Air door actuator behind glove box is making loud tapping sound?

Tiny
VIJAY SONI
  • MEMBER
  • 2013 CHEVROLET IMPALA
  • 3.6L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 110,000 MILES
One of the air door actuator - right one behind the glove box is making a loud tapping sound. I disconnected the power supply connector to quiet it and ordered an actuator from Amazon. Once I got the new actuator (for $14) I replaced the faulty one. The faulty one had those little plastic gears inside it with broken teeth which was making the loud noise. But the new one is also making noise. I opened the new one and it seems fine from inside - no teeth missing on those little gears inside. Why is the new one is making sound and what can I do?
Thursday, August 18th, 2022 AT 11:03 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 43,081 POSTS
Was the part an AC Delco? If not, this is your problem, I know the original went out, but these parts are cheap, and the aftermarket ones are even cheaper. Or you could have an obstruction inside the plenum such as a pen or stick that has failing inside the vent system and is causing blend door not to operate on its full swing. I would remove the actuator and try to turn the pivot by hand, you should hear the blend door open and close fully.

Check out this guide which shows what I am talking about:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-blend-door-motor

I have included instructions in the images below for proper installation.

Check out the diagrams (below). Let us know what happens and please upload pictures or videos of the problem.

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Friday, August 19th, 2022 AT 9:28 AM
Tiny
VIJAY SONI
  • MEMBER
  • 11 POSTS
The part was not AC Delco but some cheap one from Amazon that costs only $13. Also, I could turn the door by pivot using my hand, so there is no obstruction in the movement of air door. I feel that once I installed the new one, it starts to move the pivot as soon as I plug in the connector even with engine off which is normal. But once the air door comes to its final position that it is driving towards, the motor is still kept energized by the power supply through that connector and forces it to move but there is no space left to move as the door has reached its final position. Now the plastic gears inside it starts slipping to cause noise and it happens for about a minute and then stops maybe because power supply is taken off by computer. After this I opened the new actuator to see the state of gears and found no damage meaning they were slipping without getting broken - maybe the plastic they are made of is bit more elastic than solid plastic. How does the computer know when to pull off the supply when it should upon reaching final position by door? I am talking about the actuator that controls air circulation - inside or outside air.
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Friday, August 19th, 2022 AT 5:28 PM
Tiny
VIJAY SONI
  • MEMBER
  • 11 POSTS
It was resolved after I bought another one from O'Reilly auto instead of Amazon.
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Saturday, August 20th, 2022 AT 2:31 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 43,081 POSTS
Yep, that will do it, there is an amazing amount of super cheap parts out there that don't work or just fail once installed. Use 2CarPros anytime, we are here to help. Please tell a friend.
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Sunday, August 21st, 2022 AT 1:11 PM

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