2015 blend door actuator clicking

[Todd]

My daughters 2015 fiesta started clicking under the dash this past winter when you shut the car off, today she turned on her ac and all she gets is hot air, could the blend door actuator be the reason that she is not getting cold air?

 

[LionsTooth]

Try this thread at the ST forum.

 

[Todd]

So I changed out the blend door actuator and the clicking stopped all modes are working as they should, however the heater seems to be stuck on full on hot no matter where I set the temperature dial I get full on hot including when I put the ac on, anyone ever come across this issue before?

 

[Handy Andy]

The "blend" for Air circulation - is its own separate sensor and actuator.

But when you put it together, did you see where the thermostat for the cabin air temperature was? IF that got damaged or not seated or it's wires pulled, it could explain the problem.

IT's is close by, wondering if it's connector got pulled or something jammed it when you put the trim back on.

 

[Todd]

Thanks for the input I just checked and that sensor is plugged in, I changed the actuator on the drivers side,
I pulled the glove box out to verify that the actuator on the passenger side was operating as intended and it appears to be operating as intended. I am almost leaning towards the climate control module is the culprit. Unfortunately I have gone as far as I can go and booked an appointment to have it checked out apparently they can hook it up and test sensors actuators etc. off of a lap top.

 

[Handy Andy]

Ok, so you have your ducks in a row, check fuses too - read the owner's manual on their location - and make sure all the fuses are good - not blown.

It will save you the embarrassment of knowing you could have saved some money - for if the climate control is really out it can blow a fuse and you would not even know it - except for the constant hot/heat setting.

 

[econoboxrocks]

Thanks for the input I just checked and that sensor is plugged in, I changed the actuator on the drivers side,
I pulled the glove box out to verify that the actuator on the passenger side was operating as intended and it appears to be operating as intended. I am almost leaning towards the climate control module is the culprit. Unfortunately I have gone as far as I can go and booked an appointment to have it checked out apparently they can hook it up and test sensors actuators etc. off of a lap top.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Todd]

So I think I got it figured out, I was reading that there are 3 blend door motors, 1 controls the mode that’s the one on the driver side that lots of people are replacing. The other 2 are on the passenger side, one is for the recirculate door it is right behind the glove box super easy to change, the third one is up just above the cabin air thermostat it controls the hot/cold door and it is a freaking bear to get out. What I did was I pulled the ducting for the passenger floor heat, it just pulls out then you can see the actuator the top screw is easy to get out the bottom screw takes a lot of patience. I ordered the part not looking forward to putting it back in. I manually worked the hot/cold door AC works great.

 

[MICHELLE]

Where is the driver's side one door actuator located on a 2014 Ford Fiesta SE (SEDAN)

 

[MICHELLE]

Where is the driver's side one door actuator located on a 2014 Ford Fiesta SE (SEDAN)?

 

[Todd]

 

[MICHELLE]

Ok so I found it, now what would be the best way to get access to the driver side blend door actuator here are the pictures. Any help would be grateful

 

[LionsTooth]

The YouTube video pretty much spells it out.

 

[Todd]

Watch the video

 

[Handy Andy]

You'll need to remove the lower kick panel and the side rail trim of the Driver's side and use a "stubby" T20/T15 Torx bit to loosen three screws that hold the actuator to the gear of the drum so the drum turns as the gear moves.

The kick panel has a Air bag so remember to remove the panel and carefully pull the pinch clip off the igniter so you can cleanly work in and around the steering column.

The side panel (the one at the console) needs to be removed so you can retrieve any loose screws - at least place a sheet of paper under the ventilation assembly and where the carpet meets it at - so that if you do lose a screw - it doesn't roll under the carpet.

There is a Yellow/Green/Red color "tab" on the motors power connector - might want to pull that tab - lift it up so to the connector tab can then get pinched and pulled out of the connector so to save it from getting whacked by trying to remove the 3 screws.

Once the three screws are out, the motor can get pulled straight away from the housing and will expose the gear mesh.

So take your finger and move the drum gear to see if it's obstructed - it can happen and most of the time the debris is caught in the drum to a vent hole - which then you'll have to remove the outlet plumbing of the affected vent or the whole assembly to free up the mechanism.

The video tells the rest of the story.

 

[MICHELLE]

That seems doable. Like i said i found it. But its located in a very tough spot. I guess I'm really more worried about the airbag sensitivity. I just started really getting into working on my own car. So those type of things make me a little worried and less confident that I can do it..

 

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

If you disconnect your negative battery terminal, you remove the power from the systems in the car. That is the first way to ensure safety for both the person working and the electrical system in the car.
There is a number of systems that will need to be activated to cause the airbag(s) to deploy. Generally short of physically powering the airbag unit directly an airbag will not go off spontaneously ( I say "generally" only because there is that one story about that one time one bag went off unprevoked, lol).
There needs to be a few modes the car must checkmark in order for the system to be ready to activate. These can include speeds above a threshold, rate of acceleration/deceleration, some cars also will read attitude/angle (such as roll over). There are failsafes, such as deployment sensors where 2 or more sensors need to be tripped for the bags to be deployed.
I wouldn't be afraid to work on the car provided you keep to working on the system you are intending to, and if it looks weird, just ask.
...Oh, and dont touch the big red button...thats an airbag deployment test button!