2013 Dodge Durango always heat out passenger vents

 With A/C on and blowing out vents, the driver side is cold but the passenger side is putting out hot air. There is blend door actuator for each side and the right side can be accessed by removing the glove compartment and the panel behind the glove compartment. You may expect to see the blend door actuator is bad but usually the actuator is good and has a broken gear. The gear is how the actuator is able to move the blend door. The gear is available as a stand alone part. The gear broke for a reason. Usually the reason is that the blend door is stuck. The actuator tries to move the stuck door and the plastic gear breaks. You can try to free the door by using the broke gear and turning by had. Sometimes it will come loose, but replacing the gear only is likely to have the same problem as soon as the door sticks again. The fix is to replace the air distribution housing which houses the door. A seal deteriorates in the old housing and sticks the door. New housing assembled with new parts. The problem is the replacement involves removing the instrument panel to access the housing. I've noticed some creative "fixes" online to avoid having to actually do the repair and while it is understandable to try, it isn't a proper repair. Most just postpone the same problem or don't allow the door to operate in it's full temperature range and they all require the door to free up before attempting.

  The part you'll need (19) 2011-2013 Mopar 68079501AB

You'll find the original seal has turned into a very sticky, tar-like substance. Have fun. 

(photos found online)

Kenny@ggauto.repair

2002 Cadillac DeVille Base 4.6 multiple trouble codes

 I was cleaning some old papers from under the counter for way too long and found an old scan report for this Cadillac. I found it interesting that even though I don't remember the particular car, I do have enough familiarity with them that I can pretty well guess what was found wrong by looking at the stored engine codes. I can even see that the codes had been cleared and had all returned after failing tests yet again. The same seven codes were cleared, stored as history and returned as failed since cleared. 

The P0101, P0171, P0174 and P0300 were mostly likely from a vacuum leak. The vacuum leak was commonly a bad spacer tube between the intake manifold and the throttle base mount. I actually replaced one of those a few days ago on a 2004 model. 

That would leave the U1064 and U1096 as likely a bad ground issue. The battery on these is under the rear seat inside the car. The negative cable connects from the battery to the car body. A short ground cable at the alternator connects to the body and allows for engine ground. Usually the problem is a poor connection at that cable near the alternator. 

The P0340 is a code that I would wait and see if it appeared again after the previous repairs. The code could have been related to the poor ground. If it returned the sensor is not hard to get to for inspection or testing. 

Thanks for reading!

Kenny@ggauto.repair

Automotive security: From basic locks to advanced cybersecurity (link to article)

Automotice Security Vehicle Service Pros article.