['96 850 GLT Wagon w/ECC] Feet still feel no heat

s2zeller · Post by **s2zeller** » 01 Jan 2013, 09:56

What I'm not sure now is:

airflow selector to ventilation

Does that mean the setting between defroster and floor (i.e. at 3 o'clock) or the one that directs to cabin vents and floor (~7 o'clock)?

In either case, my code reader/OBD2 interface is acting up again and being difficult about reading codes at the moment (after working flawlessly yesterday).

s2zeller · Post by **s2zeller** » 01 Jan 2013, 10:43

Out of frustration (and after pulling the ECC control unit and not seeing anything obviously amiss inside), I decided to try and get into self-adjust mode.

I just completed that and got a

3-2-3
5-1-1

(different than yesterday when I only had a 3-2-3).

Is this one of those situations where I need to pull the ventilator motor again and try and adjust its positioning? Isn't that what the self-adjusting is supposed to do?

s2zeller · Post by **s2zeller** » 01 Jan 2013, 13:05

I've gone through ECC climate control damper motor disassembly and testing, and am about to reinstall and run the self-adjust.

If I still get 3-2-3, does that mean time to try a new motor?

s2zeller · Post by **s2zeller** » 01 Jan 2013, 15:09

Well, that didn't work out so well. I was not hearing (and generally haven't been) any damper flap motion during driving, so I decided to stop and re-initiate the sequence.

I made it all the way through and then tried to start the car.

Nothing.

As power faded from the radio, I saw "code" in its screen.

Granted, it is hovering around 10F today and I was parked in the shade, but the battery is only a couple years old.

Did I trip the alarm or is this some sign that there is a short somewhere?

I think I'll just delete codes and see what shows up by the weekend.

Post by **jreed** » 01 Jan 2013, 16:15

It sounds like you are having another problem (probably unrelated to the ECC / Damper motor issue) with the battery or battery cable / connections.

Regarding the damper motor 323 code, Haynes reports that as "Ventilation Damper Motor Active Too Long". Given that code I would disassemble the gears and clean out all the old grease and replace it with some new fresh grease (white lithium grease is what I used). Perhaps you've already done this?

Also, I would clean off and degrease the black position sensor films on the circuit board and the copper pickup fingers on the underside of the large main gear. If those remedies don't resolve the error, all I can think to suggest is to replace the damper motor unit. Perhaps others have suggestions as how to renovate or repair the unit.

When I had errors like this, I was looking around on eBay to get a sense of prices and found used units available for about $30-$50. As it turned out, the cleaning and regreasing I did on mine seemed to fix it (at least it has been working without error for about the past 5-6 months).
Give it a try and let us know how it turns out! Good luck!

s2zeller · Post by **s2zeller** » 01 Jan 2013, 18:59

I'm thinking I was just doing too many attempts at code reading/deleting/resetting without much driving in between, but I'm sure to keep an eye on the battery.

At present (after doing the re-greasing and cleaning that you suggested), I'm left with codes 2-3-1 and 5-1-1... so I'll see if any more collect before the weekend and try to complete a self-adjust cycle then.

If I still can't get any satisfaction, I'll be ordering a salvage motor and see how that goes.

Post by **jreed** » 01 Jan 2013, 19:29

Sounds good. Are you getting 323 or 231 or both?

s2zeller · Post by **s2zeller** » 01 Jan 2013, 20:36

I was getting 231 and 323 (with and without 511) after the first removal/reinstallation of the ventilator damper motor, but the 231 cleared.

After the second removal/reinstallation, I was getting the same thing, but the 323 cleared. So, I am currently left with 231 and 511.

Am I correct that all of the actual motors are the same model number, and that the gears needed for 14 (in the following graphic) can be re-used?

When I had the motor (14) pulled, I tried to look at the shaft that the upper gear plugs into and it looked to be uncracked.

Does the upper gear and shaft (as well as the one going into 14) come out? They didn't seem to want to (easily) and I wasn't in the mood to break something else.

Post by **jreed** » 02 Jan 2013, 04:43

I see. Well, one thing for sure so far is that both codes 231 and 323 relate to the same Ventilation Damper Motor, so that's helpful in narrowing the source of the problem down. How do all the little metal fingers under the main internal gear look? Any bent pins or damage there? (I ask because I bent some of the pins on one of my motors before I realized that there were pins underneath the gear).
Yes, I think that all of the motors are the same part. I think you can reuse the external gear. The lower external gear on the unit labeled 14 does come off. I don't remember about the upper gear. That one might be attached to the damper itself.

s2zeller · Post by **s2zeller** » 02 Jan 2013, 05:58

The pins/fingers all looked great... nothing bent and all very bright and shiny copper.

I may have been using a weak 9V battery to activate the motor, but the one thing I was slightly concerned about was that the gear turning seemed slower than when I'd done the same test (w/the same battery) to the defrost/floor damper motor.

['96 850 GLT Wagon w/ECC] Feet still feel no heat

Re: ['96 850 GLT Wagon w/ECC] Feet still feel no heat