AC Flapper Door question

The flap is located in the right rear corner of the front trunk. When the flap is open, your A/C system is in the fresh air mode. When the flap is closed, you're in recirculation mode. To check it, you just turn on the A/C and look at the air intake chamber in the trunk. When you hit the recirculation button on the control panel, the flap should move from open to closed. When it's open, you can see the "squirrel cage" fan itself.

If you're not getting adequate air flow out the vents, that shouldn't really be due to the flap, as the fan should still be recirculating the air inside the cabin. I would suspect that either your fan is starting to stick and isn't turning at full speed, or one of the under-dash ducts has come disconnected and the air is dumping out before it reaches the vents.

 

You should be able to physically watch the door open and close by simply looking into the bonnet while the switch is pressed for recirc. The flapper moves slowly enough that you can see it without another person helping. Maybe it is not fully closing or sealing (thus allowing too much 'fresh' air to enter?

 

Daniel, is there any special procedure when replacing the flapper motor?

 

Unplug the old one. Remove the two screws that hold it in place. Install the new motor. Plug it in.

Honestly, the most difficult part is removing the front carpet piece to gain access to the motor... and even that is pretty straightforward.

 

Common problem. Sounds like a little plastic piece broke off the flapper door. Ricambi has a replacement piece made of brass. An easy fix. Mine was broken as well as my recirc motor that operates the flapper door.

 

More than likely, your motor is fine. You will need this pin that fits between the motor and the flap. The original is plastic and usually breaks. Just remove the motor, the two broken pieces of the old plastic pin. One half of the pin will be stuck in the end of the flap. Then while holding the flap in place, insert the new metal pin through the housing into the flap. Then install the motor and test.

http://www.ricambiamerica.com/product_info.php?cPath=600_100040&products_id=261210

 

I replaced mine and it works fine now. Just pull the entire liner to make it easy to get to.

Mobilized reply by David

 

yes, it certainly affects how cold the A/C is... much colder when the recirc. is on and the flapper is closed so you can't see the fan when looking at the plastic housing. While waiting for your part, if you're out in the heat you could just use some tape to hold the flapper in the closed position to stay cooler when the A/C is on.

 

Your a/c system may also need to be serviced if it is not cold enough. If it has been a long time since anything has been done to it, you may also need to install a new receiver dryer before servicing. While the force of the fan will not part your hair, the a/c should be cold especially when in recirc mode. With these systems, even the smallest details are very important. I have read where some people have replaced the dryer or pulled the compressor for some reason and then did not pull a vacuum on the system before recharging. You can not take any shortcuts with a Ferrari a/c system. Also, if you convert from the R12 to R134a, it will not cool as well. While it will work, it is just not going to be as cool as it was with the R12.