Pontiac Solstice Heat regulator Repair

How to replace the actuator motor that controls the climate control variable heat function. Symptom of failure on this Pontiac Solstice 2006 model was that only full heat or no heat were available. This also affected the Air Conditioning control such that you could not reduce the cooling from full cold without shifting the output to full hot.

[@RobertAnderson-310w]

Thanks for posting. I got fan control to work by the recalibration, but gave up on replacing the heater regulator. To hard to get underneath there for a 75 year solstice owner. God bless anyone who can get in there and replace the stepper switch.

[@petelouviere6245]

yes this is a very good post the dealer wanted to change temp controll on dash over $600.00 repair i did this my self and it worked perfect for $34.00 thanks very good post very proffestional thanks

[@dougwilmes1350]

Everything worked as described in the video except ability to test the device before mounting. Mine would not adjust in increments when clicking through the temp dial. But I mounted it anyway and it actually worked. It is a squeeze to get up in there and replace. Using a 5.5mm socket or 1/4" socket works to get the three mounting screws out if you have difficulty with philips screwdriver. The lower drivers plastic is easy to remove. Thank you for the video!

[@davec5164]

The same problem I had. I found the control, AC Delco, on line for less than $25. Excellent presentation. ACE hardware had the screw driver. The calibration process worked perfectly.

[@jaycurtis8572]

Great video that helped me solve the exact same problem. This saved me so much time, especially the tip on how to reprogram it. However, you weren't kidding about it being tight in there. I had to twist my body a few different ways to get the angle to get that top screw out. It probably was over 1/2 hours just on getting the 3 screws out and putting them back in. The rest of the job, thanks to you, only took about 15 minutes.

[@chandelgeel562]

Thank you! It worked. You made it so easy to do. Saved me heaps of money! The quote was ridiculous I got. With this it cost me $26 to fix with a little time and effort.

[@afternoongarage]

8:20 Thank you for posting the info on how to run an HVAC calibration. Good video.

[@ConradStorz]

Thank you

[@frankcook5023]

I can't tell you enough thanks for saving me a lot of money. My 2007 Saturn Sky had the exact same problem that you showed and I followed your instruction to the letter and now it works perfect and the part was only $30.14!!! The dealership quoted me $110.00 just to pull it in the garage and check it out and if they have to pull the dash apart the bill could be over a thousand dollars!

[@ConradStorz]

Frank Cook you are welcome friend.

[@ConradStorz]

I'm glad you were willing and able to try this simple fix. Dealerships have incredible overhead costs and many are not interested in saving you money. If you find one with a heart consider yourself lucky.

[@frankcook5023]

You helped me and seeing that your post was about a Solstice I hope that someone that also owns a SKY can save some money.

[@HAUNTS360]

Thanks for the upload. I was having issues with the fan not staging. After the reset it started working fine. 👍

[@mrDCunningham]

Nice tutorial. It helped me alot. Thanks for taking the time to do the vlog👍

[@markandrew5612]

Thanks for the video. I’ll be trying this soon! I have no heat, just cold. One day the heat came on, I thought it had fixed itself! But, it never worked again...

[@cliffco823]

Hey Mark, did this work? I have a 07 Sky and my heat went out completely.

[@markandrew5612]

@@cliffco823 never got around to it. Heat currently works, so putting it off until summer.

[@zap_collection6511]

Check behind the kick panel on the passenger side, look at the harness for the hvac. I'll bet you $100 either the power or ground wire is gonna look melted, or even black. Should be obvious as soon as you remove the panel. If it's not black and completely melted, you can probably get away with unplugging the connector and cleaning the soot and debris off the contacts, but just know that's a temporary fix. It could work for 3 months, or 3 years. Eventually you'll have to replace that connector. They're a couple of dollars online. It's a good idea to also buy 4-5 feet of extra wiring while you're at it. That way you can splice the extra wire between the harness and the new connector. If your hvac melted it once, it's gonna keep melting it. This is common. It's much easier to just cut that middle section of spliced wire to replace it next time rather than dealing with a rats nest of electrical tape 2 or 3 years down the road. The hvac harness doesn't exactly have a lot of "extra" wire to just go around hacking it off

[@tristahavey]

Never mind read into one of the comments more and found it . Thanks so much for this video

[@ConradStorz]

Good luck with your repair! Let me know here how it goes. At the end of my video I show the panel and the three "Push-in" fasteners that hold it in place. To remove them slip a thin tool under the button cap and pull. They are held in by friction only.

