Temperature control only works in auto?

Tiny
THINK FAR
  • MEMBER
  • 2013 CHEVROLET EQUINOX
  • 2.4L
  • 4 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 55,000 MILES
When the auto climate control function is turned off and the temperature is adjusted to let’s say 73, the air is either full hot or full cold. If it’s blowing full hot and the temperature is adjusted down to 70, it starts blowing full cold. When the auto button is pressed, the temperature settings work as they should with an appropriate amount of blending. Just to be clear, I don’t mean it blows hot air in the summer and cold air in the winter. It just chooses on its own what to do. I replaced the battery about a month ago and left the cables unhooked for about 30 minutes while I exchanged the battery, and this did not improve the situation. Any ideas what might be going on?
Sunday, March 5th, 2023 AT 2:49 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,348 POSTS
It sounds like the potentiometer inside the temperature control blend door actuator is not working correctly. We could do a CAN scan to see if anything comes up. You can get a CAN scanner (Controller Area Network) from Amazon here is a video to show you how. Also, you can try to recalibrate the system as well.

https://youtu.be/u-4syLc-ifQ

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/can-scan-controller-area-network-easy

Here is the location of the temperature control blend door actuator in case you need to replace it. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.
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Monday, March 6th, 2023 AT 9:48 AM
Tiny
THINK FAR
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
Thanks Ken, I’ll give the CAN scan a try this weekend and let you know the results.
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Monday, March 6th, 2023 AT 9:53 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,348 POSTS
Thank you, the CAN should tell us something.
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Monday, March 6th, 2023 AT 12:21 PM
Tiny
THINK FAR
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
Hey Ken, I picked up an Autel AP200 and didn’t get any codes for the HVAC. Should I move on to doing the manual recalibration or do you think it’s something else?
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Friday, March 10th, 2023 AT 2:45 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
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Okay, yep let's do a manual HVAC system reset. Please let me know what happens.
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Sunday, March 12th, 2023 AT 6:53 PM
Tiny
THINK FAR
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
So, I did the manual recalibration procedure and that appears to have corrected the problem the air feels like it is actually being blended rather than freezing or scalding. I also compared the live data on the AP200 (commanded counts matched position counts). The temperature door count was swinging from mid 50s at 70 degrees temp setting to 200 counts (max hot) when temperature was changed to 71. After the recalibration it goes from 82 counts to 129 counts.

On another note, I highly recommend this scanner. It is very powerful and only cost me about $54.00. Which brings me to a new question. Do you have any concerns with the power steering DTC? I couldn’t find any useful info on that code by searching the web.
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Monday, March 13th, 2023 AT 6:13 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,348 POSTS
That is a good scanner, they will get better and cheaper as time goes by. Glad you could get it fixed, thanks for letting us know. Please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help. Please post your new question here, you must be logged in.

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/new

Cheers, Ken
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Monday, March 13th, 2023 AT 12:20 PM

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