@charmnugget I have the same issue! Did you ever solve this ? 

On 2/12/2021 at 1:36 PM, charmnugget said:

Hi guy's, I'm not sure if anyone is still replying to this forum but I have the exact same issue. My heating is just blowing cold air. I followed the instructions by Docker and thought that was it. Found out the actuator was broken. It all seemed to show it was the same issue as docker which after taking it a part it is. UNTIL when I removed the actuator I found that not only is the actuator broken but the mechanism the actuator sits in is slightly cracked. It's got a slight crack inside it so now I'm not sure what to do. Any suggestions? If I super glue the new actuator I buy into the mechanism surely that defeats its purpose of moving from hot to cold? Sorry if this is a stupid question but does the actuator move from hot to cold (that's what I'm thinking it does). I've added a picture so you guys can see what I mean. Any help will be much appreciated! 

Did you manage to fix this 

Thanks for all the previous info, it helped me sort the problems with my 98 fiesta titanium.

I had the cold air from the heater into the cabin, after a long run with the car idling for a while, and the fan on max, there would be a loud bang, this caused the heater to start blowing hot air into the cabin. I assume its because of the heat expansion from the heater caused the plastic to expand and release the blend door to fully open.

I replaced the broken actuator arm, and every thing seemed fine when tested. I then had the issue of cold air again.....when I checked the arm, it was ok, but the problem now was, the arm was no longer in the slot of the white control arm. Fortunately you can feel the white control arm and move it manually because its not connected, after trial and error, I found that by rotating the heat control knob to max and pushing the arm up and then turning the control knob down to cool, the actuator arm would reconnect and the heater would work correctly. The only problem was the mechanism would slip out of the slot once the temp went above 26° on the heater control display, so the heating of the screen could not be used as it goes to max and disconnects the linkage.

So there is a post about resetting the climate control actuators, I followed the instructions for resetting and yes it worked for me, I now have a fully working system again.....cheers to those who posted the resolutions, it saved me a great deal of frustration.

Thanks for all the inputs on this particular topic which was really informative.

I followed all the various suggestions and installed a used blend door actuator but have a couple of issues.

Firstly, when I took apart the original blend door actuator there is no circuit board within it that i can see.  Apart from the cogs there is an electromagnet, sorry if that is the wrong term, but that is it. Please see the first photo.  Does the electromagnet contain the circuitry?  I did not put this into the replacement blend door actuator as it is not easy to take apart and didn't want to damage it unnecessarily. 

Secondly, I installed the replacement blend door actuator and a new lever arm obtained from the design company noted in this topic. I followed the approach to resetting and all appeared to be ok for an hour or two but after that it went back to only blowing cold air.  I took the blend door actuator off and noticed that on the lever arm, the spindle had broken off.  See second photo. Third photo is the part before installation, so you can see where the spindle should be.  Any ideas why this occurred?  Is it related to point 1?

Any guidance gratefully appreciated as the missus is complaining the car is now freezing!

 

 

Please see my note above - including specific individuals here who may be able to provide some answers to the above questions

@pifco - re my note above, did your resolution last?  When i checked mine i have the same problem in that going above 26 degrees the arm comes out of the white arm.  I think i tried a reset but may have done it incorrectly.

@Fiesta1.25 @Docker @argendaequan - any thoughts to Question 1 above?

For the moment i have 'reset' the heating to 21 degrees as it is now getting cold, and removed the power to the blend door actuator so that the heating stays at 21 degrees.  Well that's my theory!

6 hours ago, splashxyz said:

any thoughts to Question 1 above?

Pifco - last visited the forum 31st August 2023

Fiesta1.25 - last visited the forum 20th January 2024

Docker - last visited the forum 10th January 2022

argendaequan - last visited the forum 15th April 2020

Very little chance of an answer from any of them.

 

Just to provide some more info for this thread, its a bit long but hopefully will help someone else (of the many) that have the clicking blend actuator problem. 

UK spec 2009 Fiesta 1.6TDci Titanium with the automated temperature/climate control and ac.  It has the three blend door actuators (Visteon VP1S7H-19E616-BB) which all look like the photo below, all the same part number.  My problem was the heat blend door control located behind the centre console facia side panel next my left knee.  The actuator opens a flap to blead air from the heater matrix with cold fresh air and it rotates a pivot arm which engages in a slider arm that controls the flat position flap within the heater box.  There seemed to be no issues with the heater blender flap itself.

The recirculation flap was working and the actuator for that was easily accessible by removing the glove box.  The third actuator selects the outlet vents was also working well, it was located on the left side of the heater box looking forwards down from the left side of the steering wheel, bit awkward to get to.

