Exact setup for the 2010 Ram 1500....Thanks for the post!! Saved me a lot of time!!....one note though, only the actuator on TOP needs the white lever positioned UP upon reassembly. The BOTTOM one needs to be DOWN. It is marked on the vent wall if you get confused but its hard to see because the guides are the same color as the Vent. if you position the bottom one up, the vents will all work BUT that horrid grinding sound will still be there. Also, the housing on my after market actuator was a little thicker than the original. fitting it in the bottom actuator position was a tight fit; so i just swapped it out with the top one. they are interchangeable.
This was good info. My 2009 had the same issue. I did not unhook the electrical and just took the panel and hung it from my rear view mirror with a bungy cord. Found center actuator had a broken gear by easily taking it apart. Some will say you can rotate gear 180 degrees but you will notice on the outside of actuator an arrow at gear drive showing positioning of gear. Went ahead and replaced all three actuators for $29.00 each. The other actuator is in left side behind glove box . Glove box can be removed by pressing back side in when opened and dropped out. After completion all worked well. I thank all on you tube for much needed assistance. Huge savings in repair bill.
Thank you. This vid combined with one other, and an hour of work. Pulled it apart. Fixed all three acuators, and put it back together. The precision tune down the street wanted 400 plus parts. They kept my truck all day. Told me it was all the things that were not covered by my warranty. So I decided to try the acuators. And it worked. They all had broken teeth on the inside. All u have to do is rotate them to a section where there are no broken teeth. Back in business.
I had an 09 ram slt exactly as the one in this vid. Except I had the added 12 v outlet. Just had to pull out one extra screw. Same deal. If you are going to pull the thing apart. Pull apart all three acuators and rotate the teeth.
I own a 2009 Ram , followed your advise and found the unit to be damaged with teeth broken. My system had stop working completely, only the blower control would work. Not having a replacement on Sunday, I found after removing the bad unit that my system began to work again. I simply left the unit removed and I now have A/C again.. Thanks for the video, very helpful.....tuta!
Man I love TH-cam! Thanks for the video. Mine started to make noise yesterday and I didn't know what was happening. I determined it to be a Blend Door Actuator because my 2006 Ford Explorer had a similar problem. (go figure) Unfortunately it's Sunday and there aren't any parts available today. I'll be picking up the part tomorrow and doing this. Thanks for the great play by play. BTW, I had to replace my blower motor fan last week. That was very easy to do. Took me longer to find the correct size torx than actually doing the job. The bummer factor was the blower motor cost $130 at the dealer.
How did you know you had to replace the blower motor? I replaced both my actuators and this enabled me to switch from defrost to face to feet, etc. But it still takes 5 min for my fan to kick on full speed. Is this the motor or another control?
only took me 10 minutes to change mine because of your video. the hardest part is always taking things apart without breaking anything. this helped big time Thanks Much!!
I just replaced mine after watching your video. Seeing it here first was a big help. Thanks for the post. By the way, this is pretty easy if anyone is wondering.
After removing my Actuator unit, thinking that I could operate my a/c without it being installed. I discovered that I had to replace the unit for my AUTO headlight setting, A/C controls to work again. Let me be clear that my Actuator unit had stop knocking after a while. Which meant that the motor in the unit had shorted and died. When that happened it caused my AUTO LIGHT setting to malfunction and the A/C control panel to stop working. I wondered if they designed it that way. Please make sure what position the doors are in and what setting you have on the control switches. (Defrost-Panel-Floor). If you install your unit and you still hear a knocking noise. You will need to calibrate the Actuator by allowing it to move freely after connecting the power supply before mounting the unit. If the gearing don't line up with the arrow marking. You will have to open the unit and move the gear to the arrow setting. I know this may sound hard but I was able to do it.. I have been without A/C for a year. I hope this help...................TUTA!
THIS IS NOT FOR THE HEAT, it's for air diversion. the heater actuater is behind the glove box, easy to get to. AND when you pull the radio panel out, you can EASILY damage one of the plugs, it will actually pull it from the circuit board, EASILY.
Thanks this helped alot. Mine is a 2010 and just did that clicking noise today and I was like WTF is that !! Great truck beside light bulbs this will be my first in depth repair .
Thanks for taking the time in both posting this and the noise reference. I have the same dash type on my 09. Really appreciate just how thorough your instructions were.
