355 climate control - Air direction not working

You can't use the ones you removed when you pulled off the old unit? As I recall, there were average round-headed Phillips head screws maybe an inch long or so. I would suggest before going through the contortions of installing the new unit, just plug it into the harness, and see if the motor turns different degrees when you select different air outlet options. If it seems to check out OK, then proceed with the joy of installation.

 

Long story, the screws are missing. It looks like my shop took out the actuator to diagnose the problem and forgot to put it back in. I'm sure they'll take care of it, I just wanted to get it put back in before I take the car in again.

 

Having checked the parts diagram for a 355, I was hoping the selector dial for the air direction was a separate piece that could be maybe be at fault, but it looks like it connects straight to the computer...not good news. Unless there's a problem in the wire bundle connecting the computer to the actuator, it looks like a bad computer module. If you have a very sympathetic friend with a 355, it would be nice to borrow their climate control module to see if that fixes it. If it does, having seen the cost of a new module, I personally would consider cracking open your bad computer box if possible, and see if there are contacts for the selector dial that maybe could be cleaned or any other glaring problems. If not, it's either cough up for a new module, or covert the selector to cable actuation with a control lever discreetly hidden somewhere.

 

Disconnect then reconnect the battery.

 

Now you've let the cat out of the bag

 

Hi Dkilka,

Do you have the part number for the air flow direction actuator? I am not sure which part it is from the diagram. I have the same problem.

thanks.

 

The airflow direction actuator is here: Ferrari Parts : 63307100 TIMING ACTUATOR : Ricambi America

The little pin which controls the recirculation door is available here: Ferrari Parts : 348/355 Air Re-circulation boss : Ricambi America

And finally, the actuator for the recirculation door is available here: Ferrari Parts : 63306700 EVAPORATOR LID ACTUATOR : Ricambi America


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My F355 spider has done this same thing from time to time and most recently, when it came out of major service a couple months ago. Except for cold mornings here in Texas, I can live without the HVAC (heat or a/c). In fact, the whole reason I'll drive it to the office is to drop the top and enjoy the afternoon drive home. With temperatures getting into the 90s, however, I do like to leave the top up occasionally and take advantage of the air conditioning, so today I thought I'd do some 'tinkering' and discovered something that may, or may not, be relevant.

I reset everything by cutting the battery power for a few minutes then turned on the HVAC in 'auto' mode (auto air position and auto fan speed). It stayed in defrost position but it seemed to be calling for proper air temperature (in this case, cold air). I also noticed that the recirculation door remained open regardless of the button position. I tried running it in 'manual' mode (selecting air position and fan speed) - no change to the air position or recirculation door (I could always manually control the fan speed). So, I tried cutting the battery power again and completely by chance left the HVAC controls in 'manual' mode instead of 'auto'. I reapplied battery power and as soon as I turned the ignition switch, I could hear the air position motor running. Sure enough, when I started the car I was getting cold air from the face vents (which were selected) and I could control the recirculation door.

So, maybe there's something to resetting the HVAC system out of 'auto' mode. It seemed to cure mine - at least for today.

 

I finally was able to remove the direction actuator and replaced it with a screw to fix the flow come out of the front vents.

Next its time to trouble shoot the recirculation issue.

 

So, does it look like the "open/close" flap is missing?

Can someone show me a photo of their working recirculation flap please?
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I have the same problem too. I can't find out flap door.

 

Flap open
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Flap half way closed
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Flap closed
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I did this mod too. At first it kept reverting back to defrost, but if you rotate it enough with the screwdriver, you will find the spot where it comes 90% from the vents, a tiny bit from defrost (10%) and the barrel stays in place without taping a screwdriver in there.

Loved having AC this past summer. OH GOD SO MUCH BETTER. No longer need to bring a towel and flip flops to drive in August, like I'm going to visit the sauna. Some of you know what I mean...a 355 can absolutely BAKE, even with the windows down. So, thanks to this thread, I'm cool again.

 

Sadly, these links are now 'File Not Found'

 

My stepper motor worked both ways when I manually applied power to number 1 and 5 pins. I had the issue of the stepper motor not getting the signal to close the heater valve. It turned out to be the AC ECU. I bought one form an fchat member. I plugged it in, turned power back on, then started the car and it worked. Ac fixed

 

Thank you to an Fchatter who requested I update the links on these items:

(1) 63307100 TIMING ACTUATOR - Ricambi America, Inc.
(2) 348/355 Air Re-circulation boss - Ricambi America, Inc.
(3) 63306700 EVAPORATOR LID ACTUATOR - Ricambi America, Inc.


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Looks like the only difference between 63307100 and 63306700 is that one has a potentiometer build in to sense position, and it's $60 cheaper for the more complex part.

 

Hello all,
I am currently fixing whatever I find not working on my F355 96 GTB.
However, it seems that I now have the same problem as described here by many.

My air direction does not work anymore (stays always on "defrost"). Actually I guess it never did work since I bought the car 3 years ago. IMHO, the fooling power with fan on 1 or 2 is not quite enough if it's not blowing directly out of the front vents... And level 3 and 4 is too loud for me....

I did disconnect/connect the power switch and also the 2 plugs on the HVAC ECU. After switching on the ignition, the barrel turns in both direction and then stops in the "Defrost" position. The fan is off during that time. After this "initializing" is over, the fan goes to the speed selected on the knob. However, changing the air direction knob does not change anything on the barrel. I tried this procedure with several combinations of knobs/stop-button, etc... The result is always the same. Most other functions (fan speed, temperature) seem to work fine.

I also figured out that my recirc-flap is not working anymore (which it was last year). Taking out the recirc-actuator and connecting to +/-12V, it works fine. I measured and found that the HVAC ECU does not sent any voltage anymore to the recirc-flap. I recall from last year, that there is always either 12V or -12V sent to the recirc-flap.

So somehow I think the ECU is partially shot.

There is a company in the US fixing that ECU, seems I am not the only one with the ECU failing. Does anyone knows what exactly they do with the ECU?
Ferrari 355 360 430 Climate Control Programmer Computer Repair Service | eBay
Does anyone know if there is a similar service in Europe.

I am also thinking of removing the barrel actuator and connecting a manual handle so that at least I can operate it by climbing under the passenger food well. 99% of the time I will anyway run it in "front vent" mode.


Best regards, Simon

 

I have an F355 HVAC ECU confirmed in stock -- but it's pretty brutal on pricing.

64324800 ECU A/C - Ricambi America, Inc.

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