No more air to the feet on 97' 850 wagon with ECC

Py · Post by Py » 30 Jan 2009, 11:03

Hello,

It's getting somewhat cold here, and I recently started to get cold feet while driving the car. I checked, and no air at all comes from the vents above driver's and passenger's feet, even when ECC blow level is max, and the vents selector is at 6 o'clock.

So today I looked a little bit further, and noticed this: about 10cm inside the vent on the driver side, there is a flap. I can push it open with a screwdriver, and then air comes again, on both sides (only by acting inside the driver's side vent). It feels like there's just the airflow pushing against this flap, and no mechanical pressure at all. It doesn't stand open once I leave it alone (the airflow push it back down).

So my guess is that the control system for this flap is somewhat broken (or at least loose). Does it make sense to you? What can go wrong in this particular area? What should I expect? I'm not very familiar with the heating system, and would better like some advices before starting to dismantle the thing...

Thanks a lot in advance,
Py from Belgium

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 30 Jan 2009, 12:48

Chances are that either the damper motor for the floor/defrost damper is broken or the shaft for the damper has split. It is mounted high on the climate unit on the passenger's side if the car. The best way to get to it is through the glove box.

If it turns out to be the shaft many have repaired them by wrapping the split portion with numerous turns of small gauge solid copper wire.

...Lee

Py · Post by Py » 30 Jan 2009, 13:12

So you mean there is a shaft going all the way from the passenger side of the climate unit to the flap I'm talking about, which is located at the right knee of the driver? Is it this way because of a "coupling" between this flap and another located at the other side, to get them to move at the same time?

Well, I guess I'll just have to take the glove box off and see if I can figure that out. Maybe tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how it works out.

Py

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 30 Jan 2009, 13:58

Py, on your version, I believe it's a wire- not necessarily a shaft.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 30 Jan 2009, 15:36

Good thought MIJ.

Py, are you certain that this is an Electronic Climate Control unit? They look very similar but the ECC has an AUT setting on the fan speed and the temperature is incremented in degrees. The Manual Climate Control has fan speeds that range from 0 to 4 and the temperature settings are incremented by varied width red bars.

If you have a MCC unit, pull off the lower dash panel on the driver's side and check the cable clamps that hold the cable jacket to the climate unit.

...Lee

Py · Post by Py » 30 Jan 2009, 20:46

Definitely, it is an ECC version. So there may be no shaft? Where to look in this case?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 30 Jan 2009, 21:26

If you have an ECC then everything is run off of the motors, there are no cables on the ECC.

...Lee

Py · Post by Py » 31 Jan 2009, 10:50

This afternoon I had another look under the dashboard. Here is how it looks like:

The flap I was talking about is the one whose axis is the black rod pointed by the red arrow.

Afterwards, I took the glove box out, and unmounted the damper motor. Ozark Lee, you were spot-on: the shaft had split!

I'll try to repair that tomorrow (it's dark and freezing atm), and hopefully cold feet will be an old story.

At the same time, I read the diagnostic codes for the ECC, and I got 3:

2-2-1 Pass. Side Damper Motor Position Sensor Circuit Open Or Shorted To Power
2-2-2 Pass. Side Damper Motor Position Sensor Shorted To Ground
3-2-2 Pass. Side Damper Motor Active Too Long

I guess the control system got confused bye this mechanical failure. I had a look at the damper motor itself, and it does turn as expected when I change the settings on the ECC control panel. So once the shaft is fixed, I'll clear the codes, and hopefully they won't show up again.

Once again, this forum has proved incredibly helpful! Thanks a lot for your advices!

Py

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 31 Jan 2009, 11:46

Make sure that when you fix this, you fix it AFTER you put the dampener control in the right position for where the dampener flap is- otherwise your system is still going to be confused. Hope this helps.

Py · Post by Py » 31 Jan 2009, 13:24

Not sure I understand you properly.

As you can see on the picture, the (splitted) shaft is still in place. If I repair it in place, than remount the damper motor (which shaft's position will force the command shaft to get aligned in a single way, at the current motor's position), is it going to cause troubles?