This is for a specific Actuator that controls the vents from MAX AIR all the way to DEFROST. I believe more than one Actuator does this but this is the one that is notorious for going bad. It is located on the side Plenum above and right of the gas pedal tucked in neatly behind a engine control module.
Part Number 27743-ZP00A
$34.96 at the local dealer
Tools used and in Typical Nissan Fashion you need two sizes of sockets for the screws that hold in the actuator.
1. 3/8 drive 14mm socket for the seat bolts
2 9/23, 7/32 and 9/32 wrench or 7mm wrench (same as 9/32) (7mm socket for 9/32)
3. 3/8 ratchet or air ratchet
4. 1/4 drive ratchet or air ratchet
5. small flat blade screw driver to help push in pins for electrical connections
6. flash light, work light.
7. 1 hour of your time
There is enough room for a 1/4 air ratchet, I suggest using one if you have it. There isn't much room working work a hand ratchet back and fourth.
First, remove the seat. This gives you a lot of room to lay down
There four bolts, one on each corner if you cant' figure that out stop now. Sorry no pics
Laying on your back and looking up you will see a black Engine control module with a few connectors. Unplug and wiggle the module loose. It is held on by two metal brackets that the module slides on to. You can unbolt if you wish, I didn't.
Now that that the module is out of the way you will see the Actuator hidden behind the bracket.
Disco the electrical connection to the Actuator
The top screw is a 7/32 and the two bottom screws are 9/32
I used a 1/4 drive air ratchet and remove the top screw and forward bottom screw. I used a 7mm wrench to remove the rear screw that is in direct line with the bracket
Now pull the Actuator straight out.
Install in reverse paying attention to how the external gears line up on the actuators. My new one was not lined up. I connected the electrical and turned the key on. The Actuator started to spin and I shut the key off when it was in the same position as the old on. Be fast and pop it in place before it does it's shut down maneuvers. Once you have it in place keep pressure on it for about 30-45 seconds. It will do its maneuvers and it is in.
To get the screws in install the top first loosely, then the rear screw behind the bracket then the forward screw. The last screw will require one hand to adjust the Actuator to get the holes aligned and one hand to start the screw. Once they are all started begin snugging them, go easy it's just plastic.
run a test run to make sure it is working then install the module and connect everything.
Not a difficult repair but not a cake walk either. It is pretty straight forward. There isn't much room and if you have large hands it will be more challenging. You will have to get into some weird positions to get both hands up in there at times. I am not exactly small I just could fit in there. It took about an hour and I did not rush anything. I spent more time trying figure out why my 7mm and 6mm didn't fit the top bolt. DUH they are SAE not metric (cussing Nissan the whole time)
I hope the pictures help, MS Paint isn't my specialty.
The arrows are more important. I used MS Paint and made the TXT size 22 and it was huge, then I resized to upload here and it wasn't so huge anymore. I will give it another go.
I gave this a shot today. It is much more difficult if you have the factory rockford fosgate system because the amplifier is also in the way. I got the old actuator out, then realized I ordered the wrong one to replace it.
It's really not too bad. I guess if you wanted to unbolt the gas pedal to get more wiggle room you could. I am not exactly small and I had to wiggle my arms up in through stuff. You have to use to hands unless you have two thumbs and 8 fingers on one hand. The absolute two biggest helps were pulling the seat and using a 1/4'' drive air ratchet.
what really pisses me off is I couldn't see anything wrong with the old actuator. All the gears looked perfect. The only thing I think off is one gear has a little tit the rides on the plastic body of the actuator, that hole was bone dry and could have wollered out some.
So if you have the amp and like three other things that are bolted behind the black box, how did you manage to remove them to get to the vent actuator?
I couldn't ever get the amp out. I tried removing the gas pedal and a few other things, but I just couldn't get it out of there. I just unbolted the amp and slid it around to get to the screws on the actuator. I was able to get all 3 screws out and get the actuator out, but I bought the wrong one, so I didn't get to try to put it back in. It is a pain, but I think it's doable without removing the amp.