[@SJ-ip5qd]

Great video. I appreciate the effort and consideration in sharing your experience.

[@dankurth007]

I was sure I'd be one of the unlucky few for which this did not work, but IT WORKED :). I was surprised really. Anyway it was not so hard getting the old part off but extremely hard putting the new one in. Part of the problem was that the plastic extension that fits into the socket was in a different orientation so I couldn't insert it into that hole while still having the screw sockets in proper alignment. Fortunately I finally realized I could hook up the wires while it was not yet bolted on, turn on the air and adjust the air temp knob to get the gear to turn the socket on the the new part until it was in the same position as the socket on the old part, so then it fit right on. Another hassle was just getting to the screws to put them in again. No such special tool as in the video and in a hurry so spent huge amount of time trying to get right socket wrench combination in tight quarters. Finally got it in, did the calibration bit and took it out for a test drive going through various settings that failed before. Works perfectly. Cost me $33 from the dealer. Looked exactly like the original, no bent wires. GM parts ordered it from ACDelco. ACD# 15-73200, GM# 10397365.

[@ConradStorz]

Daniel Kurth thanks for feedback and I am happy to hear that you fixed your issue. The description of aligning the output shaft to the same as the defective unit is very helpful. I had a comment the other day asking for the part number so thank you for that too.

[@chrisminton4272]

Thanks for part number.

[@Home9918]

Thank you for one by one instruction. Great quality!!!! Two Thumbs up~~~

[@danielcarson2945]

Thanks for the video! $30 and 30 minutes and I have heat again. Especially helpful was the calibration procedure.

[@alexanderchristopher4626]

hi Daniel, which one wasn't working, and what was the part number? also, how long does the recalibration takes? I'm by no means a mechanic, nor mechanically inclined,... but this is something I think I can tackle....lol

[@kt47150]

Thanks for the instructional! Nice Job. You should do more!

[@kenyattakambai1527]

Thank you! Mine had the same issue. I ended up just doing the reset steps alone and it fixed the issue.

[@bassfish1800]

Just did the same job on my Sky. Great instruction. Many thanks.

[@ironsales5669]

Perfect solution totally fixed my problem Thanks!!!!

[@MrMacpac80]

Thanks so much for posting, I have this exact issue with my 2006 I just bought. Also I had no idea it had the "calibration" mode which is good to know too!

[@hifiveguyy]

This probably wasn’t necessary, I’ve had this same issue but all I had to do was “recalibrate” it by putting the nobs in a certain position. I found this on a forum. 1. Turn ON the ignition with the engine OFF. 2. Turn the Temperature dial all the way to the right. 3. Turn the blower control dial all the way to the right. 4. Turn the mode position dial all the way to the left. 5. Simultaneously press and hold the A/C and Defrost buttons until the LED's start to flash. 6. Once the LED's stop flashing, calibration is complete.

[@jermainejennings1514]

I'm going to turn this method. My heat and AC are not currently working. It is driving me crazy, I have placed more antifreeze in the car and that did nothing to solve my problem.

[@ZanesFacebook]

I've owned an 07 gxp for two years and this part needs to be replaced every 6-10 months on my car.

[@jermainejennings1514]

ZanesFacebook so,what is the part called? I want to get it replaced also.

[@ConradStorz]

I found this among the other comments and I believe it to be correct. " ...Cost me $33 from the dealer. Looked exactly like the original, no bent wires. GM parts ordered it from ACDelco. ACD# 15-73200, GM# 10397365." They are called "Actuators".

[@hifiveguyy]

@@ConradStorz its great that more and more people with these cars (The Sky's and the Solstice's) are uploading videos about them. I remember being a junior in high school (I was 16 at the time and now I'm 20) and finding it very frustrating that there wasn't videos on youtube about these cars. Now there's quite a few videos out there detailing common issues with these cars... ITS JUST GREAT

[@ZanesFacebook]

Just a heads up for anyone with an issue with their heat not working, the AC not working, or the direction knobs not changing vents... All of those actuators are the exact same. They're each the same part number

[@ZanesFacebook]

I have to replace the blend door actuator every 12-18 months on my 07. This year I said screw it and just went the summer with no AC After about a month of the clicking, the mode actuator went out too. Then the recirculation went out. So as I was driving, the car was randomly changing to outside air and moving from dash to floor. It SUCKED when they decided to go to vent and floor and I was doing slow driving with hot sun above me and hot air trickling in filling the floorboard. The blower motor also went out at this time so I had no fan control. Summer is finally over so I can bear the idea of spending an hour to replace these suckers. Since I have to do all 3 I think i'm going to pull the seat this time. It's only 4 bolts and one wire harness

[@ConradStorz]

Pulling the seat is a great idea! I would definitely do that next time. I don't understand why your actuators would be failing again. As an update, my original repair is still working perfectly 5 years after. The random behavior you describe makes me wonder if the head unit (buttons and dials) is failing? It could be that or a bad (corroded) connection.

