A/C recirculation flap-355

Looking for ideas.....

The air recirculation flap stays open.

There is NO voltage going to the actuator motor on mine when I press the recirculation button so it seems the motor is not the problem. Flap moves freely with the motor removed (not tight or jammed) and the motor connection pin/boss is not broken. I've verified the recirculation switch is good.

All other heating and cooling functions work so it's not a blown fuse (unless there is some separate fuse for the recirculation flap motor... which I would doubt).

Any idea where the climate control ECU is located? The only thing I can think of is part of the ECU is bad or some wiring/connector between the ECU and the switch or between the ECU and the motor.

 

You are lucky it is stuck open.

The motor is controlled by an ECU - and the ECU part costs $1600.

I opted to have the door "propped" open permanently and forgo the ECU.

 

Do you know where the ECU is located? (not the temp. control panel by the ashtray)

The flap can be manually rotated in any position and "locked" there without problem. I'd like to get it back to full functionality.

Propped open in 100+ degree weather makes the A/C pretty much useless. Propped closed in a damp climate/rainy day will pretty much make it impossible to see out of the windshield :-(

 

That $1600 ECU is under the carpeting under the front hood, on the right side near the windshield. Mine stopped working and would only blow air out the defrost vents, and I found a used one and all was good. Then someone suggested just turning off the battery cutoff and rebooting the ECU. Well, I haven't put the old ECU back in to try that, but I suppose it is worth a try. Just remember to do the 15 minute idle thing to recalibrate the engine ECU.

 

I've already tried the battery cut-off but no joy :-(

That giant thing is the climate control ECU? Wow! Looks like it could run a modern tank or airplane. Even seems built for nuke blasts.

Interesting then..... do you know what the four relays are for that are next to the ECU? Each one has a fuse holder next to it but only 3 of the 4 have fuses in them. The front fuse holder (closest to the front of the car) has no fuse in it. Seems like I might have to stick a small (low amp) fuse in it and see what happens.

 

Okay.... looks like I've been doing some incorrect troubleshooting.... I was only turning on the ignition (not running the engine). This powered up the A/C panel, sent voltage to the compressor clutch (you can hear the click), and turns on the blower fan. All of this led me to believe the recirculation flap motor would also be powered with just the ignition on. Why wouldn't it when every other part of the climate control operates? Well, it doesn't seem to be the case.

This time I started the engine and the flap motor gets power. This is without putting a fuse in the empty holder (by the relay labeled J4). The motor is now spinning but the drive gears are bad so no movement of the flap. Need a new flap motor assembly.

It seems the flap motors are not too expensive but if anybody has a Lancia or Fiat maybe they could check to see if it's the same. I say this because the plastic motor case has symbols on it (a little bit cryptic) representing Lancia and Fiat badges. For the overseas folks they might be able to get it cheaper from Fiat. The part number printed on the case is B837 and then below that, in a different font, is the number 056.

 

The 4th fuse holder is NOT for a fuse. It's for a tester that ferrari uses for something.

When you say the flap is closed, do you mean it's down (vertical) or horzontal?

 

Thanks for the info on the 4th fuse holder. I'm curious what type of tester they could hook up there with only two electrical contacts.


With the actuator flap motor removed the flap will hang in the vertical (down) position which would allow the full amount of outside air in (making for weak A/C cooling on a very hot day).