No dash level HVAC 1997 Buick LeSabre

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Son in law just bought a beater 1997 LeSabre-- 197,000 miles. Runs good-no dash level HVAC. Blender door actuator is easy to access behind glove box, but even when blender doors are moved manually nothing changes. There is air flow on floor and defrost.

So if it's putting out air, and the blender doors can be moved, why is there no air at dash level? Can't imagine that all duct work would be plugged.
 
if there is loss of vacuum they default to that setting IIRC.

Its not like you move one blend door. its a complicated setup.
 
I had that problem on a 98 lumina before, it ended up being a broken vacuum line by the vacuum ball. It would default to defrost without the vacuum but if you were heading down a hill decelerating, it would switch to whatever the dial was pointing to. I would go over all the vacuum lines you can see. Not sure where that is on the LeSabre. I have a 98 LeSabre , but I haven't had to fiddle with too much of that yet, so not sure where the vacuum ball is so you can trace lines from there.
 
The blend doors have to be moved in the correct sequence; you can't do that manually.

Verify power and ground to the actuators. The one that doesn't move, replace.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The blend doors have to be moved in the correct sequence; you can't do that manually.

Verify power and ground to the actuators. The one that doesn't move, replace.


I thought there was only one actuator, behind the glove box. I suspect that ripping the dash out of this thing would cost almost as much as he paid for the car.
 
Bought a late 80's one owner Oldsmobile, and the owner said that the heat/AC never did blow right. Dug around in the dash, and somebody from the factory had used too long of a sheet metal screw during assembly, and it was catching the lip of the blend door, and was only letting the blend door open slightly.

Anyway, could be something simple like one of the main ducts disconnected causing it.
 
I believe others are correct - when there's no vacuum the blend doors default to defrost/floor.

Pop the tabs in and drop the glove box down, and there's a vacuum manifold behind there - clear plastic in the shape of a revolver cylinder with vacuum lines running to it. The supply line from the engine comes over the HVAC box from the upper/outer side (right under edge of the windshield) - unplug that, start the car, and see if you have good vacuum at that line.

Does the vehicle in question have the lower-option manual climate control or the digital/auto option?
 
I worked on the HVAC on our 1991 Chevy Caprice . Do not know how much commonality there is with your 1997 Buick .

ended up having 2 problems .

A - No vacuum to the HVAC controls . Ended up being easier to run a new plastic vacuum line from the " ball reservoir " . Had to follow another path , than the original line .

B - the vacuum switching mechanism behind the HVAC controls was bad . Replaced that .

FWIIW , one of the blend doors was still controlled / moved bu the mechanical cable .
 
Check the vacuum source under the hood first before tearing into the dash. Very often this is as simple as the hose to the engine being broken or left unconnected.
 
"Does the vehicle in question have the lower-option manual climate control or the digital/auto option?"

Only spent a short time looking at car but sure it's a manual, non zoned climate control, though with push buttons. Was struck by how technologically old the car was for late nineties. No gauges or tach, old-timey ribbon speedometer spread across dash, even had white wall tires. OTOH that 3.8 engine pulled well and I was reminded how good it really was.
 
Are you sure it's a '97? That sounds way too archaic for anything of that body style. And the only climate control systems I've seen is the base equipment with a slider for fan speed and one for temp, and the automatic setup with a digital readout, up/down buttons for temp and fan, and push buttons for different modes (A/C, vent, etc.).
 
https://www.google.com/search?q=97+leSabre+dash&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ-LzIsP3VAhUGYiYKHaSxAUQQ_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=649#imgrc=q8ZlsW8JZG_EEM:

I'm sure there's better ways to link this page. Apparently there's two kinds of LeSabre dashes. Those for the old, and these which are for the truly ancient. This is really archaic even for 1997. The other one is much more modern looking. This is the tachless one on the right with the old-timey speedometer. This does have buttons but I don't think zones.
 
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You can be sure what model year you have by the VIN or the emissions sticker under the hood.
 
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