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No Heat 2007 Town & Country

97K views 100 replies 36 participants last post by  imickey503 
#1 ·
Can anyone tell me how to access the Hot/Cold control Vent Flap.
 
#2 ·
You might try this. I got it from a tech manual. Worse comes to worse, you may need to do this after.


The A/C-heater control module must be recalibrated each time an actuator motor or the A/C-heater control is replaced. If the vehicle is so equipped, the calibration procedure also includes rear HVAC positions for each actuator motor.


  1. Turn the ignition switch to the On position.
  2. If equipped with the manual temperature control (MTC) system, press and hold the Rear Wipe/ Wash and Recirculation buttons for at least five seconds . If equipped with the automatic temperature control (ATC) system, simultaneously press and hold the Power and Recirculation buttons on the A/C-heater control for at least five seconds . The MTC A/C-heater control Rear Wipe/Wash button light emitting diode (LED) and Recirculation button LED, or the ATC A/C-heater control Delay and Recirculation graphics will begin to flash when the calibration procedure has begun.
  3. The calibration procedure should take less than two minutes to complete for the manual A/C-heater control, and less than twenty seconds for the ATC A/C-heater control. When the LEDs or graphics stop flashing, the calibration procedure is complete.
  4. If the LEDs or graphics continue to flash beyond the two minute (manual) or twenty second (ATC) calibration time, it indicates that the A/C-heater control has detected a failure and a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) has been set. Refer to Body Control Systems to perform further diagnosis. The LEDs or graphics will continue to flash even after the ignition switch is cycled Off and On, until a successful calibration is completed or until the vehicle has been driven about 13 kilometers (8 miles) .
 
#3 ·
I think this is what you were asking for.


REMOVAL

WARNING: ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AIRBAGS, DISABLE THE AIRBAG SYSTEM BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY STEERING WHEEL, STEERING COLUMN, OR INSTRUMENT PANEL COMPONENT DIAGNOSIS OR SERVICE. DISCONNECT AND ISOLATE THE NEGATIVE BATTERY (GROUND) CABLE, THEN WAIT TWO MINUTES FOR THE AIRBAG SYSTEM CAPACITOR TO DISCHARGE BEFORE PERFORMING FURTHER DIAGNOSIS OR SERVICE. THIS IS THE ONLY SURE WAY TO DISABLE THE AIR-BAG SYSTEM. FAILURE TO TAKE THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS COULD RESULT IN ACCIDENTAL AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT AND POSSIBLE PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH .


  1. Disconnect and isolate the negative battery cable.
  2. Remove the center bezel from the instrument panel and place it on a workbench.
If the vehicle is equipped with the automatic temperature control (ATC) heating-A/C system, disconnect the infrared sensor connector from the back of the A/C-heater control.
  1. Remove the six screws that secure the A/Cheater control to the back of the instrument panel center bezel and remove the control.
INSTALLATION

  1. Position the A/C-heater control into the instrument panel center bezel.
  2. Install the six screws that secure the A/Cheater control to the instrument panel center bezel. Tighten the screws to 2 N.m (17 in. lbs.) .
  3. If the vehicle is equipped with the ATC heating-A/C system, connect the infrared sensor connector to A/C-heater control.
  4. Install the center bezel onto the instrument panel.
  5. Reconnect the negative battery cable and calibrate the A/C-heater control.
 
#4 ·
Coincidentally I got the same problem just this week on my way back from Florida to Michigan and had no heat adjustment (just full cold!!!). I did the recalibration and then removed the lower actuator motor at the flap which is located at the driver's footwell. The remaining mating part in the heater box (just above the heat exchanger) is the shaft on the blend door. I could rotate mine for many revolutions (no door attached) and I could move it into the box completely. I have no problem in repairing/replicating the door but I need some guidance on getting the dash apart enough to get the airbox out and separated. Not necessarily screw by screw but rather which component after which...Thanks in advance...Gord
 
#7 ·
I have a similar problem, the recalibration had no effect, the servos all move properly but the manual temperature control does nothing to the actual air temperature. Whatever mates with the geared wheel on the blend door servo motor (the door's mating shaft?) fell off into the heater/AC box so now the door seems to be stuck in the position where only cold air is released. Getting to the heater/AC box looks to be a major chore that I have been hesitant to tackle. If you decide to take on that job, please post your experience. I'm curious how much work is truly involved. More so, I'd like to understand if the door and shaft mechanism on the heater/AC box is indeed reasonably repairable before I pull everything apart.
 
