koreywill

Hey ORO, Thanks for checking back in. Maybe I got a bad one because I know for certain that when I pushed the bottom of the temp selector towards cold, it immediately swung the actuator all the way to the end of its travel. When I pushed the top of the temp selector towards warm, it didn't move until the readout said "HOT" and then it went all the way to the opposite end of its travel. There were absolutely no intermediate steps just one extreme or the other. As I said, maybe I got a bad one.
Did you pull the carpet down by the gas pedal so you could see the actuator? (Awkward positioning but it can be done.) And if you did, did you step the temp selector one degree at a time to see if the actuator arm moved in sync with the temp selector? That's the only way I knew for sure what mine was doing.

Oro

I actually tried that (pulled the carpet back). I could not manipulate the controls and at the same time see what was going on. My step-son will be here Sat. And maybe I’ll try that once I have extra eyes and hands. It’s easy to pull that carpet back so no problem trying.

Arsenii

I would still like to draw your attention to the Cabin Temperature Sensor, which usually has similar symptoms. It is easy enough to check without taking anything apart, the process was linked before, there were cases of me chasing ghosts before.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

koreywill

Ha! Occam's razor at work (chasing ghosts before).
I'll check it just to be sure but remember, I originally wanted to change the actuator because, as I changed the temperature the actuator moved in a jerky fashion and would not move smoothly through the entire range. Then, when I got the new one, it only went from one extreme to the other with no stops in between. Two different actuators, two different arm motions, both with the same cabin temperature sensor. But, i will check.

Oro

How do you know the incremental movement was the correct one, in fact? Did the other side do that which you could visibly see?

koreywill

Well, I'm pretty much at a loss as to what's next. Here's why: I took the 300 out of the garage, moved the carpet on the driver's side so I could see the actuator. Then, I went to the passenger side and removed the glove box, the panel that holds the glove box, and the panel below that so I could see the blend door actuator on that side. I warmed the car up to operating temperature, around 184 degrees, checked the outdoor ambient temp at 54 degrees, and then started playing with the temp selector after making sure it was set to "Dual", not recirculating, and airflow to the face. Here's what happened on the driver's side: From COOL to 65 degrees, one push of the temp selector the actuator moved the arm about 1/2". To 66 it moved a small increment. to 67 same as to 66. To 68 no movement at all, 69 a small incremental step, 70 same step, 71 same step, 72, same, 73, same, and then from 74 on up to HOT there was no motion at all as if the arm was already at the end of its movement. Air coming out of the vent was hot - 150 degrees.
The passenger side went like this: COOL to 65, it moved about 3/4 of an inch, to 66 about 1/2", to 67 a small increment, to 68, 69, 70, and 71 a small increment between each, 72 no movement, to 73 a small increment, to 74, 75, 76, and 77 a small increment between each and then from 78 on up to HOT there was no movement just like the driver's side.
So, what does all the show? Beats the heck out of me. It seems that both actuators are acting correctly like stepper motors across most of the temperature range even though I originally had problems with the driver's side getting stuck in the mid range and not moving at all. Maybe the ambient temperature affected the actuator action or maybe the Cabin Temp Sensor had a glitch. I don't know. For now I'll look forward to hearing from someone way smarter than me about this stuff to see if they can make sense out of the above.
PS In post 12 I said that the old one moved in incremental steps and the new one I had bought just swung from one end to the other with no stops in between. That was comparing both parts within a few minutes. That fact still has me confused.

Arsenii

You sure it's not a repeat of the situation that happened once before..?

Either way, if there is a fault with the Servo, there is a good chance it will show up in the Diagnostics menu discussed a few times now, and even if the fault magically fixed itself, unless you disconnected the battery in the meantime, there is a chance a code will still be in the memory. Would be a bit tricky to track it down now unless the issue returns, sometimes there are just gremlins we ourselves call on that cause us trouble, keep in mind that you are working with a worn out OEM and a strange knockoff from eBay here..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

koreywill

Hey Arsenii!
Well duh and slap my forehead. I finally got around to running the HVAC codes (Car off, hold AUTO and RECIRC, turn key on) and it went through the diagnostics. Shot code 21, 24, 36, and 46 at me. I was in a garage so 21 & 24 didn't bother me but 36 and 46 did. And then I remembered I had never cleared the codes from the last time I did this scan. So I cleared them all by pushing front defrost & rear defrost for 3 seconds. They cleared. I stopped everything by pushing OFF, backed the car out into the sunshine, and then I started the car and ran the HVAC through all the possible settings a couple of times. I then turned it off and started the diagnostics again by pushing AUTO and RECIRC and then turning the key to ON.
"00" Hallelujah!!!
So, maybe there's an intermittent problem with the driver's side air mix actuator, maybe there's not. I will run diagnostics pretty often after this experience for sure.
ORO, Arsenii, thanks for all your attempts to help me. It's nice to have "helping hands" when working on a perceived problem. Just want you to know it's appreciated.
Ps I searched "Lexus and Toyota HVAC code 36) pretty extensively but never did find what it meant. While it's no longer indicated as a problem, I'd sure like to know what Code 36 is.

Arsenii

The thing is that Servo is not just one circuit, there is a Motor, and a Position Sensor, hence two different codes to reflect that, here is a more detailed list of codes that shows 36 being there. Sienna forum comes to rescue again ... of all the options..

What likely happened is the ECU stored both Fault Codes when you unplugged your original Servo to connect the new one, while you were switching them around in Post #21, after that, the ECU put your new Servo in a Fault Mode, as there is clearly a Circuit Malfunction, hence the behavior you described. At least that's a theory, let's hope it stays that way..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

dpwct

[2003 ES 300. I have air-conditioning but no heat in cold climate the heat blows, cold air. Any ideas what this might be or what I should look at first.

QUOTE=Arsenii;11677838]I would still like to draw your attention to the Cabin Temperature Sensor, which usually has similar symptoms. It is easy enough to check without taking anything apart, the process was linked before, there were cases of me chasing ghosts before.

Hope this helps and best of luck![/QUOTE]

Arsenii

Refer to this thread.

dpwct

Is the term servo an actuator used interchangeably or are they two different things looking for parts for my 2003 ES 300





QUOTE=Arsenii;11678653]You sure it's not a repeat of the situation that happened once before..?

Either way, if there is a fault with the Servo, there is a good chance it will show up in the Diagnostics menu discussed a few times now, and even if the fault magically fixed itself, unless you disconnected the battery in the meantime, there is a chance a code will still be in the memory. Would be a bit tricky to track it down now unless the issue returns, sometimes there are just gremlins we ourselves call on that cause us trouble, keep in mind that you are working with a worn out OEM and a strange knockoff from eBay here..

Hope this helps and best of luck![/QUOTE]