bluer101 241 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Now that I have been using the AC more I have noticed something. You don't need to turn on the AC to see if this happens. If you start the car then press the recirculate the flap under the dash shuts then opens then shuts and opens. It does this like 4 times until the motor shuts off in recirculate mode. Then if you press of recirculate it does the same thing in reverse ending with recirculate mode off. I started to notice this if I leave the recirculate on when I turn off the spark. When I would turn it back on then immediately turn the air on high you can here the air go in and out recirculate for about 10 seconds. I know it's the recirculate door because I removed the glove box and watched it happen. You can get it to repeat by just pressing the button without the AC on. So can anyone tell me if your Spark does this? Link to post Share on other sites
Classing 6 Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 I wonder if this has anything to do with the A/C issues I have been reading about? If it cycles from recirc to outside (fresh air) mode while driving it would certainly cause the air to warm and cool like the complaints I have read. Just a thought... Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 No it only happens when turning the recirculate on or off. It will also happen if you start the Spark while in recirculate mode. If its in fresh air nothing. If you put the fan on high you can hear it fluctuate back and forth about 4 times. Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 Does anyone know how to re calibrate the actuator for the recirculate? I tried a procedure for other GM cars and have no idea if it did anything. Link to post Share on other sites
jibb3r 29 Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Mine only moves once in either direction. It moves slowly, but only makes the sound once. You said you can hear it on fan speed 4? So your air blows harder on/off four times, before it stops? Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted May 15, 2013 Author Share Posted May 15, 2013 You don't need the air even on. Just press the recirculate button with the glovebox removed. You can see and hear the flap move slow to one side then go back to center real quick and repeat 3 more times till it stops in the correct position. Then it will do the same thing in the opposite direction if pressed again. I asked the mechanic yesterday during the Mylink update and he was unsure of the relearn. But it sounds like the actuator needs replacing. He said the dash needs to be removed. I told him I could do it but it will take time without dash removal. It has 2 5 mm screws and one wire harness. I can see it with the inspection mirror. Also might get some access to it through the passenger dash speaker removed. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 I bet the computer needs to be programmed after the thing is replaced, it really sounds like a logic problem where the computer can't find the position of the flap. I don't think mine has ever done this, pretty sure it just goes open or closed depending on which setting I choose. May have to pull the glove box tonight and take a look, maybe point a camera at it too. Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted May 15, 2013 Author Share Posted May 15, 2013 (edited) Well I took a video. http://s333.photobucket.com/user/bluer101/media/Spark/6EC1AAFE-0E29-466B-903E-8B48E1C0B66B-136-000000032FCC3235.mp4.html Edited July 18, 2013 by bluer101 Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted May 15, 2013 Author Share Posted May 15, 2013 Greg, the actuator only has 2 wires so how would it communicate back to the computer? Maybe there is a tension piece in the motor that is broken. When it gets tension it cuts the power. If it does not cut power maybe the computer sends a power signal for only say 10 seconds regardless if its working or not. Link to post Share on other sites
Dori 13 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Stupid question, how do I remove the glovebox to see the flap? Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 Stupid question, how do I remove the glovebox to see the flap? Open the glovebox, then you have to bow the sides in to get the pins past the dash. After you have it past the dash you have to pull the glove box straight out at an somewhat upward angle, about 9-10 o'clock. It's just clipped to the dash on each side at the bottom. You can see it if you look. It's a C channel that clips to the dash. It's hard to explain. Link to post Share on other sites
Lovgun7 75 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 just got a call from the dealer and my car is ready I asked "the a/c is working?" he said "yup" we'll see lol Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Thought there was a thread, mine has started doing the recirc. dance, going in tomorrow to lay a load of problems on them. Link to post Share on other sites
Lovgun7 75 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 alright... first impressions its definitely an improvement. idle stays cool but can say it's cold... im gonna drive it like that for a bit and I'll see what happens in a week or so Link to post Share on other sites
Dori 13 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 No recirc flap problem for me. Opens and closes only ounce when the button is pushed. Pauses half way for a split second, but I think that is normal. Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 Thought there was a thread, mine has started doing the recirc. dance, going in tomorrow to lay a load of problems on them. Greg please let me know what's up with our issue. I'm happy and sad that you have the issue. I'm not the only one. I disconnected mine in the recirculate position to minimize more damage. There is 3 possibilities what can be wrong. Broken actuator motor, reprogramming, or bad AC control module. Boy does the 3 fix sound familiar. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 The bad A/C controller is looking like a serious possibility. Again the funny thing is I never noticed anything when I was using the heat in the winter, and probably only noticed it now because I was trying to cool the car down with the half functional cooling system so I needed recirc. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Got a video, will upload shortly and link. Not as bad as some days, but it certainly shows that the flap doesn't know what it wants to do! Easy enough to find which is what makes me so angry. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) Video is here, don't blink because there are some neat spasms when you least expect it. Edited August 13, 2013 by Greg_E Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted August 14, 2013 Author Share Posted August 14, 2013 Video is here, don't blink because there are some neat spasms when you least expect it. Is that just by pressing the button once? See mine after pressing the button once if the air s on or off it will do that bounce back 4 times and end up in whatever position you selected. You can see in my video above. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 No, it was pretty mild today, I added some notes in the video (top left corner during playback), it was pressing the button twice during that minute of time. The last day I used it I had several cycles from a single recirc. fresh cycle. I found it interesting that no only did it spasm in the closed position, but it also spasms in the open position. The squiggly lines are silver sharpie I put on it to make sure I could see it open and close, probably should have pulled the filter and shined a light inside. Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted August 14, 2013 Author Share Posted August 14, 2013 Ok, then yours does what mine does. If you press the button once it should cycle 4 times ( go one way then twitch 3-4 times) then stops in that position. Then if you hit the button again it repeats the process but the other way. The AC and blower can be on or off. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Mine still needs to work up to the failure, took a couple of cycles today, but Sunday it failed immediately and then stuck half way between. Either way it needs to be fixed and they never looked at it when it was in the shop. Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted August 14, 2013 Author Share Posted August 14, 2013 Greg, please left me know what they find out this time. It looks like you and I are the only 2 with this issue that we know of. Link to post Share on other sites
spark owner's mom 0 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Can you tell this is happening without taking glove box out? does it make enough noise to hear with glove box in place? Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now