#8 ·
I took apart the whole dash; top, front and lower, and I still did not get the airbox out...but I could see in the top vent area and saw the broken part and fished it out with a piece of wire and some two sided tape. I then decided to just cut a hole in the side of the airbox above the heater core. If you take the two screws out then the actuator near the heater core can be removed. You should then see the female plastic geared end of the flap shaft. The flap goes toward the front of the car about 5 inches from this gear. I then cut out a 1 inch tall by 5 inch wide access hole to include the bushing around the female gear. Inside the hole I pulled out the flap and repaired it to the shaft end. I was fortunate enough to find the two pieces to repair. After the repair I put it all back together, slopped on some Bondo being careful not to get any on the shaft or to squeeze to much into the crack left by the dremel tool. Cover the actuator with masking tape and push it into position while the Bondo is still wet; this will prevent it from sticking to the actuator.Now I need to go outside and reassemble the whole dash. If I was to do this all over again from the driver's footwell the whole job would only take about two hours from start to finish. By the way my dealer said that the whole airbox would need to be replaced at $300+ and then about ten hours of labour on top. That's about a quarter of the value of the whole van
 

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#9 ·
If I hear you right you're saying you could have done the job from the driver's footwell area and possibly not remove the major section of the dash? From what I recall, I pulled the servo motor out and it had a male geared wheel and when normally in place this gear was positioned over a small access hole in the side of the heater/AC box. The access hole was maybe an inch or less in diameter. As mentioned previously, whatever was attached to the gear had come loose and fell back into the box. It seems likely it was a linkage shaft of some sort that attached to the door buried in the heater box. At one point I could put a finger in there and feel whatever had fallen off but I didn't see any way of retrieving it unless I had much clearer access to the box.

So did you actually cut a larger section out of the side of the box in order to retrieve the loose shaft and then replace the cutout piece of heater box by fastening it with some type of plastic bondo glue/adhesive? Any chance you took pics showing more detail of that part of the repair?

BTW, my local Dodge dealer estimated $1400 to replace the heater box. Saying no was easy.
 
#10 ·
Ya!!! I put mine all together last night (tested and watched the flap get calibrated and all) and then drove to work today with full control of the temp. I neglected to take pictures during the repair process (photos are to help reassemble all the parts, which I wouldn't need to do now that I would leave the dash assembled). The flap required a hole about 1 x 5 inches and I included the bushing in my added "trap door". The motor has a very positive location to its mounting points and the shaft gear so it was very easy to put my "trap door lid" back in the same place it belonged and then slop on the Bondo
 

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#12 ·
Sounds like a job I may tackle this weekend, weather permitting. I didn't see any pics in your previous post #11. Just to be clear, you used a dremel tool to cut a larger access hole in the side of the airbox allowing you enough room to pull the shaft part out and reattach to the door, and this hole was 1" high x 5" wide and included, or surrounded the access point where the shaft enters the box? Did you cut in such a way that the shaft's hole was centered or more forward or rearward in the 1x5 piece you removed? Guess I am a bit hesitant to cut into the box without knowing what's on the inside. Also, I don't recall seeing any type of door when I previously removed the actuator motor. Sorry for all the questions, but the potential for me to cut a hole in the airbox incorrectly seems a bit high (mainly because of what I don't know). I also recall seeing a post long ago where someone used some type of plastic glue to repair the door and it soon broke. Do you have a suggestion on the glue/adhesive to bond the plastic parts again? Thanks!
 
#13 ·
My computer is super slow and I seem to be having issues with downloading pics. The shaft is part of the door moulded as one piece then a rubber lip is moulded around the edge. The door/shaft is moulded out of glass filled nylon. This repair process can be done in steps if you like because you are not tying up the vehicle in any way. If I see how your door/shaft is broken, I can recommend a way to repair it.
 
