Chrysler Forum - Chrysler Enthusiast Forums - heat/AC blowing out of defrost ONLY

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At least ten times as difficult as replacing the control head. Maybe 100 times. If I remember correctly, replacing the mode door actuator requires removal of the entire plenum, which, in turn, requires removal of the entire instrument panel. Replacement of the control head takes about 10 minutes.
Even if it turns out to be the mode door actuator, you don't want to undertake that until you have ruled out simpler and cheaper things first. Fundamental rule of car repair: When in doubt, fix cheaper things first.

I am having the same problem. Have replaced the controls and worked for a while but is doing it again. How do I access the blend door activator?

The "blend door" controls the temperature of the air coming out of the system. It does NOT control where it comes out. The mode door controls that. If you replaced the control head and the problem went away, then the problem was within the control head. You say the problem has come back. Then it's most likely that you need to replace the control head again. If you replaced the control head with a junkyard unit, there's a good chance that the replacement unit suffered the same fate as the original one. It happened to me. I bit the bullet and bought a dealer replacement on-line for a little over a hundred bucks as I recall and it's been working fine ever since. You can probably still find replacement parts at the dealer or on line because dealers can get parts for model years going back 10 years and that means that parts for 2006 are still available. The part was the same through the 2006 model year. Dealers won't carry them much longer.
If you're good with a soldering iron, take the control head apart and re-solder every connection you can find inside. That will probably fix the problem. Others have reported success doing that.
If you really want to tear apart the dash to get at the actuators, get a shop manual like a Haynes manual and be prepared to have the car torn apart for a couple of days. It's a very big job but you don't want to start that until you are positive that it is necessary.

Heat blowing out of defrost

Hello
I read about your issue and I see that u found the solution, I have same issue , can you please guide me
ty

QUOTE=CHRYSLER TECH;36461]its all electrical no vac hoses and the ac control head sends a signal the bcm and the bcm controls the doors so thus far all the info u have been given is wrong and wont do any good. Remove the IOD fuse for 30 seconds then reinstall see if that will do anything if not more then likely a bad motor or the bcm.[/QUOTE]

Climate control won't work

I have a 2001 Dodge stratus v6 2.7l ES sadan. I can turn on my climate control and it works properly until I turn my head lights on then it transfershould the blower to the defrost vents and only blows cold air... again it worKS great when head lights are off...any suggestions...? Thanks in advance.

There might be a bad ground somewhere that causes a voltage drop when the additional current for the headlights is called for. Where that might be is anybody's guess. I would start at the battery, then check the grounds at the fuse boxes under the hood and at the left end of the dash. You will probably need to actually remove them to get to the grounds. When you find a ground, loosen the screw, wiggle it to break up any corrosion, then re-tighten. Good luck.

2002 Sebring LX Convertible: No Heat

I've been having a similar issue with my 02 Sebring LX Convertible. Over the summer my HVAC would only blow out heat no matter what setting it was on. A few weeks ago, of course right before it started getting cold, the HVAC switched to only blowing cold air. I have replaced the blend door actuator and the control panel to no avail. The blower works fine and the air comes out the correct vent but it will only blow cold air. Initially the AC test did not return any error message ( AC - -) but after replacing the control panel, the test returns an error code of AC 45.

Any ideas? It's beginning to get pretty cold out there...

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcotter0579 (Post 36484)

Is yours a coupe, sedan or convertible? If it's a sedan or convertible, there's a "calibration" technique you can run. With the engine running, turn the temp knob all the way to the cold side. Turn the mode knob all the way to the defrost position. Put the fan switch to any position other than off. Then press the rear defroster button until you hear a chime. Let it go. The system will go thru some gyrations and give you a "report" in your odometer readout. A "0" is good.
You may have a bad control head. As you noted, the default mode is defrost, so if the body computer senses a loss of signal from the controls, it will put it into defrost.
Again assuming yours is a convertible or sedan, salvage control heads are fairly commonly available on eBay and in junkyards. The part is used in the sedan and convertible and in the Dodge Stratus from 2001 through 2006, so there are lots of them out there. It's an easy replacement which I would definitely try before tearing the dash apart.
The IOD fuse is the one in the middle of the fuse panel at the left end of the dashboard. Easily recognized by the "ears". You can pop it out with no tools.

I did the calibration it was showing 00 now it’s showing AC45

BCM = Body Control Module. The computer that controls electric/electronic elements of the body such as heater, door locks, instruments, etc.