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I need some advice on a 93 SSEI. No heat coming from vents, but if i turn the car off then restart, i get good heat for about 30 seconds. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Is your climate control display blinking on startup?

Yes it is.

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... m.php?f=49

There are two articles there. I wrote them both at different times, read both. They describe a complicated procedure two different ways. Please let us know what code comes back.

I had a code 152 and 40.

Ignore code 152. It's a history code, and has cleared itself. You had the battery disconnected in the last 50 ignition cycles.

Code 40 just created a nightmare for you. First time will take you 6 hours. After half a dozen for myself and other members here, I can do it in under 20 minutes:

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... =49&t=3537

Please note that the above procedure is NOT on a Bonneville, but is similar. You will have to remove the INSIDE glovebox liner (the box itself) and look through a small hole in the dash brace behind it to see the actuator try to move back and forth. You will disconnect the actuator arm through this hole and below the bar.

All the work will have to be done from below (and by feel) unless you feel like removing both front seats and your ENTIRE dash. Everything from both sides and all the way to the windshield. This is not a fun project the first time you do it. Your HVAC Programmer will have to be removed (above the right hush panel) to gain access for one arm (human arm, attached to you) while you lay upside-down in the footwell with the seat all the way to the rear and reclined. Very short philips bits on a 1/4" socket adapter 'thumb adapter' is a must. There are 2 screws holding the actuator in place that you cannot see, and must find by feel. You'll figure out where they are by flashlight through the removed glovebox, and have to find them 'blind' from below.

If you lived closer, I'd do it for you.

You can also do the patented 'redneck fix' I did on one of my cars for a couple months before I repaired it. Attach a coat hanger to the gate when the actuator arm is disconnected, and run it through a hole into the glovebox. You can adjust the heat manually that way.

What State are you located in? We may have a member nearby that has done this, and can help you. EDIT....who's near Troy, Ohio?

Ok, Thanks Will, i really appreciate your help and time. I had read that write up, but wasn't sure if that was my problem or not.

I'm in Ohio, 30 minutes north of Dayton. Guess i'll give it a look tomorrow and give it a try.

Thanks again.

Watch it work through the hole first. Your HVAC programmer is the black box you'll see after you remove the hushpanel. Disconnect it, and pull it out of the way. That's the path for your arm to go through. It's all by feel from there. I reconnect the arm with two screwdrivers from up top afterwards.

OK, will do that, i wanted to see how this whole thing works before i go tearing into it.

Is there a part # for this actuator?

Thanks again for your help Will.

I just returned from a couple of months out of the area and my display is blinking. I've suspected a faulty mix-door since mid-winter when I realized it just wasn't blowing anything warmer than luke-warm. I saw the diagnostic procedures from Will so that is my next test and at least I should be able to confirm that it is the blend door actuator. (Thanks again as always Mr. Wren). If it is that, I don't have a great mechanic nearby and would be wise to get expert assistance before taking on such a dis/assembly. Anyone near King of Prussia PA who wants to help out a fellow Bonne Fan let me know. I'm not looking for a volunteer but rather an expert who can help me get closer to the 20 minutes you suggest than the 6 hours I know it would take me to "learn how" the first time. -thanks, I'll report back when I have codes to share. (or just to say thanks) You suggested that procedure is for 92-93 (the diagnosis) Do you know if the same codes and process work for my '97?

UPDATE: Yes it appears that the ability to read codes directly through the ECC interface was stopped in the 94's and beyond. Sometimes GM's management SUCKS, I don't hold it against the designers or engineers who are more likely motorheads and or artists. I'm still not buying a car from Germany, Japan or Korea but really, why do they have to do that crap?

Trying to access the "blend door actuator" in my 1997 Bonneville SSEi and having access problems. This post shows the process in detail for a 1992 LeSabre but it appears the glove compartment configuration is quite different than the 92-99 Bonneville. http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... =49&t=3537. I attached an image file to show the innards of our glove box (can I get some points for the panoramic spread?). But this was as far as my Mechanic and I could take it. Without taking a bunch of "unknowns" apart, neither of us was sure where to go from the box out and lower section open. I made a mistake of expecting the access to look more like the LeSabre and should have re-read it to understand the differences in the Bonne being more dis-assembly from under. Meanwhile, since I'm back I may as well share the mini-adventure and my intent to better document the 90's Bonne' version of this project. Being a visual thinker, my error was to glance through photos and make unwise assumptions.

willwren sez:First time will take you 6 hours. After half a dozen for myself and other members here, I can do it in under 20 minutes:

So apparently (and believably) he (you) know a lot we don't. I think where I got stuck (and should have read willwrens directions better while I was there) is in the area under the dash and behind the glovebox. Can anyone tell me what these things are and which of these gets removed (any other tidbits about what to expect). Sorry to be a pest, but at least I post. (Am I a post-pest?). I intend to go back next week and get back to the bottom of this. Point is once I re-read the directions I know we could have moved forward and gotten further back there by removing this stuff, but since I chickened out and stopped here, may as well see what else is known before digging back in.

Thank you in advance, all insights are vastly appreciated.

OK here's where I am. On the 92-3 I would be able to do a diagnosis in the ECC to find out what code is causing the blinking. I'm getting mixed results from testing the unit and am only 50% sure that the problem is the blend door actuator. Trouble is that it's so labor intensive to access it that I'm very concerned about taking all the stuff apart and getting it back together only to determine that I just wasted 6 hours and $100 and still have the same problems because it's "something else". I'm almost ready to just fork over a large some to someone who does this type of work professionally but that seems ridiculous. I have a talented experienced mechanic I work with, but he's not a Bonneville specialist. If I know details on this I can help him beeline to the solution. So if you were in my circumstance what would you do? How do I test to make sure it is or is not the Blend Door causing the lukewarm and not cold results I'm getting? Let me know if I should be starting up a new post on this subject? I'd love to do a complete photo detail of the checking and replacement but will need help in order to get there. - thank you in advance.

LOL at the top two pics. Think I might have the same problem and I was looking behind the glove box like wtf do I do now. Every time I google this problem it always brings me back to Pontiac Bonneville Club :/