Page 1 of 1
New Owner with a problem
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:25 pm
by bigchieftaco90
Hey guys! I just bought my 2001 Bonneville SSEi yesterday and I noticed no air comes out of any of the vents.
I tried to change the mode, a/c, heat, passenger side, etc and nothing seems to work.
I read something about the blend doors being behind the glove box but I don't know what I'm looking at back there.
What do you guys think? I took the cabin filter out and ordered a new one because it was super dirty.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:53 pm
by bigchieftaco90
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:03 pm
by bigchieftaco90
Also, I forgot to mention. I looked in the fuse panel under the hood and I noticed I am missing relay #33 HVAC SOL. Does anyone else not have this relay? I stole a relay from the high beams and it didn't change anything.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 3:33 pm
by brownishSLE
bigchieftaco90 wrote:relay #33 HVAC SOL.
bigchieftaco90 wrote:I stole a relay from the high beams and it didn't change anything.
Don't quote me on this, but judging from pg. 6-65 in the manual:
http://www.pontiac.com/content/dam/pont ... manual.pdf you tried to swap in a
relay (one for a high beam, number 28 or 27) for a
solenoid. I know they do slightly different things:
http://science.blurtit.com/82011/what-i ... a-solenoid , so you would have to swap in an identical
solenoid to be sure it's the original solenoid's fault.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:21 pm
by bigchieftaco90
brownishSLE wrote:bigchieftaco90 wrote:relay #33 HVAC SOL.
bigchieftaco90 wrote:I stole a relay from the high beams and it didn't change anything.
Don't quote me on this, but judging from pg. 6-65 in the manual:
http://www.pontiac.com/content/dam/pont ... manual.pdf you tried to swap in a
relay (one for a high beam, number 28 or 27) for a
solenoid. I know they do slightly different things:
http://science.blurtit.com/82011/what-i ... a-solenoid , so you would have to swap in an identical
solenoid to be sure it's the original solenoid's fault.
Hmm, that shows #33 as being different sizes than the high/low beam relays. Mine are all the same size.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 9:15 pm
by brownishSLE
bigchieftaco90 wrote:Mine are all the same size.
Ok. Sorry I'm stumped. The manual is usually the extent of my knowledge.

The gearheads or moderators will see this soon though, and they're good about figuring our new guys' problems.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 9:20 pm
by Archon
Is the blower motor turning on?
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 9:59 pm
by bigchieftaco90
Archon wrote:Is the blower motor turning on?
Yeah, the motor works fine. I can hear it running and changing speeds. It's like all the vent doors are closed shut and won't open.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:28 am
by Archon
That's the confusing part. I'm not aware of any position of the various doors that will prevent air from moving. The air mix actuators changes the temperature, and the mode changes where the air is directed. The air inlet actuator changes from outside air, to recirculating. None of these should stop the air flow.
I'll have to check my car for relay 33. Was the one you swapped in, from the high beams the same part number?
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 8:13 am
by bigchieftaco90
Archon wrote:That's the confusing part. I'm not aware of any position of the various doors that will prevent air from moving. The air mix actuators changes the temperature, and the mode changes where the air is directed. The air inlet actuator changes from outside air, to recirculating. None of these should stop the air flow.
I'll have to check my car for relay 33. Was the one you swapped in, from the high beams the same part number?
Yeah, it's quite confusing. I drove it to work this morning and it was cold. It does warm up in the cabin but not like it should. I'd like to get this fixed so I can use the defrost when I'll need it.
I'm not sure about the part numbers being the same. I just noticed it shared the same slot style as the high beam lol. I'll do a bit of digging.
Edit: Well, looks like that is not the issue.
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 66&start=0
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 10:25 am
by Oldman
There's an additional fuse box under the back seat. Fuses 2, 11 and 33 are all associated with the blower and HVAC system also. Might want to check those, I'm not sure exactly what those fuses do.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:16 am
by bigchieftaco90
Well I checked those a bit ago and they are all fine.
Any other ideas? Think its the mode actuator?
A couple people in this thread have a similar issue. Mine is always blocked though.
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 40013.html
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 12:23 pm
by Archon
Unfortunately, no one reported back on what was found to be the problem. Searching through things, I have been unable to find anything that would totally stop the air flow. There are a few things that you could try.
With the cabin air filter out, observe the fan when it is running. Check to see if the squirrel cage is spinning to be sure that it hasn't somehow come loose from the motor shaft.
Remove the blower, and stick you hand in the vent area to see if you can feel anything that may be in the way. You'll only be able to get a little ways.
Observe the various actuators to see if they are moving when they should.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:25 pm
by bigchieftaco90
Archon wrote:Unfortunately, no one reported back on what was found to be the problem. Searching through things, I have been unable to find anything that would totally stop the air flow. There are a few things that you could try.
With the cabin air filter out, observe the fan when it is running. Check to see if the squirrel cage is spinning to be sure that it hasn't somehow come loose from the motor shaft.
Remove the blower, and stick you hand in the vent area to see if you can feel anything that may be in the way. You'll only be able to get a little ways.
Observe the various actuators to see if they are moving when they should.
Thanks for the info. I wish they would of chimed back in to tell us what happened.
I'll take a look at the motor tonight and see if anything happens when its running. My new filter comes in tonight.
I'm wondering if a mouse made a nest in the vents or something. I've had that happen in the squirrel cage before but that was so smelly it was unbearable(maybe I had a dead one huh)
I hope its something simple. I just haven't had a ton of time to check it out.
How easy is it to remove the blower? I've read it can be a PITA
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
Edit: Found this article.
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 41571.html
I will be having the radio out one of these days so while I'm in there I'll check the wire harness to the HVAC controls.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 12:43 pm
by bigchieftaco90
I checked the HVAC controls connection and everything looked fine. Visually inspected the squirrel cage and it looked fine.
The next step would be remove the blower motor and see if anything is clogging the vents.
I did notice the rear vents blow air and my feet get pretty warm. So it's getting through the center console fine. Any ideas guys? I'm pretty sure its the mode actuator.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 4:54 pm
by Archon
So, you really are getting air movement? These don't seem to have a lot of air movement to the floor. If you have air, and it's just not changing where is is directed, then yes, that is likely the mode actuator.
Re: New Owner with a problem
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 7:06 pm
by Oldman
Yeah I've had a mode actuator get stuck between "floor" and "face" setting and when the airflow was split, it was difficult to tell that any air was coming out at all.