Thank you so much for this video! Saved me a bunch of money! Mine was the top actuator (which is the defrost door actuator). It would start clicking whenever I turned the dial counterclockwise away from the modes that do defrost. A bunch of teeth were broken off of two gears inside. According to the K17 recall info I found online, the defrost door actuator is supposed to be replaced with a special low-torque version of the actuator on single-zone systems. I ordered part number 68089742AA, which has a sticker saying it's only for the defrost door actuator on single-zone systems, implying it's probably the low-torque version. Seems to work great!
BTW - Awesome instructions. Thank you! Saved a lot of time and money. Paid $30 for the replacement. Now I can defrost my windshield up here in Canada.....it's -15C!
I like Mr. J. Brown's comment. I did the same thing and it works a treat. I will say, do not pull the bezel around the radio in the manner Sid shows. Pull from both sides at the same time. And ... when separation the actuator, I used several flat head screw drivers to help take the pressure off 3-4of the clips at a time. Much easier to separate the unit with some shims holding one side of the actuator free. Thanks for the help! By your math, I saved £576!
Thank you for the video. I had this problem with my 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 and now I know how to fix it if those actuators break. My problem was the actuator behind the glove compartment.
great video. that the same problem we have with my dads truck its the same truck. can you please tell me the name of the part and where can i find it.. thank you
This is freaking awesome...My '09 just started doing this...but sometimes continues to click all night...ran down my battery a couple of occasions...will be fixing soon.
I guess I should state that my truck is 2010 Ram 2500 ST. I replaced the second actuator and still only floor air would work. Switched the positions of the 2 actuators and all works fine. 30 minutes start to finish and armor all the dash area to top it off.
My problem was no heat, but after looking at the two actuators behind the dash shown in your video I didn't see any stripped gears. Did some more research and found the one behind the glovebox. All you need to do is lower the glovebox out of the way (push in both sides of box to clear the stops) and there it is. I already had the center console removed, so not sure if you can remove both screws just through the glovebox opening. Thanks again!
Mine behind the glove box went bad too. These parts are pretty crappy. Figured out that my extended warranty covered these but the deductible is more than the part.
Had the same problem, i took off the actuator and took it apart to reveal the gears. I found a gear with two broken teeth, found the teeth and threw them out, then I completely turned the broken gear so it could use the good teeth and now no problem and no money spent.
Autozone tells me that they are NOT the same parts. One is for defrost. My knocking started again so I am going to replace the actuator that I did not replace the first time.
Ours made the knocking noise and the A/C went out last winter after we got our tires changed (literally the second I turned the truck on after Sam's installed the new tires)... Do you think I could replace these and that'll fix my A/c/heater???
does your AC takes a while to work when you start your truck? when mine starts it starts blowing air at the lowest speed even when you set the nob to the highest speed or auto, with a knocking noise (already changed the 3 blend door actuators on the front) and only after some time like 5 or 10 minutes starts working at other speeds any ideas?
So I replaced the broken actuator, verified it by taken it apart and seeing the broken teeth just like in the video. Started truck back up and now I have clicking again sounds like different louder clicking. The heat now does change to different locations. Before it was just going to the feet. Now with this new clicking after replacing the broken actuator on the right could the left one be broken now? what is the other one for?
I just checked both of these for my customer and he still has no heat...new thermostat..no clogged heater core ..and the truck is not overheating..also replaced the resistor next to the blower motor...I am still looking at what else it could be...any thoughts?
I have a 2013 ram I don’t have a knocking noise but for some reason there is no heat coming out of the driver the bottom of the driver in the top of the truck all the heat only comes out on the passenger side which one do I replace for that
after dealing with he flapping, my air stopped working and now it blows hot air. is this a recall? I took it to Dodge and they wanted 200 to find out what is wrong. but said it was the control head? I am sure this is all connected? any ideas?
Question for you: I have a 2011 Ram and the blower motor makes a hum noise, like a high pitched PC fan. It doesn't knock or rattle, just the hum that increases with fan speed and its something you always hear unless the stereo is turned up. I've searched high and low for answers, some say its normal while others say not. The Dodge Caliber actually has a factory silencer pad for its blower but Ram does not and I think they share the same model blower. Does your blower make such a hum noise when turned on? I'd like to get rid of the noise but an OEM replacement is $150 and if they're all like that I will have wasted my money. Thanks.
