Unable to change aircon blower options

[AdrianL]

Hello,
Wondering if anyone else has had this issue...

Aircon blows nice and cold, no problems at all, can change all the settings and everything works fine.

But then after a while, you can hear it blowing but it's almost like it's blowing behind the dash... nothing comes out of the front vents despite being on the coldest setting and manually changing the settings (e.g. face / feet, etc).

Anyone had this issue?

Thought I'd ask first, as trying to take it to Lotus will probably result in me being without the car for several weeks.

Cheers,
Adrian

 

[Citizen]

Seems HVAC need replacement

I had same issue and was replaced

 

[AdrianL]

Seems HVAC need replacement

I had same issue and was replaced

Interesting, thank you. I'm concerned that it seems to work for a while at first, then stops - worried they'll fob me off saying it's working!

Do you know specifically what was replaced?

 

[PS1_Emira]

Hi @AdrianL , did you get this sorted in the end?

I have the same issue. They reloaded the CCM (climate control module) software and it worked for a bit and now it's gone again while driving it home . Will have to call them up and book it back in again.

 

[MiamiBlue]

There has been various posts about HVAC issues resulting from water ingress. Do you know if you have the water proofing fix applied? Possibly the issue.

 

[Orchardbike]

Certainly sounds like water ingress, which has been common.

 

[PS1_Emira]

I had asked about the resistor failure and rubber seal fix when I had it serviced. I was told that mine wasn't affected (whatever that means) and didn't need anything doing. Then it started acting up after the service in typical fashion.

I'll find out when it goes back in again. Very odd as it did work fine for an hour while driving it back from the dealership tonight. And it's more an issue of the air not coming out the vents now, as the other person described.

At times it works. At times it doesn't.

I took a short video.

 

[Orchardbike]

I don’t believe there are any cars that “aren’t affected”. You either have the rubber shroud and fuse box seal fitted or you don’t.

 

[Kimmax]

Either resistor failure (already had this fixed) or broken actuator buried in the dashboard (fix due in November, the entire thing has to come out..........)
Can you still control the temperature and/or fan speed? If temp is stuck you likely have a resistor failure. If it can be controlled and just the flap position is stuck you have more likely broken flap mix actuator thingies..

 

[PS1_Emira]

It seems to work fine on non-AC after trying it out today.

Can change temperature, fan speed and airflow vents.

But it falls over when I turn the AC on. Then it blows cold air, unless I turn it up to 28deg C and after 10 minutes I can't regulate fan speed or airflow.

The system resets after a minute if I turn AC off. But then I have had the issue where no air comes out, even though I can hear the fan motor spinning - suggesting the airflow flaps aren't working.

 

[Tonygcar]

Welcome to the club I’ve had my resistor module and wiring harness which included the fuse box changed due to water ingress and they fitted the floppy rubber cover to deflect water and stop any future problems, it was a crap design in the first place any water running down the windscreen is directed onto said parts the floppy rubber just covers these like a umbrella, I didn’t take my car out in the rain I just washed it occasionally but how long was it stored outside before it was delivered to me.
The good news is since I’ve had the fix it’s working perfectly.

 

[AdrianL]

Hi @AdrianL , did you get this sorted in the end?

I have the same issue. They reloaded the CCM (climate control module) software and it worked for a bit and now it's gone again while driving it home . Will have to call them up and book it back in again.

No, I've just lived with it, which was annoying with the warm weather. My intention was to get them to sort it when I take it in for the next service (Feb). I suspect it will do the same thing with the heating so we'll see how winter goes.

I know that the membrane has been installed as I checked it myself - any tips on checking the fusebox? I'd rather look it over myself than trust the Lotus garage tbh.

I don't believe this is the resistor failure issue anyway as the variable control definitely works - it's the switching between differrent modes (feet, face, etc) that wasn't working for me.

Either resistor failure (already had this fixed) or broken actuator buried in the dashboard (fix due in November, the entire thing has to come out..........)
Can you still control the temperature and/or fan speed? If temp is stuck you likely have a resistor failure. If it can be controlled and just the flap position is stuck you have more likely broken flap mix actuator thingies..

Yeah I suspect it's the flap position for me. It does seem to work at first, but then just seems to stop after a little while (hard to say how long, maybe 20-30 mins of use).

@PS1_Emira sounds like it's the resistor for you, given the symptoms you have.

 

[Alberto]

I had the same problem back in June where the air conditioning was not coming out from two out of the four front vents, took it to the dealership and they found that the air flow direction was not changing due to a “gear coupling was found to be sheared”resulting in replacing the blower box unit. This is what needed to be done to have the little piece replaced.

 

[PS1_Emira]

Thanks Alberto. That looks like a proper job.

