Control for ventilation to feet/face/screen

[seismic]

Just bought a 2012 i-miev and have discovered that the control directing air to either feet, face or screen is not working. Regardless of position the air goes to the screen. In addition the pre-heat remote control doesn't work (it talks to the car for state of charge etc but just says ERROR for pre-conditioning) so I was wondering if there was some self check being done to confirm the air is being directed correctly.
Does anyone know if the remote is dependent on the position of the damper directing the airflow, and furthermore where that damper is and whether it is a common problem for it to get stuck?

 

[Don]

Can't recall ever reading about anyone else with this problem, so it's not 'common' that's for sure

The remote can select either heat or defrost, so it's capable of moving the damper that appears to be either stuck or broken on your car. 99% sure it's all electrical, so maybe just bad fuse?

Don

 

[JoeS]

Hello seismic, and welcome to the forum. Hope we can help you sort out the issues with your newly-purchased used i-MiEV. I presume you're in Canada? You might consider updating your profile which will show your location under your name in the box to the left of the posts.
Here's the thread which discusses this: http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3196

I'll address the Remote -

1. The car has to be plugged into a live J1772 outlet in order for Remote to control the car charging or heating/cooling.

2. When heating, set to either the Heat or Defrost and press the Enter button. In my case, very often this will produce an Error, but if I wait a few seconds and hit the Enter button again, it will 'take'.

3. The Remote overrides any of the dashboard control settings when either Heating or Defrosting.

4. If you leave the seat heater switch on the ON position, the seat heater will also be activated by the Remote.

 

[seismic]

Hi Joe,
Actually not in Canada, although I was working there last year. I'm British but the car is Norwegian. It's a long story...
Anyway, thanks for the advice regarding the remote. I've been through all the stuff I could find online about the remote including your advice but have had no luck.
I've had my nose in the HVAC system quite extensively since I got the car as it has a dealer fit Eberspacher diesel (to water) heater installed. Unfortnately the previous owner didn't go the whole hog and install the remote system for it so I've installed an SMS relay to be able to start the diesel heater from my phone. Works a treat. There is a chance that somehow the original installation of the diesel heater has messed with the HVAC brain (since it is able to activate the fan even if the car is off) but I find it hard to believe the previous owner lived with only ventilation to the screen for 5 years.
I suppose there is a mechanical flap somewhere being activated, like the one for recirculation (which works). I'll just have to keep digging around to find it and see whether it is broken or jammed somehow.

 

[Aerowhatt]

I've had my nose in the HVAC system quite extensively since I got the car as it has a dealer fit Eberspacher diesel (to water) heater installed. Unfortnately the previous owner didn't go the whole hog and install the remote system for it so I've installed an SMS relay to be able to start the diesel heater from my phone. Works a treat. There is a chance that somehow the original installation of the diesel heater has messed with the HVAC brain (since it is able to activate the fan even if the car is off) but I find it hard to believe the previous owner lived with only ventilation to the screen for 5 years.
I suppose there is a mechanical flap somewhere being activated, like the one for recirculation (which works). I'll just have to keep digging around to find it and see whether it is broken or jammed somehow.

I do know that the servo motor for the damper you are referring to does have position sensing. Experimenting, I selected what I wanted. Directing the power of the remote defrost setting mostly to the floor for preheating. Once it was directed where I wanted with the dash selections I disabled the damper actuator. Then when I tried to start things going with the remote both heating and defrost gave errors. I had left the damper in a position that didn't fit either of the pre programed scenarios. Once the damper position actuator was re-enabled everything worked as normal. What I wanted to do could be done but one would have to fool the damper position sensor into seeing what it wants to see in order to proceed.

Aerowhatt

 

[seismic]

Hi Aerowhatt, great, so I was on the right track - the remote needs confirmation of the damper's position (and/or correct function) to be able to work.
So now I need to find the damper and see what's up with it. Unfortunately I am overseas (at sea) at the moment so can't have a play. Can you point me in the right direction - somewhere to the right of the accelerator pedal on a lhd car I'm guessing - then I can get a friend to have a look for me?

 

[Aerowhatt]

Hi Aerowhatt, great, so I was on the right track - the remote needs confirmation of the damper's position (and/or correct function) to be able to work.
So now I need to find the damper and see what's up with it. Unfortunately I am overseas (at sea) at the moment so can't have a play. Can you point me in the right direction - somewhere to the right of the accelerator pedal on a lhd car I'm guessing - then I can get a friend to have a look for me?

OK, so on the drivers side of the ventilation unit mine has three actuators and dampers the one closest to the drivers seat opens the HVAC up to the battery pack. Not sure if one without DCQC would have it? Then toward the front of the car right above the accelerator is the one that bypasses the heater coil when the AC is being used. Up high in the dash "between" these two is the routing damper which directs the air to the selected vents. Maybe you will get lucky and the owner that put in the petrol heater just unplugged that actuator in defrost mode. Perhaps he/she owned electric socks

Aerowhatt

 

[seismic]

Thanks for the description. We have DCQC so it fits with what I remember. I doubt very much whether I'll be so lucky that it has just been unplugged since the diesel heater was previously configured to only operate when the car was being driven. It would be natural to want to be able to direct the air for comfort.
There is a wire into the HVAC unit that is connected into via a diode from the diesel heater. According to the instructions it should be light green but is actually red (if I remember rightly). I think it is supposed to take control of the fan speed but am not certain. Maybe it has inadvertently messed with the routing damper. More investigation to come, as well as dealing with the leaking gearbox...

 

[seismic]

Here's a quick update after finally having time to investigate the issue.
All was fairly well with the motor that directs the airflow apart from a few missing teeth here and there.
As suspected the Eberspacher diesel heater had been installed incorrectly so no feedback was coming from the potentiometer.
All is working now - I'm amazed the previous owner lived with the loss of ventilation directivity after getting the diesel heater!
The bonus is that now the remote control for pre-warming etc works perfectly too, so combined with the SMS control of the diesel warmer we're ready for next winter already.