Expert: Roland Finston - 2/12/2012

Question
QUESTION: I have a 2006 Chrysler 300C, and I've had almost no problems with it for the 6 years that I've owned it. However, about a month ago, I started hearing a click sound coming from behind the dash. I noticed that it happened whenever I changed the temperature on the A/C. It lasts for about 20 seconds and then stops. I had my spark plugs replaced today and the mechanic told me it sounds like my actuator might need to be replaced.

I asked him what price range I was looking at to replace it, and he said the part is about $20 and then about an hour and a half of labor. He double checked with another mechanic, and this mechanic said that some cars need to have the whole dashboard removed to replace the actuator and that it could take an entire day.

Do you agree that it is the actuator that needs replaced, and if it does, how much am I looking at paying for it?

Thanks in advance.

ANSWER: Hi Sam,
The specific procedure is of course very dependent upon exactly what part is malfunctioning. Fortunately there is self-diagnostic capability on-board to direct us to the specific problem. For that you would need to get a fault code readout of the body computer which would give you a specific 4-digit code preceded by a letter such as B. Once that is in hand the exact procedure would be assessible.
It appears in the 300C that to change out two of the three actuators that the dash does have to be removed to then remove the air distribution housing from the main HVAC unit. But rather than conclude anything my suggestion would be to get a fault code readout and get the code, then get the procedure to fix the code problem. The part itself is inexpensive and the labor would be the main cost unless you did it yourself. The manual is fairly clear and detailed should you want to do that.
So get a code, code number and then let me know what it is.
I have a second suggestion: have the unit do a self-calibration of the air distribution doors. It may be that it will self-adjust and thus eliminate the problem you are hearing. If you have the control panel that just has three knobs where you manually change the relative temperature in the 'old-fashioned way' then you can run the calibration yourself. If you have the automatic temperature control with digital temp readout and request, then a "diagnostic readout box" type of fault code reader is necessary to do the calibration. Probably a dealer would be best-equipped to quickly do both a fault code readout and also the calibration procedure for the distribution doors if yours is an ATC type. So inquire at your favorite garage if not a dealer as to whether their box will do the job and if not then try a dealer.
Let me know what happens from doing both the fault readout and the door calibration. If rather you have the old-style manual control type (MTC) then let me know and I can tell you the precodure for calibrating the doors. By calibration, it means adjusting the range of motion position of the door by setting limits on the movement of the actuators.
Roland

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the information, Roland. I believe I have the old-style MTC, so I should be able to get the code on my own.

Answer
Hi Sam,
The most efficient and complete way to share this is for me to copy about 4 pages from the manual and attach them to an email that I will send to you directly. But to do that I need to know your email address, which I don't routinely see in my q and a here at Allexperts. So what I need you to do is send me another follow-up question and in the text section for the question tell me what your email address is. Then before you send the follow-up, check the box to make this a PRIVATE question. If you don't make it private the address will be erased.
Roland