There's a third actuator that looks exactly like these two. If you remove the glove compartment, you should see another one on the far left side of that opening. That was the one that was clicking for me. Hope that helps someone...
th-cam.com/video/8XU_BycWqSQ/w-d-xo.html I had to open both of the ones in this are to figure it out. The one behind the glove box is easier to find because it is further away.
My 09 big horn just started clicking. It looks like the motor right behind the glove box. I now have no heat in any vent position. Did that happen to yours?
I replaced the actuator behind the lower glove box and all is good now. I got it from advance auto parts for $30 and installed it in 5 minutes. I took the old one apart and the teeth on the gears were ate up. just don't drop any screws especially if you have the center console like mine lol
You have to tell people to keep the white lever pushed up to the top BEFORE you slide in the replacement unit. If you don't you won't get the proper direction for the air and you will not get anything at the feet. Trust me.....I found out the hard way.
Ac is blowing air but not cold it has freon but still not cold. Will this fix that or what needs to be fixed?... It also did knocking noise near dash. Please help! T.I.A!
I am about to change mine for the fifth time. It goes bad at this time of year each year. Anyone else have this problem? Or suggestions on how to keep from having to repair this each year?
Exact setup for the 2010 Ram 1500....Thanks for the post!! Saved me a lot of time!!....one note though, only the actuator on TOP needs the white lever positioned UP upon reassembly. The BOTTOM one needs to be DOWN. It is marked on the vent wall if you get confused but its hard to see because the guides are the same color as the Vent. if you position the bottom one up, the vents will all work BUT that horrid grinding sound will still be there. Also, the housing on my after market actuator was a little thicker than the original. fitting it in the bottom actuator position was a tight fit; so i just swapped it out with the top one. they are interchangeable.
This was good info. My 2009 had the same issue. I did not unhook the electrical and just took the panel and hung it from my rear view mirror with a bungy cord. Found center actuator had a broken gear by easily taking it apart. Some will say you can rotate gear 180 degrees but you will notice on the outside of actuator an arrow at gear drive showing positioning of gear. Went ahead and replaced all three actuators for $29.00 each. The other actuator is in left side behind glove box . Glove box can be removed by pressing back side in when opened and dropped out. After completion all worked well. I thank all on you tube for much needed assistance. Huge savings in repair bill.
Thank you. This vid combined with one other, and an hour of work. Pulled it apart. Fixed all three acuators, and put it back together. The precision tune down the street wanted 400 plus parts. They kept my truck all day. Told me it was all the things that were not covered by my warranty. So I decided to try the acuators. And it worked. They all had broken teeth on the inside. All u have to do is rotate them to a section where there are no broken teeth. Back in business.
I had an 09 ram slt exactly as the one in this vid. Except I had the added 12 v outlet. Just had to pull out one extra screw. Same deal. If you are going to pull the thing apart. Pull apart all three acuators and rotate the teeth.
I am not mechanically incline but you just saved me $275 as I replaced mine on my 2009 Ram in 1.5 hours. Thank you SO SO much for posting this video!!
I own a 2009 Ram , followed your advise and found the unit to be damaged with teeth broken. My system had stop working completely, only the blower control would work. Not having a replacement on Sunday, I found after removing the bad unit that my system began to work again. I simply left the unit removed and I now have A/C again.. Thanks for the video, very helpful.....tuta!
Good
That is great. Glad I could help.
Man I love TH-cam! Thanks for the video. Mine started to make noise yesterday and I didn't know what was happening. I determined it to be a Blend Door Actuator because my 2006 Ford Explorer had a similar problem. (go figure) Unfortunately it's Sunday and there aren't any parts available today. I'll be picking up the part tomorrow and doing this. Thanks for the great play by play. BTW, I had to replace my blower motor fan last week. That was very easy to do. Took me longer to find the correct size torx than actually doing the job. The bummer factor was the blower motor cost $130 at the dealer.
How did you know you had to replace the blower motor? I replaced both my actuators and this enabled me to switch from defrost to face to feet, etc. But it still takes 5 min for my fan to kick on full speed. Is this the motor or another control?
only took me 10 minutes to change mine because of your video. the hardest part is always taking things apart without breaking anything. this helped big time Thanks Much!!
I just replaced mine after watching your video. Seeing it here first was a big help. Thanks for the post. By the way, this is pretty easy if anyone is wondering.
