aircon flap

[DefTrap]

I've had terrible trouble with demisting on my 2003 406 in this colder weather. Thinking about it, it was fairly rubbish when I bought it last April, just that this is the first cold weather we've had really.

Anyway, taking the pollen filter out the recirc flap doesn't move whatever I push, stays shut.

Is this likely to be the problem? There's no funny noises associated with trying to activate recirc, so unless the motor's blown I'm stumped as to what to do next. Are there any fuses associated with this recirc motor?

[jonsowman]

The recirc actuator is certainly known for failing, the teeth on one of the gears strip. Usually it can be heard clicking but not actually moving. I don't know how different the D9s are but it's an absolute pain to replace in the D8, took me forever!

If you've got a multimeter handy, unplug the actuator and check the voltages at the plug when the recirc button is depressed and when it isn't.

The actuators differ between climate control and non-c/c models on the D8, the same may be true of the D9. You're likely to find the plug has either 2 or 3 pins, depending on which version yours is.

[Gary406]

yes the flap being shut is your problem 100% ...

you see the motor in jons picture. that is what you need to replace. inside that is cogs with teeth on made out of plastic. when the plastic teeth break the cog no longer opens and closes the flap. its located on the right side of the fan

you need to remove the glovebox and it will all come clear to you then .... its behind the glovebox ....

(ps thankfully my new d8 doesnt have air con "yippee" would sooner have a sunroof anyday,, so mine opens and closes via a cable no breaky teeth to mess with)

[Gary406]

ps. dont force the flap open from the pollen filter side. you will snap something.
once you have removed the glovebox then removed the motor (shown in jons pic)
the flap will flap about freely. simply wedge it open untill you get a new motor and the misting windows will no longer happen

[DefTrap]

Thanks all.

The filter flap moves freely enough, a gentle push is enough to keep it open (w/o any nasty noises) and it stays open.
Makes me wonder if the motor has already been removed ... quite possible, the previous owner can only be described as 'an enthusiast' from what I've discovered so far.

I haven't wedged the flap open by the way, and it doesn't seem to want to close on it's own no matter what buttons I push in the cabin. I'm reluctant to wedge it open with anything as the fan spinning beneath will surely suck up whatever piece of crap I use to wedge it with.

There really aren't any fuses associated with this motor?

If not I guess the only way to find out for sure is to remove the glovebox. Any tips on how to do that?

[jonsowman]

Hi mate,

Well Haynes lists fuse F21 in the driver's knee fusebox as "air conditioning/heating and ventilation". There are none more specific than that so I guess that's the one you're after, but if it had blown, then none of your ventilation system would be running, like the blower motor for example.

To remove the glovebox, first remove the two hingepins (they just slide out) and then all the Torx screws around the back panel and it'll drop right out. Here's a better pic of the actuator.


This is what you'll see looking up the glovebox cavity. The actuator is the thing with orange writing on it:


This is the new actuator once installed, you can see the two screws holding it to the housing.


I managed to remove it and fit a new one without removing the blower motor, but it's extremely fiddly, particularly the screw furthest away from you. A small screwdriver or angle driver will help you immensely. I recommend removing the blower motor if you're having difficulties.

[DefTrap]

Lovely - pichaz worth a thousand words.
I'll take a looksee and report back, hopefully not breaking anything. More time spent upside down in the footwell ...

[Gary406]

great pics jon ... i did mine on my d8 well before i was on this forum so never did take piktures

(edit - sorry i thought it was on the right. that looks like its on the left side of the fan housing )

[jonsowman]

This is the third (!) actuator my D8 has had! Getting quite hard to find new ones in scrappies now, haha.

I took the pictures last time I did it thinking someone would find them useful, I think this is quite a common failure on 406s...

Let us know what you find DefTrap

[Gary406]

if i was you guys i would take great care to find as many of those as possible .

its actually called a "reduction gear" and here are the dealers price ...

00006447A5 REDUCTION GEAR £216.62 GBP (EX-VAT) £259.94 GBP (INC-VAT)

259.94 GBP

[jonsowman]

Good lord, I thought the £15 I paid from a scrappie was pushing it! To be honest if this one fails I'm liable to leave the flap open and just remove the actuator and not bother fitting another one.

The time (and potentially money, apparently) involved with replacing it is just not worth the couple of times a month I actually use the thing.

On the other hand if I end up finding a car with one still in there (and working) I'll probably grab it, even if I just sell it on to someone on here when someone needs a new one.

[Gary406]

thats a good idea john. if i remember correctly i got a replacement for my d8 out of a d9 ... it accidently fell into my tool box in the scrap yard and i didnt know so it cost me £0 and it worked fine for 2 half years of owning my d8 ..

and in that time i probably used it ... errrr let me think ................ 0 times. it was always left open ...

[DefTrap]

Let us know what you find DefTrap

From what you've all said I very much expect to find it's gone missing.

[DefTrap]

Let us know what you find DefTrap

Well, I finally got around to getting the actuator out.

The final drive had snapped flush with the body of the housing. I took it apart (may as well) and the rest of it was absolutely fine. Is the final drive the weak spot or does it normally snap somewhere else? If so maybe I could swapsey some gears for the final drive. Anyone?