This 2004 Chevrolet Silverado came in with a faulty passenger side blend door actuator. In the last post I got you to this point. If you have not yet read that post please click here. Now that the dash cover is off and you can see the actuator, but you still cannot get to it. More things need to come apart.
Remove the wiring hold down clips from the metal brackets as shown below.
Remove the 7 mm headed screws from the brackets on the passenger side.
Using a ratchet remove the two 10 mm headed screws from the front edges of the bracket on the passenger side.
Remove the 7mm screw from the driver’s side of the cross over bracket. Remove the bracket.
Now the “U” shaped bracket on the passenger side can be removed.
Remove the 7 mm screws on the driver’s side bracket. I also remove the two 10 mm bolts on the driver’s side bracket to make sure the dash will move around freely.
Disable the air bag or SRS system according to the manufacturers directions. Then remove the two upper 10 mm bolts from the air bag as shown in the next two pictures.
Then remove the two lower air bag screws.
Note that the air bag screws are shorter than the bracket screws. Do Not put the long bolts back in the airbag when reassembling.
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Pull the orange "positive assurance clip" from the yellow connector. Disconnect the connector and remove the airbag. Use the manufacturers recommendations for handling and storing the airbag.
Getting close but more still has to come out. The silver box shown below is the vehicle communication interface module. It may not be present on all vehicles as it is related to the Onstar System.
There are three 10 mm nuts that hold the module to the brackets. They are locking nuts so they have to be wrenched all of the way off.
Remove the two 10 mm nuts at the passenger end of the dash carrier. Do Not mix these nuts up with the ones removed from the VCIM brackets.
Now remove the 7 mm screw from the backside of the right passenger vent.
Remove the 7 mm screw from the position shown below.
Wiggle the corner of the dash out as shown below.
I used a screwdriver handle to keep the duct work lifted.
I also used a pry bar to lift the duct work slightly to give myself more room. The weight of the pry bar is enough to keep the duct work up but you may want someone to hold it for you. If someone hold it for you be sure they do not use the area in the center of the opening for a fulcrum. It will break the mounting panel where the nut is for the phillips headed screw that was removed much earlier.
The VCIM can now be wiggled up and the wires disconnected.
Remove the wiring harness retaining clip from the bracket as shown below.
Remove the wiring harness clip from the cross bar as shown in the two pictures below. Lift the harness slightly to gain more room to work.
Using a short 5.5 mm socket and ratchet, remove the two mounting screws. Disconnect the wiring from the actuator before removing the screws. makes it a little easier.
You will actually need to work through two openings and use both hands to make it easier.
A magnet on a stick works real well fro retrieving dropped screws and sockets.
You can finally remove the actuator from the dash.
Free at last.
The new and old actuators. The numbers match 52402588.
If you need to buy one of these actuators please click here.
If you do not have a Tech 2 or similar scan tool to diagnose these actuators, you can do voltmeter testing at these connectors. That is a whole other post though.
If you are reading a code B0424, can you also see data and perform bidirectional testing with your scan tool? Does your Tahoe have auto or manual a/c controls? Does the ticking sound seem to come from the passenger rear of the radio area? What is the outside air temperature where you are at? What position are the temperature controls set at when the problem occurs?
Also as an added note, when the temps are doing what they are supposed to do, everything else works fine, the modes, i can change temps, airflow speeds, everything… its just when the temp settings go haywire,i cant change anything at that point.The settings will be on my feet, then all of the sudden it will switch to the vents on its own, hot out drivers side, cold on passenger, and you can change nothing…does this help? Thanks!!
Thanks for that bit of info…. I did get a B0424 code and i can hear the ticking from within the dash, not from under it. so even though im getting hot air on the drivers side,would this not point to the passenger side actuator deep within the dash as the culprit??
In your comment you speak of three different issues. The air only blowing out of the vents and not shifting to the floor or defroster will be a problem with the mode door actuator. The driver’s side air being stuck on heat will be a faulty driver’s side blend air door actuator. It is located under the passenger side of the dash. The passenger side air being stuck on a/c would be a problem with the passenger side blend door actuator and it is located inside the dash on the passenger side. I would recommend replacing the mode and the Driver’s side blend air door actuators, recalibrating and see if the passenger side will become more cooperative. One thing you may also want to try is inspecting the connectors at the far right side of the dash. Sometimes unplugging and reconnecting them several times will clear some faults. Keep in mind this will also start the recalibration process, so let it complete just as if you had removed the fuse or disconnected the battery.
Sparky, on a 2004 Tahoe, im getting hot air on drivers side, and cold air on passenger no matter what i do. It dosent matter if the heat is on or the ac and I cant change where the air flows from, just comes out of the vents.it wont go to defrost ofr the floor. I have tried the recalibration, works for a bit then back to the same old thing.I have read several things concerning this and I want to be sure with absolute certainy which actuator. DOse this sound like one in the dash?? Or the one near the center console on passenger side?? Thanks, Don