TheeJeffrocco vv
After removing my Actuator unit, thinking that I could operate my a/c without it being installed. I discovered that I had to replace the unit for my AUTO headlight setting, A/C controls to work again. Let me be clear that my Actuator unit had stop knocking after a while. Which meant that the motor in the unit had shorted and died. When that happened it caused my AUTO LIGHT setting to malfunction and the A/C control panel to stop working. I wondered if they designed it that way. Please make sure what position the doors are in and what setting you have on the control switches. (Defrost-Panel-Floor). If you install your unit and you still hear a knocking noise. You will need to calibrate the Actuator by allowing it to move freely after connecting the power supply before mounting the unit. If the gearing don't line up with the arrow marking. You will have to open the unit and move the gear to the arrow setting. I know this may sound hard but I was able to do it.. I have been without A/C for a year.
I hope this help...................TUTA!
THIS IS NOT FOR THE HEAT, it's for air diversion. the heater actuater is behind the glove box, easy to get to. AND when you pull the radio panel out, you can EASILY damage one of the plugs, it will actually pull it from the circuit board, EASILY.
Thanks this helped alot. Mine is a 2010 and just did that clicking noise today and I was like WTF is that !! Great truck beside light bulbs this will be my first in depth repair .
Thanks for taking the time in both posting this and the noise reference. I have the same dash type on my 09. Really appreciate just how thorough your instructions were.
Thank you so much for this video! Saved me a bunch of money! Mine was the top actuator (which is the defrost door actuator). It would start clicking whenever I turned the dial counterclockwise away from the modes that do defrost. A bunch of teeth were broken off of two gears inside. According to the K17 recall info I found online, the defrost door actuator is supposed to be replaced with a special low-torque version of the actuator on single-zone systems. I ordered part number 68089742AA, which has a sticker saying it's only for the defrost door actuator on single-zone systems, implying it's probably the low-torque version. Seems to work great!
BTW - Awesome instructions. Thank you! Saved a lot of time and money. Paid $30 for the replacement. Now I can defrost my windshield up here in Canada.....it's -15C!
I like Mr. J. Brown's comment. I did the same thing and it works a treat. I will say, do not pull the bezel around the radio in the manner Sid shows. Pull from both sides at the same time. And ... when separation the actuator, I used several flat head screw drivers to help take the pressure off 3-4of the clips at a time. Much easier to separate the unit with some shims holding one side of the actuator free. Thanks for the help! By your math, I saved £576!
Thank you for the video. I had this problem with my 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 and now I know how to fix it if those actuators break. My problem was the actuator behind the glove compartment.
Thanks for your help man. I replaced it today after dealing with it for 2 months.
great video. that the same problem we have with my dads truck its the same truck. can you please tell me the name of the part and where can i find it.. thank you
Great video and thank you!! Probably saved $200+ by not taking it to the shop.
Life saver, i was about to take the entire dash apart. THANKS!
MojarraMutante lp
dude this video will help me a LOT thank you
I was going nuts I need my defroster before winter
This is freaking awesome...My '09 just started doing this...but sometimes continues to click all night...ran down my battery a couple of occasions...will be fixing soon.
I guess I should state that my truck is 2010 Ram 2500 ST. I replaced the second actuator and still only floor air would work. Switched the positions of the 2 actuators and all works fine. 30 minutes start to finish and armor all the dash area to top it off.
My problem was no heat, but after looking at the two actuators behind the dash shown in your video I didn't see any stripped gears. Did some more research and found the one behind the glovebox. All you need to do is lower the glovebox out of the way (push in both sides of box to clear the stops) and there it is. I already had the center console removed, so not sure if you can remove both screws just through the glovebox opening. Thanks again!
Mine behind the glove box went bad too. These parts are pretty crappy. Figured out that my extended warranty covered these but the deductible is more than the part.
So, the noise coming from the white box thing behind the glove box getting stuck is actually caused by a part behind the cupholder?
Is it the actuator causing this in my truck or is it the blend door itself? Thanks for the video. I'm going to have to do this in the am.
Had the same problem, i took off the actuator and took it apart to reveal the gears. I found a gear with two broken teeth, found the teeth and threw them out, then I completely turned the broken gear so it could use the good teeth and now no problem and no money spent.
Are both actuators the same part number. I’m just going to change both while it’s apart
Autozone tells me that they are NOT the same parts. One is for defrost. My knocking started again so I am going to replace the actuator that I did not replace the first time.
