Ian
I've found the ball and socket thing and indeed one end was broken but just barely and the end that was supposed to be back up in the mechanism was just dangling. The final little flap of plastic that goes over the top has broken off. Could this be the problem? I see how the ball and socket rod controls the actuating arm but what could possibly be applying enough force to move the arm forward and backward. When I push it backwards it immediately slides forward as soon as I let go.
Also, which way does the actuating arm have to be in to provide heat? I started the car, and pushed the arm forward (towards the front of the car) and waited...no heat, just cold air. Then I pushed it backward which required a lot of force and still nothing. Then I jacked up the car and looked at the valves and both are in the open position so doesn't this mean that all the hot air is going out into the open instead of through the tubing that leads to the dash ducts? When I manually close the valves, which again requires more force than you would think necessary, they just just rotate open as soon as I let go.
Based on what the valves do when I let go and what the arm does when I let go it seems that with the arm back, the valves close. True?
I know the heater blower motor is working and I've checked all the fuses.
What next?

thanks,
c

 

Yes, that little rod does supply enough force. It moves the lever in & out that pulls a cable that pulls the 2 cables on the heat valves. Notice the valves are springloaded & default to open so the rod closes them as it pulls the lever forward. As they close, air is directed into the heat tunnels & into the cabin. The main blower pushes air & the footwells pull. The plastic ***** have been improved by Porsche & are cheap & available at any dealer. From the sounds of it, this will solve your problem. Only a $1 or 2.

It's also tied in with the temp sensor on the heat exchanger so it might not activate until you have warmed up the engine a bit - not sure about this though.

Ian

 

OK update. There is definitely hot air coming out of the open valves and when the arm is in the back position, the valves do close (my neighbor pusehd the arm while I was under the car) but as I sit in the car and push the arm back I still get cold air! WTF! The rear blower is definitely working so is the problem the front blower? How do I check this one? Is this the blower under the little trap door in the bonnet? As I switch the dashboard controls back and forth I can get air out of the dash vents, floor vents, and windshield vent.
I ordered the ball thing for $1.47 but it doesn't seem like this will solve the problem.

thanks,

c

 

No. That is an ac fan. Get the actuator rod ***** on. Warm up the car a bit & you should have some heat. Auxillary fans for heat are inside the cabin in each footwell (another issue) but you will have some heat even if these are dead, but it takes longer to circulate. Use the dash control (the lowest slider) to direct WHERE you want the heat. Defrost or heat or blend - note the arrows.

Ian

 

Found the footwell blowers. Both fuses are blown. I'll replace them and report back....
How long should the engine have to run to get heat without the help of the footwell blowers? I'm having to manually hold the lever since the ball joint is broken so how long should I wait?
How do I know if the relays are working?

c

 

Get this. Drove it to Autozone to get the fuses and tried pushing the arm back as I drove. Hot air came through the left and right dash vents and windshield vent but cold air came through the center dash vents and floor vents. Got home, replaced the fuses and tried it again. Nothing from the footwell motors and both new fuses blew. Could both footwell blowers be bad?
I guess I still need to check the relay somehow.

c

 

Yes both footwells could be seized. Run a 12V line direct from battery to check. Brown is ground. Center vents supply fresh air & AC only. The top & center sliders operate your fresh air.

See Autoheat Components

Ian

 

Both motors are kaput. Hooked them up to the battery and nothing, just some arcing at the little terminal. Just replace them or can they be rebuilt?

c

 

Since they're $140 each, I would poke around inside. Before you buy them, get the actuator fixed & try the system to see if is enough heat for now. Then you can also check power to the footwells & make sure the relay is working.

Ian

 

Thanks for all your help Ian. The actuator is coming in 4 days so I'll put it in and go from there.
You were right about there being enough force. I sat there and turned the **** back and forth and watch the lever go forward and backwards, ever so slowly. You'd think they'd attach the actuator by a more solid method. Oh well.

c