355 climate control - Air direction not working

Guess I will run the flap in "manual" for a while. Never know how long the replacement will survive anyway :-(

 

I think there might be more to the problem than just the ECU. I have two ECUs and neither changes the diverter. I had one just rebuilt by the company recommended on FChat and it still does not work so wondering if it is a sensor. My outside temp works but wondering if one of the system senors does not work, it goes into the default mode which is the defrost mode.

 

I like to resurrect this thread. I have read through my service manual and do not find the reference "let the car relearn with AC off" above anywhere. Can someone actually confirm a reset procedure ?

 

Check your tumbler motor under the dash. I eventually pulled mine and powered the motor with a 12v source, it made
lots of noise but the bar didnt turn. looking for a new motor for mine now.

 

It sounds more like the Motronics ECU reset. Is the AC ECU sophisticated enough to be reset by power cycling (like a home computer)?

My favourite part of this thread is:

Good luck finding an air direction actuator at any price (new or second hand)! These cars are getting to the age where all plastic components are disintegrating.

There are a few messages in this thread asking how to check the air direction actuator. There's another long thread here with lots of information on this:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/new-owner-with-ventilation-problem.514304/

 

How do I get one of those

 

Sean, either Hill Engineering UK or Ricambi USA

https://www.hillengineering.co.uk/other-parts/recirculation-boss

https://www.ricambiamerica.com/348-355-air-re-circulation-boss.html

Is this for the fresh air flap in the forward luggage compartment?

 

Slight resurection in thread.

When I had my car inspected, it was noted that the recirc flap was not working. Having just spent some time diagnosing this one, its the platsic boss, that can now be replaced with the brass one from Hills. This part is now on order, should get it this week hopefully!

In doing some diagnostics, I took the recirc flap motor off, and pressed the closed/open button on the control panel to see if it was the motor at fault. Whilst the motor works, I did notice that it does not stop, just rotates depending on which direction its going in. I couldnt stop it by hand.

My questions are:
1) how does the motor know when to stop? Does it stop on resistance and hence the plastic bosses break with fatigue over time?
2) when I reinstall the boss, flap and motor, do I need to align the flap at any particualr orientation, or will the motor take care of this?

Much appreciated

 

1) Mechanical stop. No electrical shut off.
2) No. Motor will take car of it.

 

Thank you.

 

If the boss doesn’t align with the flapper door pivot, you may need to support/ position the door with a loop of fine thread. i.e. something you can cut and slide out later.

 

Replacement boss turned up super quick from Superformance as always.

Easy install; took about 10 minutes. Just need to put the trim back together.

Unfortunately I can’t get the iPhone to focus enough; but you can see a very small inclusion on the plastic boss, which obviously doesn’t help, although it would always fail given how it operates.



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BUMP lol
Sorry to bump an old thread but after lots of reading I need some direction.

1. air only blows out of defrost vents
2. Removed actuator motor but kept it
connected
3. Used the battery disconnect to reset the ECU
4. Reconnected the battery
5. Turned hvac on and I could see the actuator
motor cycle
6. Attempted to switch vent location using the
control panel but the actuator motor did not
move

Is there more to the process to resetting the hvac system rather than just disconnected and reconnecting the battery ?

what should my next diagnostic step be?

thanks guys

 

The vent position is also affected by things like outside air temperature, but I don't know if that's only with the control in AUTO.

The system does not appear to work properly unless the engine is running, and some have noticed that getting the engine warm is involved.

 

As I understand it, battery reset procedure is to hit (enable) stop button on climate control, turn on battery, start car and let idle for 10 minutes, then disable stop button. I'm not sure which position the blend selector should be. I had problems with my hvac after last battery reset and some combination of the stop button and putting the selector in anything but auto fixed it.

 

thanks Bob, just bench tested my actuator, it seems to be working, a bit stiff in the gears but I was able to put power on it and get everything spinning.

 

Make sure your tambour isn't stuck/stiff, too. Find some way of turning it manually, but be careful because the plastic is soft where the square hole is. Don't damage the hole.

 

On my 2.7 car when I reconnect the battery the dash vent actuator cycles through it's full range of positions. I don't recall where it actually stops when it finishes the cycle, but I think it is wherever I have the dial set to. Both the STOP and RECIRC buttons are depressed when it does this, and it warm out. As I recall, if it's cold out it stops at the windshield/defrost position but not 100% sure.

 

Going to bump this again because Bob it’s a genius. This worked !!!!

If your hvac is not working properly do this above.

if that doesn’t work then remove your actuator and bench test it.

Also, try not to disable your battery unless it’s completely necessary. What a fiasco

thanks Bob!! My f355 is fully sorted again, for now.

 

Mine stopped working today. Worked fine yesterday. Started the car this morning and turned the AC on. Moved the dial to select the main air vents. Heard several "clicks" and then lost all air flow. The fan is still running but nothing coming out of the vents. It seems like my actuator crapped out and closed all the vents. I have a little air coming out in the passenger foot well with the fan on high. Sounds like I need to pull my actuator to see if the plastic plug broke off.

 

Weird. You would think if it was stuck between positions, you would get air out of two of three levels.

 

I removed my actuator and the pin is not broken. Maybe something broke inside the unit. Im going to hook it up to 12v and see if it turns.

 

Are we talking about the air direction actuator or the fresh air/recirc actuator?

I haven't heard of the pin breaking on the air direction actuator.

Just cycle the battery and turn on the key to watch the air direction actuator cycle through 180 degrees (with it not inserted into the tambour).

 

I have this issue on more than half of the 355 I see. Air direction does not work, fan on maximum speed, and the Stop button does not stop anything. I have removed the HVAC controller and sent it in for driver chips replacement ... still doing the same thing. I am going to try the reset above to see if it fixes anything.

1. hit (enable) stop button on climate control,
2. turn on battery, putting the selector in anything but auto
3. start car and let idle for 10 minutes,
4. then disable stop button.

 

Stop button turns off compressor and shuts heater valve. Auto mode is disabled but manually selecting vent position and fans speed should will work.

I just tested mine. Stop and Recir buttons depressed. Fan speed on 0. Vent switch set to dash vent. Temperature set to max cool. Reconnect battery and turn on ignition (car not started). Dash vent cycles through all positions and stops at the selected (center) position. Current temperature in garage is 76* F. If that makes an difference I don't know.

Since I have a spider and only drive in top down weather, I've never used the heat, except to test it when I got the car, and I always keep the Recir button depressed. On a really hot day I may release the Stop button to turn on the AC. But I keep the fan speed and vent position knobs in manual mode and select that position and fan speed I want with temperature set to max cool.