The driver's side hot/cold blend door actuator on my 2005 Impala LS is intermittent. It will work for a few days, crap out, and start working again a few days later.

I tried a new actuator, and it's still intermittent. So I'm thinking it almost has to be a problem with the HVAC control panel - probably the hot/cold slider pot itself. Or maybe a cold solder joint on the circuit board.

The HVAC control panel is this style:




(btw, that's a stock photo. Mine is still tucked away in the dash, which I'd prefer to not have to tear apart).

Can anyone tell me if it's possible to open up the control panel to get to the circuit board, or is it a sealed unit? Also, are the hot/cold slider pot assemblies sealed, or would I be able to possibly try some contact cleaner? I was even thinking of spraying some contact cleaner thru the slit in the front bezel and "working" the pot up & down to remove any possble oxidation on the wiper/contact assembly - kinda like what you would do on a noisy stereo slider.

Any info or advice is much appreciated.

 

The pots aren't sealed, so you could try cleaning it. You won't have to take it apart if you want to spray some cleaner through the slots.
Slide pots seem to wear fast sometimes, so it's probably failed, though. I don't know if cleaning it would help, but it's worth a try.

As far a taking it apart, yes, it is possible to open the controls. I took it apart to replace the burned out bulbs with LEDs on my Impala. Once you get the HVAC controls removed, there are three screws that you need to remove. I think I used a 3/16in socket to remove them. Carefully take the back cover off and you'll see the circuit board. There will be one more screw to remove the board. Caution though, that board is extremely fragile. I broke the original and had to start over. If cleaning it doesn't work, I've seen replacement ones for $35 on the internet. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for your informative reply.

I'm going to try spraying some contact cleaner thru the slots. That idea only came to me as I was composing my original post - haven't had a chance to try it yet.

If that doesn't fix it, I'll probably just bite the bullet & install a replacement control panel. They're available used on eBay starting at about $25. I certainly don't look forward to tearing out the dash, though.

I'll post the results here.


thanks again,
JohnB