T6 Caravelle centre vents - No air

V

vantasy

New Member
I've got no air coming from the centre vents on my caravelle. I replaced the driver motor actuator linkage with one of TonyP's printed ones and that worked a treat getting warm air to the driver from the side vent. During testing after that repair is when I found the centre vents not blowing. Its a new van to us so I don't fully understand all its ways yet. I'd like to get this sorted while Im on a roll, so have a few questions:
Has anybody else had the centre vents stop blowing any air hot or cold?
How is this fixed?
Where is the actuator/linkages for the centre vents?
Are the 2 centre vents independent?
Can anybody point me to a T6 caravelle specific parts diagram for the cabin heater assemblies?

Cheers all
 
vantasy said:
I've got no air coming from the centre vents on my caravelle. I replaced the driver motor actuator linkage with one of TonyP's printed ones and that worked a treat getting warm air to the driver from the side vent. During testing after that repair is when I found the centre vents not blowing. Its a new van to us so I don't fully understand all its ways yet. I'd like to get this sorted while Im on a roll, so have a few questions:
Has anybody else had the centre vents stop blowing any air hot or cold?
How is this fixed?
Where is the actuator/linkages for the centre vents?
Are the 2 centre vents independent?
Can anybody point me to a T6 caravelle specific parts diagram for the cabin heater assemblies?

Cheers all
Click to expand...
Hey, did you ever figure this out? I have a T6 Caravelle and no air from my centre vents either, hot or cold. Side ones work fine after fixing with Tony Ps printed as well.
 
I am in the same boat with my caravelle, little to no air coming through the centre vents. Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution for you. Hopefully someone does.
 
Hi @vantasy and @Grace. I too now have the weakest of breeze through the centre vents on my shuttle (with climate control) but all other settings and side vents are fine. I’ve reset the climate and checked that the acuator (second one from the bottom looking up from the drivers footwell) is moving. Does anyone have any pointers to help me solve this one?
 
Bit of an update. VCDS shows the following fault any idea which acuator this is? Is it the second from bottom on the driver right side : Fault code 9581169 on a Volkswagen T6 indicates a problem with the "Positioning Motor for Center and Side Air Distribution Flap.
 
For those who have the same issue here is the fix:

The acuator you need is the uppermost on the right hand side of the heater box.

The least effort way to remove/replace is to remove the instrument cluster:

Pull the central vents around the stereo out.

Tug the plastic surround of the cluster out.

remove two torx screws and the plug at the back of the unit)

move the foam sound insulation out of the way.

The actuator is then visible to the rear of the left hand side of the cluster void.

Removal is unclipping the blue wiring harness and unscrewing two fixings (odd fixings of 5.5mm and 6mm in my case).

You may get away with resetting the control arm to full opening of the central air flap and refit the actuator (but it is worn, and will need replacing at some point).

No need to strip the dashboard just the cluster.

Photos attached so you know what you are looking for.

IMG_8703.webp

IMG_8702.webp
 
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I don't have any air from the centre vents either, I've removed the top actuator motor (top one accessed from behind instrument panel and in @T6newbie pics above) but when moving the actuator manually still no air from centres. I'm sure the correct actuator is the next one down towards the drivers footwell for the centre vents. Anyone else had this or know how easy the access is? Cheers
 
My understanding @chargedgolf (after fixing different heater faults a few times now) is that the top acuator is for the centre vents. The bottom acuator near the pedals if to blend cool/warm air. If the centre vents aren’t working I’d suggest some spray oil on the pivot at the heater box up top (I also sprayed some through the vents) to see if you can free the mechanism. They don’t move too much to adjust the direction of the air so a broken or worn actuator can be hard to spot.

If that fails there could be an internal fault in the heater box. VCDS does provide more detailed fault codes if you have it.

All of this information refers to the climatronic version for the T6 not manual a/c.

Finally I spotted that actuator are shared across manufacturers. A few of the actuators in the T6 are shared with the Astra H. Worth searching part numbers and the degrees on the unit (320 - 120 - 180 etc) to see if you can find cheaper.
 
So I finally got to the bottom of this issue. The centre vents are controlled mostly by the last tiny rotation of this motor. Rotates clockwise to open. There's something amiss within the flap mechanism on mine and although I managed to free the flap and get it working it jammed again the next day. As its only the centre vents so I've manually moved the flap into fully open with the motor removed and still connected, then zip tied the motor out of the way. That way I can close the centre vents manually if needed! A good compromise i think....
If i ever need to close the centre vents i can do it manually with the wheels on their fronts, the Climate Control functions normally (just with less airflow elsewhere due to open centres) as theres no temp sensors in the centres, only the sides.
If i ever feel the love for removing the dash to resolve this properly, i will but I'd have to be pretty bored tbh. VW locally (Syd AUS) quoted $2.5k just to remove and diagnose the issue......I think my 3 ziptied solution is a solid workaround. Huge thanks to @T6newbie for his input too!
 
T6newbie you are a legend

I had most the dash out before finding your post. Along with a broken climatronic unit with moisture egress. New 3D printed blend door actuator attachment and then onto the central vents …..
1778400248511.webp

Ah not there, through the instrument cluster he says and sure enough access gained

To add to the info I removed the motor and then the three screws holding the black cover on and unclipped the link arm to the heat control actuator and the lead. The screws are easily access to the top right and down to the left through the instrument cluster gap. The third through the footwell. No need to take the heater blend actuator off the cover.
Bit fiddly and the wire clip at the top needs taking off and it then drops out through the footwell.
Alternatively take the two screws out the top after removing the motor and wiggle the round white plastic cog out.
Access is gained to the two leavers that operate the flaps for the face blowers. The front for the centre and rear for the offside and nearside. Lube and work the flaps to free off.
Check motor is working and set position without face pressed to make it easier to replace (you’ll see what I mean)
Place leavers front as far left and back as far right as you can. Replace white cog with stopper at the top and check operation (also check for damage)
Replace and check

Removal of the whole cover may prove helpful if replacing the heat blender attachment that snaps due to access to the upper screw.

Hope this helps further with the issue for people. For any dash trim removal I found info via google with no issues

Good look and happy swearing

IMG_3045.webp

IMG_3046.webp

IMG_3049.webp

IMG_3050.webp

IMG_3043.webp

IMG_3044.webp
 
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