It’s not hard to bypass it, you’ll need to disconnect it from the climate control system.
Modern cars come with advanced climate control systems made up of heating and cooling instruments to create a more comfortable interior environment.
These automotive cabin temperature control systems basically work by circulating cool air within the car if it’s hot and warm air if it’s cold.
The air mix door/temperature blend door/blend door and the actuator/blend door actuator are two extremely crucial components of your car’s climate control system.
The former is responsible for allowing air to move over the heater core when you turn on the heat, or cooler when you enable the AC.
On the other hand, the latter is responsible for adjusting the position of the air mix door/temperature blend door/blend door to allow air to move over the heater core or the cooler, depending on your temperature requirements at any given point in time.
Meaning, if the actuator is faulty, this will hinder the functioning of the temperature blend door/blend door/air mix door. Consequently, you may get inconsistent temperature results.
In the worst-case scenario, you may receive cold air when you want some hot air to heat your car or vice versa. In such a case, you should take your car to a mechanic.
But if the temperature results are inconsistent but not to a greater extent, performing a quick actuator bypass procedure may help.
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How Do You Bypass A Blend Door Actuator?
As said earlier, you do that by disconnecting the actuator from the climate control system. There are two easy methods to do so, depending on your car.
The first method entails directly removing the actuator from its socket. The second one involves replacing it with a similar object such as an L-shaped pin to fool the climate control system that it hasn’t been removed.
Method 1: Disconnecting the Actuator from The Climate Control System
Disconnect the blend door actuator from the climate control system. This technique will enable you to still get some hot or cold air into your cabin despite having a faulty actuator.
After all, the actuator is responsible for controlling the door air mix door that lets cold or hot air into the cabin. Disconnecting the actuator means the door will remain closed.
But even so, there’ll still be a small amount of cold or hot air entering your cabin, depending on your climate control settings.
Remember that the climate control system will still work even if the blend door actuator is disconnected.
But don’t keep the climate control system running for an extended period at any one time if you are using this technique.
You could let it run for a few minutes, then turn it off for a while before turning it on again. Otherwise, if you don’t follow this trick, you might end up causing some serious damage to it.
The actuator hangs below the lower dash panel on the passenger side. It’s mounted in place with a set of mounting screws. Just locate and remove these screws to loosen up the actuator. After that, pull it out and that’s it.
Method 2: Replacing The Actuator With a Similar Object(like An L-Shaped Pin) To Fool The Climate Control System
Unfortunately, the first actuator bypass method may not work in some cars. This is because these cars come with a cooling and heating system that acts as a whole unit. That means the system may stop functioning when you disconnect the actuator literally.
To avoid that, you could remove the actuator and fool the system that it still has it. You can do that by replacing the actuator with an L-shaped pin that resembles it.
Final Thoughts
Your car’s climate control system largely depends on the blend door actuator to function as expected. If the actuator is faulty, the normal performance of the system may be hindered.
Sometimes, this problem can be remedied simply by bypassing the actuator. This can be done by disconnecting it from the climate control system.
Some cars however come with a climate control system that acts as a whole unit. In such cars, disconnecting the actuator the usual way might not be the best solution.
This is because the heating and cooling system may end up not working. The best solution is to disconnect the actuator without the system actually realizing it.
This can be achieved by replacing the actuator with a similar object such as an L-shaped pin, after disconnecting.