[@Aberman1]

I have an 06 and I guess I’m lucky I don’t have this problem

[@idag14]

Thanks for the video! I just ran into this problem a couple days ago with my '06 and I'm glad I found the fix. Just a few questions: 1. Would it be worth it to try the recalibration procedure without springing for a new motor? Or is there something broken inside the motor? 2. Do you have a part number for that motor by any chance? 3. I REALLY like the red accents on your wheels. What did you do to get that look? Thanks!

[@ConradStorz]

I think the re-calibrate routine is a good first step. It's free and should not cause any harm. Unfortunately the problem I had was a broken motor position feedback sensor inside the motor unit. With bad feedback the control head can't synchronize the position of the air temperature door to the setting on the temperature knob. I don't recall the part number of the motor. If you locate it please post it here for the benefit of the next person. Thank you for the kind words about my wheels. They are after-market wheels and came with the red ring accent. Good luck with the repair and post your own experience here. I am interested in if you are able to get it fixed without paying a dealership.

[@TheLenaweeTrekker]

Good tech tip.

[@tomfisher8951]

Thank you great video

[@elmofreen5552]

Thanks for that very informative video. I've had A/C issues since a rubber part got stuck in the blower fan cage and caused the plastic wiring connector to burn. BTW, would you have a schematic of the blower motor controls? I lost high speed and heat calibration after installation of new harness and resistor pack.

[@ConradStorz]

I have not had those problems. I also was not lucky enough to locate wiring diagrams. The heat control problem sounds like it could be the same problem that I repair in this video since the control motor I replaced was the heat regulator motor.

[@BuggysTowJam]

@@ConradStorz i will look on my all data and Mitchell on demand 5 and see if it will give me wiring diagrams on these cars. What specifically would you need the diagram of?

[@ConradStorz]

@@BuggysTowJam the user Elmo Freen described damaged wiring caused by overheating. They were asking "schematic of the blower motor controls". I appreciate your offer to find schematics. At this time I don't need wiring diagrams. Have a good day!

[@zap_collection6511]

I know this is an old comment, but for any future gxp owners the wiring harness melting is fairly "normal." You'll be hard pressed to find a solstice with 55k+ miles that doesn't have a melted connector, or signs of repair

[@ninetyfive1]

@zap_collection6511, where do you see the damage for the melted harness? I'm fixing up an 08 GXP with 67k and having AC/heat issues. What needs to be done to fix it if it is melted?

[@germancrespo2724]

Good video thanks man👌👌👏👏👏👏🙏👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@dlvh007]

One thing you might want to try IF this process don't work for you (like me) is disconnect your car battery for around 15 minutes, reconnect it and then try the Reset Process again.

[@alexanderchristopher4626]

@ Conrad Storz... so, you didn't replace both of the actuators, which one was it? the problem I'm having is the heat won't blow, although it came on last week for like a day or two... it's making a clicking noise... got off work at 4am, all windows were fogged up due to defroster having no heat... I was steering and squeeging at the same time... unsafe, but I had to do what I had to do... lol

[@ConradStorz]

The actuator that is clicking is bad and must be replaced. Actuators can fail silently as well but if it is clicking just touch it while it's making that noise and you should be able to feel it in your fingers. There are at least 3 actuators and it's possible more than one has failed.

[@alexanderchristopher4626]

thx, I'm just now seeing this, so I do apologize for the delay. I plan on trying to repair this in the next of days...

[@angelisone]

@@alexanderchristopher4626 Able to fix the no heat problem with the car? And what was the name & part number, please?

[@zimversusdib]

@@angelisone any chance you find out? Same issue here no heat then started clicking

[@angelisone]

@@zimversusdib I was able to remove the panel out & got to the dial (temp/left). I cleaned the dial with electronic cleaner & dielectric grease was applied to it. Then I removed the top actuator from the 2 screws with ATG micro socket. Those connectors/leads cleaned with an ink easier. Open the actuator & cleaned & lubed with dielectric grease, then plug back in. Do not install back into car yet. Turn key on Turn on Temp Dial Look at the actuator's white socket to turns slowly while turning the Temp Dial. Got mine to work after doing all that. Now, get a mirror to look at male connector & aligns (by turning the Temp Dial) to match. If actuator's white female does not match DO NOT install.