I've booked it in for Friday at Woodcote & Copse (Lotus Silverstone) and they have said that they'll replace the HVAC unit (blower box?) as the CCM Software reload didn't fix my issue. They've had a couple of these come to them.

Definitely not the resistor pack as all works fine when not using Air-con (i.e. Temp, fan speed, flap positions). Issues only occur once I turn air-con on.

Will post again once it's fixed

 

[crestima]

I had the same problem back in June where the air conditioning was not coming out from two out of the four front vents, took it to the dealership and they found that the air flow direction was not changing due to a “gear coupling was found to be sheared”resulting in replacing the blower box unit. This is what needed to be done to have the little piece replaced.

Wtf? Are you kidding? The entire dash, steering wheel, A pilars and center console had to be removed to change a simple vent actuator? All rhetorical questions of course, but this is really bizarre.
Coincidentally, I had mine at my local Miami dealer last week to have them check the vent selector, since recently my windshield began fogging up all the time. In Florida, with outdoor high temperatures generally year round, lots of cold air blowing directly on to the windshield creates condensation very quickly. My A/C blows good cold air, the temperature control function and fan speeds all seem to be working fine too, but the 3 position vent section selector is not. No mater which section I select, cold air keeps coming out from both the windshield and the dash face vents. The only section that I can completely shut off is the footwell one. My local dealer ordered a new vent actuator from Lotus, but what is not consistent with this revelation was that my service technician explained that the removal/replacement would be fairly quick and would be accessed from, in his own word, "underneath". I never even bothered to ask him where exactly underneath was. Now, having read your post and seen your pictures, I'll certainly be sharing this information with him to get assurance on what exactly this replacement will implicate. The only saving grace in my case is that they delivered my Emira back to me while the part is on order and will be picking it up again once the new part arrives for the installation. I just can't get over the notion of having to strip most of the interior in order to replace something seemingly so trivial. Many thanks for post and sharing this information.

 

[Alberto]

Wtf? Are you kidding? The entire dash, steering wheel, A pilars and center console had to be removed to change a simple vent actuator? All rhetorical questions of course, but this is really bizarre.
Coincidentally, I had mine at my local Miami dealer last week to have them check the vent selector, since recently my windshield began fogging up all the time. In Florida, with outdoor high temperatures generally year round, lots of cold air blowing directly on to the windshield creates condensation very quickly. My A/C blows good cold air, the temperature control function and fan speeds all seem to be working fine too, but the 3 position vent section selector is not. No mater which section I select, cold air keeps coming out from both the windshield and the dash face vents. The only section that I can completely shut off is the footwell one. My local dealer ordered a new vent actuator from Lotus, but what is not consistent with this revelation was that my service technician explained that the removal/replacement would be fairly quick and would be accessed from, in his own word, "underneath". I never even bothered to ask him where exactly underneath was. Now, having read your post and seen your pictures, I'll certainly be sharing this information with him to get assurance on what exactly this replacement will implicate. The only saving grace in my case is that they delivered my Emira back to me while the part is on order and will be picking it up again once the new part arrives for the installation. I just can't get over the notion of having to strip most of the interior in order to replace something seemingly so trivial. Many thanks for post and sharing this information.

good l

Wtf? Are you kidding? The entire dash, steering wheel, A pilars and center console had to be removed to change a simple vent actuator? All rhetorical questions of course, but this is really bizarre.
Coincidentally, I had mine at my local Miami dealer last week to have them check the vent selector, since recently my windshield began fogging up all the time. In Florida, with outdoor high temperatures generally year round, lots of cold air blowing directly on to the windshield creates condensation very quickly. My A/C blows good cold air, the temperature control function and fan speeds all seem to be working fine too, but the 3 position vent section selector is not. No mater which section I select, cold air keeps coming out from both the windshield and the dash face vents. The only section that I can completely shut off is the footwell one. My local dealer ordered a new vent actuator from Lotus, but what is not consistent with this revelation was that my service technician explained that the removal/replacement would be fairly quick and would be accessed from, in his own word, "underneath". I never even bothered to ask him where exactly underneath was. Now, having read your post and seen your pictures, I'll certainly be sharing this information with him to get assurance on what exactly this replacement will implicate. The only saving grace in my case is that they delivered my Emira back to me while the part is on order and will be picking it up again once the new part arrives for the installation. I just can't get over the notion of having to strip most of the interior in order to replace something seemingly so trivial. Many thanks for post and sharing this information.

Good luck!
I was also concerned about the amount of work required to get the part replaced. I have to say they did a fantastic job putting everything back together, cabin looks like nothing happened there, no cracks or rattles whatsoever.