Hi,

I have a 2000 Dodge Caravan and am experiencing an issue with the A/C. I just had the blower replaced because the air wasn't coming out very well, but now there is another problem - only cold air comes out of the passenger side vents. The driver side works great and the temperature can be changed with the controls, but cold air comes out on the passenger side even if the controls are set to full heat.

I've been searching Google and these forums on this issue and it appears that this is a fairly common problem for 2000 era Caravans and that the cause might be the "actuator" for the passenger side air vents. Several places have listed a procedure for testing if there is a faulty actuator to be like this:

1. Turn on the ignition
2. Hold the Recirculation and Power buttons at the same time for 5 seconds.
3.All of the lights on the panel should flash as it begins to check the actuators. This test takes a couple of minutes to complete. If the light on the Recirculation button is flashing after completion then one of the actuators is faulty.

But I tried that and there were no blinking lights or anything.

I was hoping someone might be able to tell me how to test and see if the actuator is the problem, and maybe give me an idea of how to fix it.

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

Welcome to DF
You could have a problem with the actuator or a door. I believe the is a sticky in the tizzy and other post, that will show the actuator.

 

Yes, you are correct MT.....the self test you are doing is for '01 - '07 minivans.

 

Thanks for both of your replies!

I'm sorry, but what's the tizzy?

So the self test I was trying to do won't work with my model? Is there any way I can verify that the actuator is the problem? My mechanic's not really that great and wants to charge me $500 to replace the electronics panel, when it sounds like the problem is with the actuator.. Is replacing the actuator something that someone who's not a mechanic (but pretty handy) could possibly do?

 

Go to the top of the thread section and there is a sticky thread that say's "Tizzy1 and others DIY section". Click on that thread and page through it, somewhere in there Master Tech or myself posted the self test for your control head. First it runs calibration to look for problems, if it finds them, it will give you codes. If you get a code, let us know and we can go from there.

 

I followed the steps, although I didn't know which position was "panel." After holding down the "wash" and "rear wiper" buttons (at least, I think I pushed the right buttons) all of the LEDs turned on for a few seconds, after which the top two on the left (I think they were the "rear wiper" and "intermittent" LEDs) began alternating on and off. This went on for maybe two minutes and then they just went off.

What does that mean?

 

Was the test I did with the instructions quoted in my last post the correct test?

I've been working on and off on this but unfortunately haven't made any progress.

Tizzy1: you said " First it runs calibration to look for problems, if it finds them, it will give you codes." By codes, did you mean the leds flashing or codes in the computer?

Thanks for your advice.

 

What you did was the calibration test. In mid '98 they changed the control head and removed some of the self diagnostics. When you run calibration on yours, it tests the actuators and the a/c operation. If it all passes, the led's stop flashing. So it sounds like your van passed calibration which means it didn't find anything wrong with any actuator. The most common problem with those vans was the rheostat in the temperature sliders would crap out so when you move the lever the resistance didn't change. You could check that in an older control head but not in yours without a scan tool. All the circuitry is internal so using a meter won't work.

 

Thanks a lot for your reply!

Are you saying that if I take apart the electronics panel I can't use an ohm meter to check the potentiometer's resistance? (you said rheostat, but doesn't the schematic show a potentiometer?)

I really appreciate all of your advice

 

rheostat...potentiometer... same difference