Dual Climate Control Malfunction?

Good morning, Joe.

Thank you for your response.

Yes. The popping noise was occurring before removal of the old actuator, and occurred while it was installed. I had definitely made sure the actuator gear was seated into the female receptacle. The binding of the entire mechanism is exactly what I was worried about. I even heard it while I was putting the fuse back into panel beneath the passenger footwell (like it was coming from that side, as well), when the system reset itself.

I have subsequently removed the new actuator, and to answer your question about the mechanism under the dash. No. The female receptacle for the actuator gear will not move whatsoever, and I took note that it appears to not even be seated deep enough (or far enough out, I'm not sure which) in the air distribution box. The female receptacle has two semi-circular wedges at the top and the bottom that fit perfectly into the hole it was designed for obviously, and just seems to be resting just deep enough in the formed hole so as to not allow any rotation. I attempted to push it in a little, but there's no give, and found that I could pull it outwards enough so that the wedges sat on the outside (basically on the cabin interior side of the box). I wasn't sure which was proper, so I sought advice here before doing anything else.

Are the guide wedges of the female gear receptacle supposed to be on the outside edge of that whole before installing the actuator?

(PS: I can attempt to get a picture if necessary.)

Thanks in advance.

Hi Joe,

The pic was hard to get a bead on due to the awkward location.
This was the best I could do.
If the tabs are on the outside of the hole, you can move the connector, but I wouldn’t say it was moving the interior flap, but I definitely didn’t try too hard as it’s very difficult to grip, and I didn’t want to break anything.