Had the loud clicking from behind the dash by my left knee, initially it occurred every time the ignition was switched on and continued during a drive intermittently for as long as the ignition was on.  The first time it occurred was after the car had been left parked through the winter for three months.  The heating became gradually more unreliable, eventually there were few periods of clicking but mostly no clicking and no heat at all.   

To gain access to the screws I neatly cut a 12mm hole in the edge of the facia panel for the lower screw, to access the top screw I pushed the outlet duct aside. Both screws need a long reach torx bit, ideally like a long reach allen key, as there is not much space to get onto the head of the screw, the actuator was a little fiddly to get out but it came out easily enough in the end. 

I swapped the heater and recirc actuators as suggested by Richcc and had the issue with the actuator arm roughly 180 degrees to where it needed to be when the system was energized.  When controlling the temperature the actuator rotates approx 100 degrees, with its arm engaging in a slot in the arm of the blender flap, in so doing the heater flap changes position and is kept in position by the actuator motor.  When the arm of the actuator is pointing toward the back of the car it is effectively disengaged and the flap is kept closed by air pressure in the fan duct.  When offering up the actuator with it powered up and the heater set at low, the arm should be pointing to the back of the car, the replacement was pointing toward the front 

I followed the instruction given to reset the system which failed to have any effect 4 times.  It worked on the fifth but I did not follow exactly follow the instructions posted previously.  Here is the procedure I used

a.       Switch on ignition do not start the engine

b.      Select Auto and AC so the system is running, turn the heater temperature fully on to display HI (if replacement the recirculation actuator select that as on as well)

c.      Turn off the ignition

d.      Pull the 7.5A fuse (#20) from the fuse box behind the glove box

e.      Switch on the ignition, the AC and blower comes on full and there should be no display on the control module.

f.       Leave it blowing for 2 minutes (I timed it rather than guessing)

g.      Turn off the ignition

h.      Reinsert 7.5 fuse (20)

i.       Turn on the ignition.

 

After switching the ignition back on the heater actuator arm rotated fully over from facing forward to facing the back of the car. 

The following week I bought a new £36 pattern actuator using the OEM part number as the search term on ebay. When replacing the actuator on the recirculation door I had the same issue with the new actuator, it was approx. 90 degrees out of position.  In order to reset it so it was able to engage with the door arm I tried the same process.  The actuator only moved to the correct position with the recirculation button pressed before the 2-minute system reset, the selector warning led on the heater controls should be illuminated with the heat and ac buttons selected prior to the system reset.  After the fuse was reinserted and ignition switched back on it turned approximately to the correct position, I had to turn the actuator slightly to engage with the door arm but once engaged the actuator was very easy to fit.

 

I think the control system recognises which actuator is which when they are selected prior to the system reset and they are given different control inputs from the heater processor.  The heater actuator looks like it works backward and progressively when compared to the other two actuators which have simple open, intermediate or shut positions.  The system does not register the actuators every time the car is started, hence the reset procedure.

The system is now working fully with all the controls working as intended and the heater adjusting its output to control the cabin temperature at the displayed temperature.  No clicking

 

Hope this helps

@FelicityFord - thanks for your helpful input.

MY approach of setting the temperature to about 22 degrees and then removing the electrical connection to the actuator worked during the winter but have just had to do a rest to 17 degrees as the missus was complaining about being too hot now!

The process you have documented is the one that I have used (though I did switch my engine on and off rather than just the ignition) to set my temperature at a permanent levl of 17 degrees for now.

My problem is that after about an hour the spindle snapped off when I did it back last summer as something is pushing the spindle arm more than it should.  Am loathe to try again until I understand why as will just cause me to buy another arm as per previous post/photos above.

Hello guys, my vent blend door actuator has a mind of its own and has rotated 180°. It has cracked at least 7 levers and now it has ripped the white ring that hold that lever. An now i don t know how to reset the position, it doesn t work the feet blow air to the windshield and the windshield to the feet when you press the face vents the lever just pops out bcs it doesn’t have the holder and the metal thing intercept with the lever. Please help

Thanks for the write up Neil. 

My problem is the one by the drivers left foot. I can feel that is has fallen loose but it's in a very difficult place to get to, I can barely see the edge of it. Did you take the dashboard trims off to get to it? 

My new blend door actuator arrived today to replace the one on the driver's side.  Are the steps people are posting here to do a reset for this one or is that for the one of the other two?

I'm trying to plan ahead because I don't want to snap pins on this arm if it isn't in the right place.

Hi,

Just thought I'd add my findings to help anyone in the future who might need this thread. 

My issue was intermittent, sometimes I'd get cold, sometimes hot air. Often I'd hear a "thunk" noise as it changed while driving, often just after a bump in the road.