Great write-up and pics. The pics were all the difference. My replacement (without air tools) didn't go quite like the write-up, but pretty close. The only tools I could get in there were a hand-nut driver for two of the three screws, and a tiny 9/32, 6" wrench for the last screw blocked behind the module bracket. What a pain.
And lastly, my new actuator would never stop where the old one had been positioned. So I had to turn the key on with it sitting in position to install, and when it rotated to the correct spot, it seated -- and kept spinning. When it finally stopped, I reinstalled the screws.
However, none of that would have been possible without the great write-up here. Thanks, guys!
Unfortunately I have the RF and took a look up there this morning--doesn't look like a fun job. My truck is only blowing air either through the defrost vent, or through the floor vents, I can't get it to go through the vents that face me.
While shining my light up there, I noticed that white thing DOES move around slightly when I change the mode from MAX A/C to other vents. Does that mean the motor is still functioning correctly? Is there a troubleshooting guide available to help pin-point which actuator is bad?
I also checked the actuator by the accelerator pedal behind the plastic kicker. I opened up the motor and plugged it back in so I could watch the motor function. It spun when selecting a different mode so can I assume that it's functioning correctly?
My feeling on it is, if you hear audible "clicking" (it's fairly loud...you shouldn't have to strain to hear it) when you are moving BACK from one of the settings on the 'right' (e.g., defrost) to one in the middle or far left (e.g., dash vents), then it is the actuator discussed in this thread.
Unfortunately, with the RF amp, I haven't found a thread that really explains how to get around that issue - but there probably is one. I didn't have that amp, and even with that, I had a lot of challenges to get the actuator changed. Getting to it takes contortionism.
is this Part Number 27743-ZP00A for a 2005 model titan? I looked up the part number on autopartscheaper.com and it says that number is not for my year but I noticed the post by shane06fi has a 2005. I don't wanna buy the part till im sure its the right one
I have a 2005 titan, replace the actuator, but don't know if its in the right position, as the truck still doesn't blow air out the correct vents. It doesn't blow air "strongly" out of any vents. When switching from defrost to max air (all of them) it doesn't work. However the white pieces are moving. The one by the gas petal and the one to the right of the center of the dash. (which controls hot and cold air) also the one below, nearest to the gas petal spins. All the actuators are moving. I'm just not sure if I installed it in the right place or there is something damaged inside where the doors open and close. I believe these actuators move together, changing the air flow from the floor, to front, to defrost. If that is the case, I imagine installing them in the old position is very important. Is there a way to get them in the right position, cause I didn't note the position when I took then out. You would think moving the levers manfully would shift the airflow, but it don't, I've tried.
I'm not sure where the lever was when I took the old one out. I guess trial and error and I may get it right-eventually.
Did you ever get an answer to this? I read through a 16 page thread on all of these actuator motors and came out confused. Mine too seems to come from the passenger side. I never turn it to heat. I sometimes switch from external to recirculated air but that's about it. It clicks like a mofo even when I'm not switching anything. Got to get this thing fixed.
I don't have any clicking sounds, just no air flow out of any vents. The motors are moving each white device in its full range of motion: both of them-both sides
PLEASE HELP! I have an '07 Titan SE and the defrost worked fine earlier today and now, no air at all comes out of defrost or vents anywhere in the cabin..what needs to be fixed/replaced? The climate controls all work and engage but no airflow. Thanks!
Dirtdriver amd mdub, there is an actuator to control the temperature (I believe) which is kind of behind the stereo and glove box on the passenger side.
There is a thread for it somewhere. I glanced at it when I replaced my vent control actuator (the one i think you guys replaced on the drivers side footwell area). I only had to do this one, so did not read the other thread in detail. It involves tearing the dash half way apart to replace the one that clicks on the passenger side if I remember correctly.
trial and error will get it right if you haven't done so yet. I made the same error you did. I had my wife turn the vent position (floor, panel, defrost, etc.) while I was under the dash. If it didnt match, i pulled the unit so the sprocket was clear, had her turn a couple clicks, reinserted it and tested again.
