Folks,
First, I've got to say this is the best automotive enthusist site I've ever seen. The amount of information available and the community involvement is by far the best that I've encountered in the Internet.
Having said that, I'm hoping to get a few questions answered about the dreaded HVAC Mode Actuator (one of many problems I've had lately). I took the vehicle to the head service tech (a friend-of-a-friend) at the local GMC dealer who agreed with my assessment--it needs replacing.
I've tried what other folks suggested: pull the HVAC-B fuse for 10+ seconds, put it back in, start the car and not touch the air system for at least 40+ seconds. After that failed, I did what the service tech told me over the phone: remove BOTH terminals of the battery and touch them together for at least 15 seconds. He said doing so would drain all transient charges in the vehicle. Unfortunately, that didn't work. When I took my 2004 Envoy XL to him, he put a code scanner on it and read the codes; sure enough, the HVAC mode actuator code was stored (the code was B0263). He tried to force a recalibration with his diagnostic scanner, but it failed. Net result: the actuator is dead.
I've read many, many posts about this problem and how to replace the actuator, but all of those posts were for the Trailblazer. My Envoy has automatic temperature control. I'd imagine the design of the Envoy HVAC system is similar to the TB/Rainer, but does anyone know that for certain?
In other posts for TB's, I've seen a rough procedure of: remove the two lower dash panels from the driver's side, remove the floor vent tube, and the actuator can be removed. Anyone know if this will work for an Envoy? I've removed the two lower dash panels, but couldn't figure out how to remove the vent tube. In all hosesty, I didn't have a replacement part with me, so I didn't put that much effort into removing the vent tube.
Finally, does anyone have the correct name and/or part number of the HVAC Mode Actuator for an 04 Envoy with ATC? I've searched GMPartsDirect.com but couldn't find it.
When I take a stab at replacing the actuator, I am going to take step-by-step pictures and post them for folks that have this problem in the future.
Thanks again for all the help, folks. This site has certainly saved me hundreds already, and I've only been a member for a few days ...
Pete
First, I've got to say this is the best automotive enthusist site I've ever seen. The amount of information available and the community involvement is by far the best that I've encountered in the Internet.
Having said that, I'm hoping to get a few questions answered about the dreaded HVAC Mode Actuator (one of many problems I've had lately). I took the vehicle to the head service tech (a friend-of-a-friend) at the local GMC dealer who agreed with my assessment--it needs replacing.
I've tried what other folks suggested: pull the HVAC-B fuse for 10+ seconds, put it back in, start the car and not touch the air system for at least 40+ seconds. After that failed, I did what the service tech told me over the phone: remove BOTH terminals of the battery and touch them together for at least 15 seconds. He said doing so would drain all transient charges in the vehicle. Unfortunately, that didn't work. When I took my 2004 Envoy XL to him, he put a code scanner on it and read the codes; sure enough, the HVAC mode actuator code was stored (the code was B0263). He tried to force a recalibration with his diagnostic scanner, but it failed. Net result: the actuator is dead.
I've read many, many posts about this problem and how to replace the actuator, but all of those posts were for the Trailblazer. My Envoy has automatic temperature control. I'd imagine the design of the Envoy HVAC system is similar to the TB/Rainer, but does anyone know that for certain?
In other posts for TB's, I've seen a rough procedure of: remove the two lower dash panels from the driver's side, remove the floor vent tube, and the actuator can be removed. Anyone know if this will work for an Envoy? I've removed the two lower dash panels, but couldn't figure out how to remove the vent tube. In all hosesty, I didn't have a replacement part with me, so I didn't put that much effort into removing the vent tube.
Finally, does anyone have the correct name and/or part number of the HVAC Mode Actuator for an 04 Envoy with ATC? I've searched GMPartsDirect.com but couldn't find it.
When I take a stab at replacing the actuator, I am going to take step-by-step pictures and post them for folks that have this problem in the future.
Thanks again for all the help, folks. This site has certainly saved me hundreds already, and I've only been a member for a few days ...
Pete