Blend actuator?

Having an issue where all air and heat comes through the dash front facing vents. It doesn't matter what setting I put it all, everything is blowing straight to the cabin. Nothing on the feet, or windshield.

I have read it is known the actuator goes bad, but when I try to make it "click" like many posts have said, mine make no sounds. I thought it was for sure this, but also looking at parts it says some vehicles have multiple actuators so didn't pull the trigger on a part.

Any other ways for me to check?

dhanni848,
I speak only for the Gen 1.
In the Gen 1 there are 4 actuators that can go bad. I believe they are all the same part number. I replaced one on mine, and though not technically difficult, it took a good deal of time. I had to pull apart the center console and the navigation/stereo/CD player stack. Once exposed it was easy to actually change the actuator. I was lucky in that I could localize the actuator that was clicking by listening and was fairly certain of the one that was malfunctioning.
Afterward I pulled the actuator apart and could see that the rheostats' contacts were worn. As such the system that controls the actuator was not getting the correct position feedback from the blend door and was trying to get the actuator to move that blend door to the correct position.
Others have found stripped plastic gears in the faulty actuator.
Pull up a diagram of the HVAC blend box and position of the actuators and you can You tube videos of the replacement of the various actuators. Long arms, and short sockets with a stubby 1/4" ratcheting wrench are your friends. I had many scrapes when done!
Unfortunately none of this may apply in the Gen 2....I would check the fuses for the HVAC system to be sure that it is not some other gremlin. If no other clues, try disconnecting the battery; go have a beer; when done, come back, reconnect the battery and see if some how the HVAC control computer has reset itself...
Good luck; it can be frustrating until you figure out what exactly is wrong...

Eddie

Eddie

Ditchplains1 said:

dhanni848,
I speak only for the Gen 1.
In the Gen 1 there are 4 actuators that can go bad. I believe they are all the same part number. I replaced one on mine, and though not technically difficult, it took a good deal of time. I had to pull apart the center console and the navigation/stereo/CD player stack. Once exposed it was easy to actually change the actuator. I was lucky in that I could localize the actuator that was clicking by listening and was fairly certain of the one that was malfunctioning.
Afterward I pulled the actuator apart and could see that the rheostats' contacts were worn. As such the system that controls the actuator was not getting the correct position feedback from the blend door and was trying to get the actuator to move that blend door to the correct position.
Others have found stripped plastic gears in the faulty actuator.
Pull up a diagram of the HVAC blend box and position of the actuators and you can You tube videos of the replacement of the various actuators. Long arms, and short sockets with a stubby 1/4" ratcheting wrench are your friends. I had many scrapes when done!
Unfortunately none of this may apply in the Gen 2....I would check the fuses for the HVAC system to be sure that it is not some other gremlin. If no other clues, try disconnecting the battery; go have a beer; when done, come back, reconnect the battery and see if some how the HVAC control computer has reset itself...
Good luck; it can be frustrating until you figure out what exactly is wrong...

Eddie

Eddie

Click to expand...

Thank you for the confirmation on the part numbers. I did a good amount of research and youtubing already! I am a Gen 1 so also good to know. I will check through all of the fuses while having a beverage, and then unplug the battery, and have another. Then go from there.

Tagged for future reference.

Sorry I haven't had a chance to dive into this yet unfortunately.

Nice write up Ditchplains1! It would appear folks who have started the many threads of extended warranty or not should read it. It will cost me exactly 100 bucks and no time or scratches to fix mine. What ya think after doing it-worth it? Not to mention, I would dare to say most owners would never dive into the complex fix you did removing all that. Nice job Sir!

I have that same problem my brand new 2018. When I first brought it home, all vents worked but it made a faint click-click sound when I shut the engine off. I thought that must be normal, but now that it only blows through the defrost vents; there is no click-click sound in the foot well area when I shut it off. I’m just trying to see if anything else needs to be repaired before I take into the shop for a fix under warranty.

JustBillin said:

I have that same problem my brand new 2018. When I first brought it home, all vents worked but it made a faint click-click sound when I shut the engine off. I thought that must be normal, but now that it only blows through the defrost vents; there is no click-click sound in the foot well area when I shut it off. I’m just trying to see if anything else needs to be repaired before I take into the shop for a fix under warranty.

Click to expand...

Man that stinks for you! Sounds like my (bad) luck.

adeerchaser said:

Man that stinks for you! Sounds like my (bad) luck.

Click to expand...

HAHA…I’m not sweating at all. I just want to make sure that nothing else needs to be taken care of before I drop it off. The truck isn’t even due for it’s first oil change for another month or two. The biggest issue for me is that my wife complains about cold feet when it drops below 40 degrees if she is riding in my truck!

ADeerChaser,
There's a couple of threads here on the actuator replacement. I'd suggest pulling out the glove box to access the back. After you take apart the console and center dash you can put your arm up through the glove box opening and looking through the opened center stack actually see the passenger side actuator if that is the one you need to replace..(this was the one I needed to replace).
Go to Tasca Ford; I believe the actuators are around $25. You can Youtube several videos on the actuator replacement. One shows the entire dash being removed; I followed another that just allowed access through the center stack. Take your time pulling things apart. I found a screw in the center console that was not present in the Youtube video...after I put a crack in one of the buried cross braces in the back of the center console...I glued it solid, and it was buried under the armrest; however the screw was upfront in the base on the passenger side. As I was lifting and pulling back I felt the cross brace give and I knew I was missing something...carefully going through everything I could not find any clips I had missed and was ready to just break it free when I found the screw...
Take your time. I spent several hours taking everything apart. Replacing the actuator and reassembling the center dash and center console took only about 45 min!

DHanni848 ,
I would think that having all 4 actuators go bad at once would be about as likely as getting 4 flats at once; more likely it is something else...
Good luck!

Eddie