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Front window defrost

18K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  Tesla 
#1 ·
Hello this morning I went to my car 2013 Chevrolet impala, and it was colder out and started the car while I scraped off the windshield and turned on the heater and put it on the front window defrost, after scraping the windshield I got in the car and noticed there was no heat coming from the front window defrost but you can hear the blower motor is working and the car was getting warmer but not coming out of the front windshield setting
 
#3 ·
i just ran into this issue myself. to help troubleshoot which actuator is the culprit you'll need to play with the controls a little. does the air switch from defrost to head to floor as intended? do you get a clicking or tapping noise when you move the temp controls? if so which side seems to be doing the noise? the drivers or the passenger side?

i had a drivers side fail then a passenger side fail within 2 weeks of each other recently. the parts were only 20-25 each on rockauto for the heat blend door actuators, but i didn't have time to deal with the repair so i took it in to the shop.

this is a common issue with these cars, and there are many posts regarding the actuators failing. there are even a couple of decent youtube videos that show you how to repair them. if you need further help let us know.
 
#7 ·
Due to reading some old threads about recalibrating/resetting the hvac system/actuators, I pulled it with the key off, with the eng. running and with the key turned to the on/run position (eng. off) to try to reboot lh and rh temp. actuators. Didn't work for me. I ended up replacing both bda's, lol.
 
#8 ·
As Sheila noted, this is the vent selector aka mode actuator. If resetting it doesn't work, you'll need to replace it. The part number I have is 22754989 , which is different than the other 3 HVAC actuators.

It's located above the passenger side blend door actuator. You get to it thru the left end of the glove box. As I recall, it's a pain to get at, but it's do-able without dismantling the entire dash.

HTH.

Doug

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#9 ·
The RH Blend motor and the Mode motor are the easiest to change.
Pull the glovebox completely out of the dash. There's not loads of room but there's enough... and you don't have to stand on your head.


Even the LH blend motor isn't that bad once you take the beauty covers off the bottom of the dash above the pedals.

The Fresh-air/Recirculate motor is the one that's truly terribly awfully nasty to do.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Let me recap to make sure I have this correct.

You have not replaced the vent selector actuator (aka, mode selector), correct?

Previously, to get it working, you got it to do a re-learn by pulling the fuse?

Have you tried doing that again?

I'm thinking you may have a bad actuator. But, before replacing it, I would remove it and try moving the shaft by hand / with pliers. You want to determine if perhaps the shaft is extra difficult to turn causing the actuator to stall. One cause of this might be crud buildup in the system as might be caused by spilling a soda down the vent. That's far fetched, but not impossible :)

Lastly, there could be something going wrong in the AC controls causing them to lose track of the actuator's position.

I'd bet on a bad actuator. For 40 bucks, an hour's time and some cussing, you can replace it. That may not fix it, but it's the easiest/cheapest thing to change :) (versus cleaning the ducts/dampers or replacing the AC controls)

To be clear, it's the most likely cause. But turning the vent selector shaft by hand will help isolate the cause.

Also, while there, you can manually turn it to defrost and leave it there, or put it on half defrost/half floor. Either way, with winter almost here, those are the best choices if you have to pick one spot.

HTH.

Doug

.
 
#16 ·
My car just did this to me this morning too. No air coming out of the windshield vent and no air coming out of the tiny side window vents either when it is clearly set to defrost. I am commenting so I can more easily find this thread again. First will try the fuse reset and look for stuff jamming the vent causing actuator to need resetting. Then will move on to the actuators. Mine never clicked, but I did here a whirring/groaning noise a few times when switching HVAC modes.
Hoping my rudimentary mechanical skills will suffice as I already have to get tires for this thing next month and maybe get the transmission service done (64,000 miles). I have neither a flat surface nor the tools to do a basic trans service myself. Even my cheap ass has to know my limitations and actually pay for anything beyond the basics to be done.
 
#17 ·
On the gen8's, I've had to replace the "mode selector" - ie, vent actuator. As I recall, while it was a pain, it was do-able without anything so drastic as removing the dash. I had to take apart the glove box to get at the actuator - up high on right side of hump / left end of glove box.

I cannot recall if I had to remove the trim from the front of the dash. But I think the trim below the glove box had to come out.

Hopefully, the reset will fix it and you can avoid this.

Doug

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#18 ·
Holy crap! The display fuse reset thing worked. I pulled the fuse with car off, then started the car for a minute, then turned car off and put fuse back in.

I still may have work to do as the actuator still seemed overworked due to the whirring noise it made while opening the vent. Leaving it set to defrost full time for now.

I will first try to cram my large self into the passenger side with the glove box pulled and see if the air mix vent is jammed with leaves and stuff. If that isn't the issue, then maybe look into replacing the actuator.

While my size may make this tough in one respect, my orangutan arms (my wife's term) could come in handy for reaching far up behind the glove-box.
 
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#20 ·
Well that didn't last long. At least now the vent mode is stuck on defrost, so I can technically get by as is, but would prefer to be able to turn the floor heat on this winter.
Even if the fuse pull reset worked again (debatable), I am assuming I don't want to reset the actuator once a day all winter. So I got the glove box pulled down and looked in there. I tried to change settings while the car was running. I hear the actuator "working" (noticeable, but not not too loud electric motor noise), but the blend door does not budge. All ny online searches say a failed actuator makes a clicking sound when broken, or just not getting power and doing nothing. Mine is getting power and humming along trying to do something, but to no effect.
It looks too tight in there for me to remove and replace the actuator. If I tried, I suspect I would order the part get half done, and then get pissed off, break something, and end up paying the dealer to fix it anyway. All while assuming my knees even hold out long enough to cram myself into a position where I even have a shot at reaching up in there. Am I wrong in thinking this?
 
#21 ·
Contact a neighbor or friend who's handy and pick up a 12-pack of their favorite beverage. Have them come over and help. You let them do the gymnastics while you talk them thru it and play surgical nurse handing them the tools.

In your message above, you mention blend door and defrost. It's a little confusing. Blend door usually refers to one of the hot/cold dampers. To be clear, you're trying to fix the vent selector (mode actuator), right? I just want to make sure the correct actuator is being worked on. I'd hate to give you the wrong instructions. (It brings to mind people getting the wrong limb removed during surgery :) )

Doug

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#25 ·

Today's chuckle ...

You can buy the same actuator from Amazon as GM part number 22754989 for $47.75 ...

... OR you can buy it as AC Delco part number 15-74123 for $28.45.

:biggrin:

 
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