Hi, need some help, guys!

My buddy's 2000 CTD Ram has A/C problems. He had A/C charged & system checked out fine, sounds like it's the A/C blend door actuator? It’s blowing hot air, maybe more on right side than left. Gets partial cooling though defroster but lowers blow hot.

Haven't personally checked it out yet because it's 200 miles round trip. I need to fix it for him in one trip down there. Spent days reviewing some great threads here on Dodge A/C, but still confused with differences per model year, still have questions.

Read here about the control motor with long shaft and break-me plastic connector on end for opening/closing A/C blend door. Some threads say it’s located right at center of dash near floor hump: just remove 2 screws and you're in there. I got a quick look one day, there's a big, black plastic cover with 2 screws, maybe about 4" x 6", right there at center above hump. Didn't see that motor or actuator when I removed that cover. Is that correct info for location/access of actuator motor for his year 2000 truck?

Other threads suggest having to cut a big hole through air box to fix motor and plastic link. Can anybody give any specific year 2000 tips on location and repair?

Read about the Heater-Treater but wondering: is there any hope of using JB Weld on the broken plastic piece [doubt it]? I'd have to buy Heater Treater ahead of time but not knowing if that's the problem, or the dealer plastic part that's quoted like $150! Due to distance away I need to do it in one trip, one day so I want to be fully prepared ahead of time with the right tools, parts and repair info.

Dealership was quoting $1,300 to fix because of having to remove dash. My fine 80-plus year old Dodge-loving friend living on Social Security can't afford that! Hey, he was a 'Dodge Boys' back when it was still called Dodge Brothers! Can we help him out?

Thanks!

 

Second gen trucks have all vacuum mode doors but one electric blend door. 99% of "temperature" problems are the blend door motor stripped in the little plastic piece and the heater treater part will fix it. On the second gen the blend door motor is by the hump on the pax side and fairly easy to get at. Don't waste your time trying to glue it.

If you have a "mode" problem first look for a vacuum line off up by the firewall on the drivers side, next down by the axle disconnect then look for a rotted line under the battery, drivers side. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks, Busboy.

On a '00 is the blend door motor and plastic link located behind the black plastic cover with 2 screws, in center of tranny hump? I removed cover and nothing looked familiar to what I'd read anywhere here.

I can hope to find a vacuum line that's bad once I drive down there but have to be prepared for the worst. Are the vacuum lines on passenger side or engine side of firewall and readily visible? I don't have a 2nd Gen truck here, is the axle disconnect underneath truck or in passenger compartment or? And the line under battery, that's a vacuum line?

Thanks!

Makes it real hard diagnosing from 100 miles away, never having seen the system, then hoping I have the right info and stuff with me when I drive down to fix it for him.

 

The blend door motor should be out in the open and is right next to the tranny hump on the passenger side. All the vacuum lines you need to look at first are on the outside of the cab, only the one under the battery is hard to get at. If there is no vacuum it should be in defrost mode and the first place I described is the one that gets knocked off right at the fitting at the firewall up high when doing engine compartment servicing. chances are it's just the heater treater. Sorry gotta go.

 

Okay, thanks for further info. Don't know why I didn't see it when I looked there but all I saw was that black plastic cover described above. What was underneath didn't look like what I needed to find in the way of a motor, motor shaft and actuator link.

Hopefully some other kind soul has further info on what to look for and where on the '00 Ram, and if motor is supposed to be behind that plastic cover or not?

Thanks!

 

Can anybody give more info on a year 2000 A/C?

When I looked under dash I couldn't see any motor or linkage of any kind, only the black plastic cover I mentioned. All H-V-A/C modes function normally except that A/C blows hot.

This truck is over 100 miles away so I need to know what to expect before I drive down there to fix it. Any further tips appreciated...

Thanks

 

Okay, well I guess I'm flying blind again. All I know so far is:

"On the second gen the blend door motor is by the hump on the pax side and fairly easy to get at."

"The blend door motor should be out in the open and is right next to the tranny hump on the passenger side."

Problem with that is I looked, saw nothing as described. No blend door motor by hump that I saw, no blend door motor out in the open. The only thing I saw by or above the hump was a black plastic cover which I removed, but couldn't identify the blend door motor or actuator, but something was under cover plus several unknown wires there.

I can't make the trip if I don't know exactly what I'm looking for or dealing with. All that's left is for my dear 80 year old buddy scraping by on Social Security to take it into the dealer and pay $1,300 to get it fixed, which he can't do, or him live without A/C in a VERY hot area: Bakersfield, CA.

One last request for detailed help and then I won't bother anybody again.
Thanks!

 

I'm away camping and just hooked up, some model trucks have a "kick panel" that covers things that must be what you are referring to as a cover, I never put them back on, however the blend door motor is where I said it is and I fail to see how it can be missed if using a flash light or trouble light, it really is easy to fix. To positively identify the motor with the key on turn the hot/cold **** from hot to cold and back waiting a minute you can see the motor move.

 

Thanks again, Busboy. I wish the truck was here to look at but it's a long ways away.

All that I saw was the big black plastic A/C box that stretched across the inner firewall. Then right about at bottom center, just above hump, there was this small, black plastic cover maybe 6" x 4" with 2 Tek screws holding it on.

Pulled that cover and there were several wires and something else, couldn't identify what. No motor, motor shaft, blend door linkage etc. were visible or identifiable.

Hopefully when you get back I can get a bit more info, thanks!

 

Okay guys, got it handled, thanks very much for the assistance! Blowing cold air now!

 

and the solution was....?

 

Yer killin' me man! WHAT was the solution?

I have two diesel ram 2500's a 1999, and a 2000. About 4 months ago the 1999 started blowing short bursts (1 to 5 seconds) of HOT air with the AC on. This happened fairly infrequently, then over a period of a month or two, more often. You'd be driving along with ice cold air, and sometimes actually hear the "whump" of the blend door slamming, followed instantly by hot air from the vents. Sometimes switching the AC switch off, then back on again, would get you a couple more minutes of cold. I fought this for a couple weeks, not finding the actuator for the door that was moving, then gave up and re-routed the heater hoses to bypass the heater core.
Well, now my 2000 has started up the same behavior, and it's really annoying. IF I can find the location of that actuator, I'm likely going to replace with with a manually actuated cable., but first I have to find it.

 

I can almost guarantee the heater treater part will fix the problem for like $15.

 

Sorry, I couldn't get back here. Yes, they used the HeaterTtreater part to fix the A/C.

 

Ordered. $25.00 + $10.00 shipping.