93SixtySpecial Posted October 26, 2011 Report Share Posted October 26, 2011 As you well know it's ND and it's getting cold outside. I just noticed now that my heater isn't working up to par. Even if I have it cranked all the way open, it still only puts out mildly warm air, maybe 70 degrees if that. I'm thinking it's a plugged heater core, but i wanted to get some advice here first. The water pump and thermostat have both recently been replaced. I also added the GM coolant tabs when I put everything back together. My A/C still works if that has any relation. I don't know if it was a progressive heat loss or a sudden heat loss because i haven't used my heat in about 5-6 months. My operating temp consistently stays around 190 and warms up normally from a cold start. Car is 99 Deville with 258,000 miles. If it is a plugged heater core, can I try back flushing it? -Dusty- 2006 Cadillac DTS Glacier Gold Tri-Coat with 175,000 miles 1993 Cadillac Sixty Special Gold Mist with 185,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 27, 2011 Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 If you have verified the blend doors are in the proper position, I'd suspect a plugged heater core. Back flush it and the forward flush it. Repeat several times. It is beat to use hot water and if you have the ability to apply air from an air compressor to gradually boost the pressure of the flush, that works best. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93SixtySpecial Posted October 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 Thanks KHE, where can I find the blend door? I know where the passenger temp blend door is (right behind the glove box) but what about the main one? Is it tough to get to? Anyone got a diagram? -Dusty- 2006 Cadillac DTS Glacier Gold Tri-Coat with 175,000 miles 1993 Cadillac Sixty Special Gold Mist with 185,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93SixtySpecial Posted October 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 Ok, so I fiddled with the blend door behind the glove box and I have heat now. I had problems with that actuator earlier this summer too where it would pump out hot air to the passenger side. All it takes is a little shove on the arm and it seems to start working again. Do you think it's the actuator or the controller? -Dusty- 2006 Cadillac DTS Glacier Gold Tri-Coat with 175,000 miles 1993 Cadillac Sixty Special Gold Mist with 185,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 27, 2011 Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 The other actuator is below the one you found. Remove the kick panel on the passenger side and you should see it. The gears in the actuator are probably broken. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinW Posted October 27, 2011 Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 Ok, so I fiddled with the blend door behind the glove box and I have heat now. I had problems with that actuator earlier this summer too where it would pump out hot air to the passenger side. All it takes is a little shove on the arm and it seems to start working again. Do you think it's the actuator or the controller? A DTC is reported if the actuator's reported position does not change in response to the commanded position; this would confirm an unresponsive actuator. You might try disassembling it and applying a couple drops of oil to the motor. ___________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillac85 Posted October 27, 2011 Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 Hllo, I also have the same problem with my 1990 coupe deville....4.5L....can you help me with this problem when you figure it out...my a/c also works.....it seems like the heat is room temperature and only comes out on the floor.....does this tell me anything about what I should do....what do I do with the actuators and about flushing the system.....any help would be appreciated....I just love this car but it is getting really cold......brrrrrrrrrrr....lol......thank you for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93SixtySpecial Posted October 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 Pulled my codes and got this: ACM b1341=air mix door two movement fault -Dusty- 2006 Cadillac DTS Glacier Gold Tri-Coat with 175,000 miles 1993 Cadillac Sixty Special Gold Mist with 185,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 27, 2011 Report Share Posted October 27, 2011 Hllo, I also have the same problem with my 1990 coupe deville....4.5L....can you help me with this problem when you figure it out...my a/c also works.....it seems like the heat is room temperature and only comes out on the floor.....does this tell me anything about what I should do....what do I do with the actuators and about flushing the system.....any help would be appreciated....I just love this car but it is getting really cold......brrrrrrrrrrr....lol......thank you for the help The heat is designed to only come out on the floor in that vintage of car. Heat rises and it will warm the car quicker vs. coming out the vents. Also, heat coming out the vents will tend to dry out your eyes. Sounds like you either have a mix door issue or your heater core is partially plugged or someone has replaced the special tee in the heater hose circuit with a hardware store tee that doesn't have the restriction orifice in the leg. Without the orifice, there will be little to no heat. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93SixtySpecial Posted November 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Just wanted to let everyone know that the actuator fixed my issue. I was getting ACM B1341 and the actuator kept swinging it's arm all the way around as if it was confused causing a loud clicking noise as it tried to push the blend door too far. I purchased a used blend door actuator for $35 and it works absolutley perfect now. I read in a couple of other forums that some mechancis were trying to sell people a whole new control head due to this issue. And according to my service records, the previous owner did replace the control head due to this issue. Make sure you check this out first. -Dusty- 2006 Cadillac DTS Glacier Gold Tri-Coat with 175,000 miles 1993 Cadillac Sixty Special Gold Mist with 185,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Just wanted to let everyone know that the actuator fixed my issue. I was getting ACM B1341 and the actuator kept swinging it's arm all the way around as if it was confused causing a loud clicking noise as it tried to push the blend door too far. I purchased a used blend door actuator for $35 and it works absolutley perfect now. I read in a couple of other forums that some mechancis were trying to sell people a whole new control head due to this issue. And according to my service records, the previous owner did replace the control head due to this issue. Make sure you check this out first. Glad you got it fixed. I had a similar issue on my STS a couple of years back - The actuator code was always history and there was never any issue with low heat but I kept hearing a ratcheting/groaning noise from under the dash. The actuator had a cracked gear and that was causing the noise. A used one from the junkyard fixed it. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysona23 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Just wanted to let everyone know that the actuator fixed my issue. I was getting ACM B1341 and the actuator kept swinging it's arm all the way around as if it was confused causing a loud clicking noise as it tried to push the blend door too far. I purchased a used blend door actuator for $35 and it works absolutley perfect now. I read in a couple of other forums that some mechancis were trying to sell people a whole new control head due to this issue. And according to my service records, the previous owner did replace the control head due to this issue. Make sure you check this out first. The reason probably being that the techs were offering a new controller results from a typo in GMs service information. You will go through the pinpoint test and it actually has the last step mixed up. So it will redirect you to a new controller for a certain reading instead of a blend door,or vise versa. I actually did that as a starting tech at a dealership and complained up a storm because I followed what the information had told me. If I would have followed my gut after seeing all the right amount of volts at each terminal I would have avoided that mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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