2010 SHO Fresh/Recirc Stuck?

[Night Breed]

Im sure this has been asked before but I searched and didnt find anything.

I am pretty sure my AC is stuck in Recirc mode. When I push the button I dont hear the familar sound of the door opening/closing. Also I am getting warm air on the driver's side and ice cold air on the passenger side if the car has sat (in Texas heat) all day. The longer I drive the cooler the driver's side gets.

I feel like it is one of the actuators but there is currently no clicking. I replaced the one behind the door once already when it clicked a few years ago. I know there is one way to the left of the glove box which I will change although I can see that one is going to be trouble.

Does this sound like a bad actuator that may have died and skipped the clicking part? I know the AC itself works because the passenger side blows ice cold.

Any ideas?

 

[SHOrod]

A bad actuator does sound like a very reasonable diagnosis. If you happen to have access to a professional scan tool you should be able to access the HVAC system, monitor the datastream, and see which actuator or actuators are not properly responding to the commanded position. That's what I've used in the past to determine which actuator to replace.

The one to the left of the glovebox door has failed in my 2011 (with under 15k on the odometer) and on my wife's 2010 MKT. Both failed in different ways. In the MKT the motor seized and caused the flameproof resistor to open after melting the actuator housing. That actuator was a PITA to replace. The service manual says to remove the dash. I managed to replace it from the glove box opening but it required a low profile right angle 1/4" driver and a lot of patience. The actuator in my SHO had a broken tooth on the gear (which happened to still be good from my wife's bad actuator) and it was no where near as difficult to replace as in the MKT. In both cars the temperature on the passenger side could not be controlled.

If you think yours is the recirc door that actuator is pretty easy to replace, but that one would not explain the temperature the temperature not working correctly on one side. The driver's side blend door actuator is pretty easy to replace as well. It's located just above the accelerator pedal.

-Rod

 

[Night Breed]

Thanks for the info. The driver's side DOES get cold but after some driving once the interior starts to cool off. It seems like the AC is trying to cool the 150+ degree interior temp (heat indexes in TX have been in the 105 range) because it is stuck in recirculate mode. The driver's side also blows cold earlier in the day when the interior temps are much cooler.

I tried to get to the driver's side actuator and could see it but couldnt get a socket to stay on to back the screws out. I'll have to come up with a way to build a better mouse trap.

Funny you mention a low profile driver. That is exactly what I was going after next.

Again thanks for the info. At least I know both sides are doable.

 

[SHOdded]

I assume you got everything including sunroof tinted? Ceramic tints are becoming more popular by the day. That should spare some agony in that heat!