Ventilation control

G'day all,
Tried to put this question up a few days ago but must have pressed the wrong button or something as it doesn't seem to have appeared.
The problem I have is that the ventilation selector that directs airflow to face/floor etc is very stiff and will not select the last anti clockwise position.
Has anyone struck this ? If so what did you do to fix it?
I imagine that I will have to get in behind that selector somehow and would appreciate any tips on doing that.
Rgds Briandon

If we knew what you drove it might help a touch, but thats just me LOL

Being that it rotates it will be a GU :)

Sorry about that, yes 2001 GU 4.2T coil cab
Briandon

You may have to remove it and see if there isnt anythin broken inside or something that will prevent it from turning other than that it might just need replacing

I've had the same problem with mine. I pulled the fascia off so I could see the mechanism and cables etc, then lubed all cables & everything that moves; then I cycled through every directional mode assisting the mechanism with my hand to try free everything up. This helped for a couple of months only...

I then went to a wreckers to buy a replacement control assembly, they supplied the wrong type do I told them to get stuffed!

I repeated the lube thing again but this time I also zip tied the cable (I'll see if I took a pic) so it was held firmly in position. It has now been fine for nearly a year.

You can often try free up the mechanism on the other end of the cables (opposite the knob), most cars normally run a slide and pin set up that moves the flaps controlling directions, look under the dash as you move the knob, dont force the knob too much or you will bust something.

Best thing ive found is spray grease to lubricate the slide mechanism, dont use WD type spray lubes as they can fuse/weld plastic to plastic, spray the grease then move/push the mechanism with one hand , and turn the knob with the other, be carfull not to trap fingers in mech if it jars loose (pehaps wear gloves)

Normally if you get it all moving you can keep working it and spraying grease and it will come good, check for excess movement/wear on the mech if it feels notchy.



Sometimes the flaps that control the air direction have bits of sealing foam the can come loose and jamb up the mech, compressed air blown up where the heat would blow out onto your feet or down through the vents can sometimes get things free.


If its more than this you may need to start digging, i have the same problem on mine i should be fixing it in the next few weeks, mine is caused by me sandblasting rust from inside the car (sand everywhere), and mine now will only turn half way the same as yours, if you can wait a bit, ill let you know how far i have to go to get to everything, but i strongly suspect ill have to remove the whole dash to fix mine properly :frown:

Lithium grease?

Yep perfect, tho ive often just used multi purpose grease, just as long as its in a spray, too hard to get it where you need it otherwise, important to remember not to use the normal liquid spray lubes for this type of plastic on plastic.

Oh, and put a rag over your carpet to protect it ,as if found excess grease may drip off while spraying.

Thanks for the responses, went in to sort it out and found the following, first step was to remove the fascia panel which simply clips in to place so careful easing with a flat steel scraper got that off.
Next I removed the radio to give me a sightline.
What I found is that the rotary action of the knob is translated to a horizontal movement of the flap control cable by a splined shaft and grooved slide arrangement.
In my case the flap actuator was very stiff which loaded the shaft and slide arrangement to the point where the splined shaft had slipped over some of the grooved slide and consequently was only able to travel for part of its' range.
I removed the assembly which entails unplugging a couple of electrical connectors and the bowden cables.
Once out I slipped a feeler gauge between the shaft and the slide to allow them to line up as designed.
I then used an electrical spray cleaner to clean the flap actuator cams and lubricated them liberally with a silicone spray.
Then I manually operated the actuator until it seemed to move fairly freely and reassembled the whole ting.
At this stage the selector is functioning as designed though quite stiff and notchy.
I am hoping that frequent use over the next little while will free it up some more.
One word of warning, make sure that you don't drop the little C clip that retains the temperature control cable in place, it is very small and very easy to drop in to the innards of your dash.
Hope that helps for anyone with the same problem.
Briandon