[@fjfrancois]

7:48 Calibration process 👍🏻

[@2A_LEGOS]

I've changed both actuators, the ac is turning cold but where it's blowing won't work. I've changed both the actuators already and still nothing

[@angelisone]

I got a 2006 Solstice that won't get heat, would this actuator motor module fix it? Also what is the part number, please?

[@ConradStorz]

There is a chance this is stopping your heat. If you look through the comments section here you will find the part number.

[@angelisone]

@@ConradStorz Thank you for replying back. And taking your timeout doing the video.

[@jonathanleblanc2149]

well i tried this repair and had no luck. changed out the part, and it still goes to full heat or full cold. extremely disappointed. could it be a bad replacement part? any suggestions. tks

[@ConradStorz]

Jonathan LeBlanc it is possible your "control head" is defective. The dealer has no easy way to test it and will gladly replace it to the tune of $600 hoping that fixes it. Be sure that you correctly "recalibrate" the controls before you give up. Good luck!

[@jermainejennings1514]

Okok, Ill try this solution.

[@ConradStorz]

I'm curious if it worked for you?

[@miguelamadormartinez3816]

Muy bien hecho.

[@ronnie3233]

have you had any problems where the fan is not coming on?

[@tristahavey]

Can anyone tell me the part number or how to take off the underneath Plastic panel . Please

[@ConradStorz]

I found this among the other comments and I believe it to be correct. ...Cost me $33 from the dealer. Looked exactly like the original, no bent wires. GM parts ordered it from ACDelco. ACD# 15-73200, GM# 10397365.

[@ammonmoyer5979]

I've tried to recalibrate my Sky twice but the lights keep flashing after 12-15 minutes so I turn the ignition off. Any suggestions?

[@ConradStorz]

I'm not familiar with any of the failure modes during re-calibration. Every re-calibration I have tried completed in a short amount of time. At the end of my video you can see the process and how long it takes to re-calibrate. Since yours never finishes I expect that indicates some failure that is stopping the process. Please post here if you discover what the problem is.

[@69dodgepolara]

Same thing here... never complete calibrates...

[@Macsk8ing]

There are two, how do I know which one went bad?

[@ConradStorz]

EElectric_M it's the one closest to the front bumper.

[@ConradStorz]

The one closest to the front bumper had failed on mine.

[@HillBilly-1]

What's the other one for? Looks like it's the same part. Are they different part numbers or interchangable?

[@J.H.HOLLIDAY]

How the hell are you able to reach those modules? I cannot , for the life of me... and dealer told me $600 in labor, even if i bring my own parts.

[@ConradStorz]

I have posted a video showing a repair I just made to my 2006 Pontiac Solstice. The heater control was malfunctioning and that also broke the air conditioning control. The fix was cheap and easy. Most General Motors vehicles from that period could also benefit from this repair. Pontiac Solstice Heat regulator Repair: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2iafnhogdCerKc

[@mikekusa]

Does anyone know the part number?

[@tonicipriani]

ACDelco 15-73200. Forgot what the GM part number was though.

[@charlescarpenter513]

Did not work for me. I swapped out both actuators with new ones (with re-calibration), and there was no change to my problem. Yes, this video is correct on how you change a broken actuator. But it's not the fix for the condition that you described where the Controller temp is either Cold or Hot one notch off the cold on the dial (no blending). For that fix you need a 68ohm 1/2 watt resistor, spliced into a specific wire behind the controller. GM did a whole service bulletin on this very problem. I'll bet that your solution didn't fix your problem too. Or if it did, it was likely fixed by by re-calibration that you performed, not the swapping of a working actuator. You need to edit that part out of the video where talk about the temp is either Cold or Hot one notch off the cold on the dial, and change it to on how to swap out the actuator motors. This video made me waste time and money on a solution that didn't work for my temp control problem.

[@scottieallen8406]

I just replaced my actuator. No change. Still having the same issue. Any idea where I can find info on the resistor install? Maybe that’ll work. Thanks

[@zimversusdib]

Same here. I replaced both of the bottom actuators and nada just no ticking sound anymore

[@davef5208]

Don't take the v@((1ne!!!

[@bmwflorida1]

Vacuum the car!!

[@ConradStorz]

I feel you! My joy comes from riding in the car. Cleaning the floor is yours.