Start all the way at one side (like the knob on floor) and test. If it is not right, return the knob back to where you started (floor). Then remove the actuator, turn the knob a click or 2 and reinsert it. Test again, if it isnt right, turn all the way back to the start (floor), remove, turn a couple clicks, reinsert, etc. This will advance the gear in the system a little every time until you find where. You should start to figure out about how far you are progressing. You may have to work both clockwise and counterclockwise since you aren't sure where you are beginning from. I knew I started at one position, but failed to plug the actuator in and turn the ignition to let the actuator position itself as described in the "how to" thread
This was a PITA when I did it, so I feel you pain. My hands are big, so I had a lot of cuts and scrapes from this.
Great write-up. I started not getting any air at all to the defroster so I replaced my 27743-ZP00A Actuator today and it did the trick. I would have finished in an hour if I hadn't knocked the white lever off and had to figure out how it went back together. All in all I am happy that I did it myself and the defrost is working again.
johnston21, check your in cabin filters behind your glove box. owners manual tells you how to remove these. If they are plugged you will get little airflow through any of the vents. I had the same problem, could hear the blower working hard but harldy any air flow. I pulled the filters out and left them out. Hope this helps.
In June/july 2013 I took the hold dash apart on a 2005 titan...4 door. It was the filter that was bad. A 10 minute job turned into days, because I took the whole dash apart. But yes, johannid, you are perfectly right. wish I would have done that in the first place. FOR ALL WHO READ: IF YOUR BLOWER MOTER SEEMS TO WORK FINE, THEN CHECK THAT DANG FILTER. I COULD NOT BELIEVE A FILTER WOULD COMPLETELY STOP AIRFLOW....must of been that volcanic dust from alaska...lol...hated my life after I figured that out. thanks johannid. thanks for posting, but your almost a year late. but hopefully those who search will find this post
I have a 2009 Titan that has all the symptoms of the actuator going bad, would these instructions work a 2009 too? The part number for the front actuator is the same as the one listed at the start of the thread.
So I replaced the motor for my truck today. As mentioned not hard just a pita. I knocked the white gear off so had to remove the black shroud the motor mounts to and figure out how it went.
Before I started I didn't have any air flow through the vents and now with the new motor I do but now the defroster has no air flow and before I just had flow through floor and defroster with the broken motor
I opened up my old motor and it indeed had the shaft with the teeth broken off
Edit
So I started to take it apart again when at the corner of my eye what do I see? The connector that plugs into the motor was just dangling. I had forgotten to hook it back up. Once connected everything appears to be working fine. Hopefully this helps anyone who may make the simple mistake like I did
My 2005 Titan - No air out of front air vents, only defroster and floor.
The original post looks like it could be the solution to my problem. Before I take things apart and replace the actuator I would like to ask how you determined that it was the actuator causing the problem? Is there a way to troubleshoot it for confirmation of a bad actuator?
I just changed my vent control actuator. Behind the black box that has the 3 wiring connections was a silver rectangle box. I don't have the Rockford Fosgate system but maybe thats the satellite radio box? Not sure but after getting the black box out of the way I had to remove the silver box by unscrewing the housing for it. With that out of the way I could see the 3 screws that hold the actuator itself to the black plate. I only took out the actuator itself. I put the new and old actuator side by side to see where the cam's position was. The new one needed to be moved so I connected the plug to it. I turn my key on to get the AC on. I watched the cam turn and when it got to same position as the old I pulled the plug out. I turned my key back off. I put the new actuator in and the cam lined up perfectly so the actuator slid right in. I put the 3 screws back then I tested the AC out. When I turned the knob from face vents to defrost it worked as it should. You can see the white plastic part behind the actuator plate move. I went from defrost to feet going one notch at a time on the knob. The white plate would move as it should. So I took the key out and put all plugs, cables, brackets, etc back where they were in reverse order. I started my truck to try everything out again and it all worked...with no spare parts. It did take me 2 hours but if I just had that black box to deal with and not the silver box behind it I know it would have taken me much less time. The part number of the new actuator I used was 27743-ZP00A. I have 2006 SE with satellite radio but not the rockford fosgate system.
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