I followed the instructions on finding the temperature controlling actuator in the driver's side footwell, just about where the plastic trim on the central console meets the end of the airbag cover below the steering wheel. It's slightly forward of where your left knee would be.

It turned out that the mounting hole for the actuator has snapped away from the main body of the device. Therefore one corner at least (I couldn't get to the other corners easily to check) was not being held in place. When applying pressure, pushing the actuator towards the centre of the car (into where the splines are attached the flap mechanism), and moving the temperature dial, I could feel the vibration of it moving. Sure enough, when I moved the dial while applying pressure, the temperature of the air coming out of the vents changed. I'm planning to knock up a 3D printed part to mount to the original hole, but until then I've used duct tape to hold the actuator such that the splines are engaged. 

So if you're having this issue, your actuator might actually be fine, it might be the mount to blame! Excuse the quality of my diagram, I stole one of the pictures from earlier in the thread since I didn't take any photos of my own and tried to illustrate where the plastic had broken. 

Hope this helps anyone who needs it!

 

On 12/14/2025 at 5:31 PM, Carracer12 said:

Hi,

Just thought I'd add my findings to help anyone in the future who might need this thread. 

My issue was intermittent, sometimes I'd get cold, sometimes hot air. Often I'd hear a "thunk" noise as it changed while driving, often just after a bump in the road.

I followed the instructions on finding the temperature controlling actuator in the driver's side footwell, just about where the plastic trim on the central console meets the end of the airbag cover below the steering wheel. It's slightly forward of where your left knee would be.

It turned out that the mounting hole for the actuator has snapped away from the main body of the device. Therefore one corner at least (I couldn't get to the other corners easily to check) was not being held in place. When applying pressure, pushing the actuator towards the centre of the car (into where the splines are attached the flap mechanism), and moving the temperature dial, I could feel the vibration of it moving. Sure enough, when I moved the dial while applying pressure, the temperature of the air coming out of the vents changed. I'm planning to knock up a 3D printed part to mount to the original hole, but until then I've used duct tape to hold the actuator such that the splines are engaged. 

So if you're having this issue, your actuator might actually be fine, it might be the mount to blame! Excuse the quality of my diagram, I stole one of the pictures from earlier in the thread since I didn't take any photos of my own and tried to illustrate where the plastic had broken. 

Hope this helps anyone who needs it!

 

 

A photo of the offending mounting hole, time to decide whether I can be bothered to 3D print a fix, or whether I take the lazy option and buy a new part

Araldite would be my fix 👍

Hi all,i have the same problem,looking at getting it sorted,mine is the driver's side on a 2011 RH drive fiesta.

I cant seem to locate it,can see the heater and 2 steel heater pipes.

Thanks.

Hello. I can see this post was from like 7 years ago so I may not hear a response but here goes. My mk7 11 plate fiesta lost all hot air in the cabin. I replaced the door blend actuator on passenger side as was doing the clicking noise, I also replaced the thermostat housing and still no hot air. The pipes to and from matrix are hot when engine is warm. I have just ordered a cabin temperature control sensor as I have the climate control system. If this doesn’t work are there and other actuators etc? I’ve seen a small type of black actuator/plug on left side of drivers footwell on the blower unit? Any idea what it is and do I try replacing that as well? I’m now at a point where I’m going to either cry or commit suicide as I’ve done everything and yet nothing has fixed this issue. I’m fed up of seeing my breathe when driving to and from work and wearing a woolly hat and neck warmer to drive and constantly wiping my inside screen with a towel 😭😭😭

Above are the pictures of my door blend actuator replacement if helps anyone. Passenger footwell

On 11/1/2018 at 8:27 PM, Docker said:

Hi Ivan

Glad you like the guide mate

If you lie in the right hand footwell drivers side and look up beside the leg airbag and centre console you can see the arm working mate I've added 2 pics to show you. You can also get a finger on it (don't trap it though lol)

One is actuator in place the other removed. When looking up you can see if it operates with everything attached.

The actuator is only screwed on with 2 torx screws I will say one is a pig to get to I ended up using a 1/4 inch torx bit and a 1/4 spanner undoing bit at a time

If the arm is broken my words of advice is get a 3d printer to make one up as I've quoted in above Orijas website is www.orijadesigns.co.uk. They maybe able to build you one like mine at a fraction of the cost of buying the set from Ford

if it's not this then go to left hand side passenger footwell there are 2 pipes these should be very hot if they aren't then youve possibly got a heating problem within the cooling system

hope this helps

Thanks for the last photos. I could not find the ***** thing on mine. I will ask, do you have the file for the 3d printed part so that I could print my own one? If not, no stress as I'll fire up fusion and try to design my own.