#14 ·
Help... I still can't seem to download my pics. The shaft/door is inside the airbox. You will need to cut a "trap door" or access hole to get the shaft/door out of the airbox. When looking at the air box from the driver's footwell with the actuator removed you will see the shaft hole. If this were the center of a clock, then the door rests in a location at about 8:30 (closed, no heat) then the heat is on fully at about 10:30 (open, full heat). So if the door/shaft breaks, then the door part falls to the 8:30 position with no heat being allowed through. The access hole that needs to be cut, surrounds the shaft bushing on the back and then goes horizontally toward the front of the van about 4 more inches (5 inches total). After you get the hole cut, I would suggest getting a vacuum cleaner to suck all the plastic chips out but more importantly any shaft pieces out of there before you pull the flap out of its rest position.
 
#18 ·
Thanks, the pics help immensely. I had no idea how the shaft and door were configured, or how it was ssituated inside the airbox.
 
#19 ·
Ahh, more questions...you used a dremel tool or something like it to create the larger access hole? I'll assume you used a circular cutting blade, if not then what? There isn't much room to work and I want to ensure I can get a cutting surface on the airbox. Seems like a very small reciprocating saw-like blade would work, if I can find one small enough.

Also while cutting out the piece in the side of the airbox, did your cutting tool remove a lot of material to the point that the hole was then larger than the piece removed and when putting the piece back it had to be supported somehow so it didn't also fall into the new hole? I see you used a lot of plastic bonding adhesive. By the way, what was it?

Needless to say, you've been creative enough to find a solution, it's a lot more than what I would have attempted without knowing anything before-hand.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I used a 1/8 inch diameter burr in the "Dremel" tool because room is so tight and it is a bit of a convoluted shape. The plastic is only about 0.040" thick, so don't allow the cutter to go in more than a 1/4" so you won't even cut anything inside the box. When cutting polypropylene like the airbox, you will find that the plastic tends to melt a little bit and refill the groove that you just cut. This is not a problem. After cutting the whole shape it can be pried out with a flat screwdriver. Any little bits of the melted plastic that remain in place can and should be just flaked off with your fingertips. The Bondo that I used on the access hole was a glass reinforced type. Roughen up the faces with the Dremel tool where you want the Bondo to stick. The idea is not to fill the gap as too much Bondo oozing through would have its own problems. You can use the actuator, its two mounting screws and shaft hole to locate it back in position and then just use a couple of dabs of Bondo to hold it in place. After 20 minutes have passed then remove the actuator and blob on more Bondo to cover the groove, just keep it away from the "flap's" shaft (you will remember to put the flap/shaft back in place before Bondoing the door in place?) You can even squeeze the actuator back in place and screw it down while the Bondo is wet. An easy way to stop the Bondo from sticking to the shaft or the actuator, is to put masking tape on these two parts. As the Bondo is curing, it gets hot and this breaks the glue bond of the masking tape and then the parts are easily separated. Remember too that Bondo is super easy to trim with an Exacto knife when it is no longer sticky and has just started to get warm.
 
#21 ·
I theory you could just hold the piece in with tape (but it would not hold up to the heat in that area). The piece doesn't need to be accurately relocated into its original position other than the bushing, (which gets very well located while the Bondo is still wet) by the actuator. Post a picture of your damaged flap/shaft so I can give some guidance on its repair. All of this is really quite simple and can be done to hack job standards and still work.
 
#22 ·
I pulled the blend door flap out after two attempts at cutting the airbox (first cut was a bit too small). It looks exactly like your door, broken in the same way. I was not as lucky about retrieving the shaft piece, it is still inside the box and my fingers cannot feel it. I'll rig something up with a vacuum or 2-sided tape to try and fish it out somehow. Otherwise, just how did you attach the shaft back to the door piece? I've got some ideas but your method already worked ...
 
#27 ·
I'm back...Cut the rubber off in the areas marked in green. Are you familiar with what a 1/4" socket head cap screw is?(1/4 x 20 thread, a small round head that requires an Allen wrench to tighten)

You will need four items to finish the job.
1- epoxy putty (comes in a tube and shape and size of a hot dog)
1- small can of Bondo (or any body filler)
1- 1/4" nut
1- 1/4-20 socket head cap screw


You should be able to get all this stuff at an auto supply place or first two at Walmart and second two at Home Depot for under 20 bucks and have tons left over.
 

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