Ours made the knocking noise and the A/C went out last winter after we got our tires changed (literally the second I turned the truck on after Sam's installed the new tires)... Do you think I could replace these and that'll fix my A/c/heater???
does your AC takes a while to work when you start your truck? when mine starts it starts blowing air at the lowest speed even when you set the nob to the highest speed or auto, with a knocking noise (already changed the 3 blend door actuators on the front) and only after some time like 5 or 10 minutes starts working at other speeds any ideas?
Are both actuators the same ? Any idea what the part number is?
Thanks for the video! It was very very helpful. Saved a ton of money by doing it ourselves.
So I replaced the broken actuator, verified it by taken it apart and seeing the broken teeth just like in the video. Started truck back up and now I have clicking again sounds like different louder clicking. The heat now does change to different locations. Before it was just going to the feet. Now with this new clicking after replacing the broken actuator on the right could the left one be broken now? what is the other one for?
Thank you much, first time I took my truck to a shop they made it even worse. Thank you for the video 👍
I just checked both of these for my customer and he still has no heat...new thermostat..no clogged heater core ..and the truck is not overheating..also replaced the resistor next to the blower motor...I am still looking at what else it could be...any thoughts?
I have a 2013 ram I don’t have a knocking noise but for some reason there is no heat coming out of the driver the bottom of the driver in the top of the truck all the heat only comes out on the passenger side which one do I replace for that
after dealing with he flapping, my air stopped working and now it blows hot air. is this a recall? I took it to Dodge and they wanted 200 to find out what is wrong. but said it was the control head? I am sure this is all connected? any ideas?
Question for you:
I have a 2011 Ram and the blower motor makes a hum noise, like a high pitched PC fan. It doesn't knock or rattle, just the hum that increases with fan speed and its something you always hear unless the stereo is turned up. I've searched high and low for answers, some say its normal while others say not. The Dodge Caliber actually has a factory silencer pad for its blower but Ram does not and I think they share the same model blower.
Does your blower make such a hum noise when turned on? I'd like to get rid of the noise but an OEM replacement is $150 and if they're all like that I will have wasted my money.
Thanks.
Sorry I never got back to you on this. I had no idea all these posts were here.
I wouldn't be much help though, I don't have a humming noise.
Thanks,short and to the point,great vid.
It appears I have this same problem, the only difference is the noise happens after I shut the truck off. Could it be the same thing?
I have this problem. Thank You for the information. Great job!!
There's a third actuator that looks exactly like these two. If you remove the glove compartment, you should see another one on the far left side of that opening. That was the one that was clicking for me. Hope that helps someone...
Matthew Banuelos do you know what that actuator controls?
it switches the air hot to cold
Where is the video or link for the noise it was making? How do I know it is this one and not another one as there is 3 actuators?
th-cam.com/video/8XU_BycWqSQ/w-d-xo.html
I had to open both of the ones in this are to figure it out. The one behind the glove box is easier to find because it is further away.
you just saved me a ton of cash..great video.
My 09 big horn just started clicking. It looks like the motor right behind the glove box. I now have no heat in any vent position. Did that happen to yours?
Hey Richard. Mine did the same thing. any word on what was wrong? I was quoted 875$ from the dealership to replace a 52$ part
I replaced the actuator behind the lower glove box and all is good now. I got it from advance auto parts for $30 and installed it in 5 minutes. I took the old one apart and the teeth on the gears were ate up. just don't drop any screws especially if you have the center console like mine lol
my floor vents and defrost vents work. just my face vents don't blow. the blend door works. what could it be 02 1500
You have to tell people to keep the white lever pushed up to the top BEFORE you slide in the replacement unit. If you don't you won't get the proper direction for the air and you will not get anything at the feet. Trust me.....I found out the hard way.
Thank you. Turned my truck on was like wtf is that noise.
thx man saved me a ton of time
You saved the day, thank you for can informative video
Ac is blowing air but not cold it has freon but still not cold. Will this fix that or what needs to be fixed?... It also did knocking noise near dash. Please help! T.I.A!
Did u fix the problem?
Thank you! Very informative.
I am about to change mine for the fifth time. It goes bad at this time of year each year. Anyone else have this problem? Or suggestions on how to keep from having to repair this each year?
I replaced all 3 on my 2009 ram 1500 they worked for 24 hours and back to not working. I gave up
thank you for the video. it really helped
Helped me fix mine, thanks!
this video really help me tx
Thanks a lot this really helped