Saturday comes around and I start pulling it all apart again. I was then wondering whether the new actuator would automatically start at the cold setting for installation. So before I refit the new actuator, I figured I'd plug it in and do another "Demister" test and see where the actuator sits at rest. The actuator fired up, rotated fully in both directions, then stopped in the middle. OK, no big deal, I'll just start the car, and turn the A/C down to COLD and force the system to move the actuator to the same position as the flap. Only problem now, was that the whole system defaulted to the windscreen, and would not react to either "Demister" test or changing the HVAC controls. Hit the Demister button again, and only the new actuator goes through its motions. So, I unplug the new actuator, and it all returns to normal, doing what it was doing before, with all other actuators working as they should.
But... I may have had the Driver's door open, so does this effect the "test" or "relearn" procedure?

 

[Stuey81]

I've got another curly one with the dreaded HVAC actuators...
How critical is doing the "relearn" with the doors open?
My issue seemed to be a common one where everything works as it should except the Driver's side blowing only Cold air.
Performed the "Demister" test and found the Drivers lower actuator not working (#25 in the diagram on Post #67). Awesome, should be an easy fix... ordered a new one from Holden.
Having pulled the old actuator out the previous weekend and finding the flap drops with gravity to the Cold setting, I had managed to refit the old actuator with the flap partially up so that I had luke-warm air on the Driver's side for the past week. Saturday comes around and I start pulling it all apart again. I was then wondering whether the new actuator would automatically start at the cold setting for installation. So before I refit the new actuator, I figured I'd plug it in and do another "Demister" test and see where the actuator sits at rest. The actuator fired up, rotated fully in both directions, then stopped in the middle. OK, no big deal, I'll just start the car, and turn the A/C down to COLD and force the system to move the actuator to the same position as the flap. Only problem now, was that the whole system defaulted to the windscreen, and would not react to either "Demister" test or changing the HVAC controls. Hit the Demister button again, and only the new actuator goes through its motions. So, I unplug the new actuator, and it all returns to normal, doing what it was doing before, with all other actuators working as they should.
But... I may have had the Driver's door open, so does this effect the "test" or "relearn" procedure?

So did you just leave the actuator unplugged, and by unplugged do you mean the actual actuator was still plugged into the wiring harness, just not connected to the side of the HVAC unit, or was it still inplace and you unplugged the green wiring plug?

Also did you run a relearn while the new actuator was unplugged?

Im having an issue with all my actuators working visibly perfect while i run the relearn, but still have all my airflow out the windscreen. Holden cant clear the codes either as they pop straight back up. And its telling them to replace the drivers side mixer actuator, (even tho its brand new and working fine)

Im wondering if they can uplug all actuators, and try clear the codes with them all unplugged, or worst case, all still plugged into the wiring, but just hanging there in mid air.

 

[Matty72]

So did you just leave the actuator unplugged, and by unplugged do you mean the actual actuator was still plugged into the wiring harness, just not connected to the side of the HVAC unit, or was it still inplace and you unplugged the green wiring plug?

Also did you run a relearn while the new actuator was unplugged?

Im having an issue with all my actuators working visibly perfect while i run the relearn, but still have all my airflow out the windscreen. Holden cant clear the codes either as they pop straight back up. And its telling them to replace the drivers side mixer actuator, (even tho its brand new and working fine)

Im wondering if they can uplug all actuators, and try clear the codes with them all unplugged, or worst case, all still plugged into the wiring, but just hanging there in mid air.

@Stuey81 , did you get the issue resolved? I have exactly the same issue where all actuators work fine in the relearn mode, but it keeps throwing DTC#B0253 which indicates the actuator on the drivers side needs to be replaced. I purchased a new actuator and plugged it in and it does exactly the same thing as the original one.

 

[Fu Manchu]

The code means there is a problem with that actuators function. Not necessarily that the actuator is broken.
Codes don’t tell us what is broken. They tell us there is a problem and allow a starting point for investigation.

 

[Matty72]

The code means there is a problem with that actuators function. Not necessarily that the actuator is broken.
Codes don’t tell us what is broken. They tell us there is a problem and allow a starting point for investigation.

Thanks, I've been through the following troubleshooting:

I have tried the re-learn process multiple times
I have visual confirmation that all actuators and door levers are moving during the relearn process
I can switch from floor to demist and back again
There is no movement on any acctuators when I select face
HVAC works on Heat, Cool & Recirc.
I plugged the new actuator in place of the one I thought was faulty (without mounting it) and it does exactly same movement as the original one during relearn, but also doesn't move when I select face
I've tried another HVAC module as well and still the same issue.

Any suggestions on where to look/what to look at next?