Then how do you know it is going bad?

 

It clicks constantly. I’ve replaced these before on other cars and I know this means the gears are stripped. The original is from Denso. There are two under the steering column but I need to know what the bottom one does vs the top one. I know they are blend doors but want to know the exact function for the bottom one.

 

So the gears are stripped, meaning one of them isn't moving when commanded by the HVAC controls. Operate all the functions: airflow direction and temperature. Figure out which one is not behaving the way you expect and you will know which one you need to buy. Honda calls these actuators for airflow direction 'mode' and the one for temperature is 'air mix'

 

It looks like it’s the driver side lower mix motor, the easy one. I saw a video about taking it apart and cleaning the lubricant off of the circuit board. Said lubricant didn’t belong there. Is this correct or is this dielectric grease and it belongs there?

 

If you are getting the clicking, it is clearly a mechanical failure... You can also reach under there and try to move the arm while it is clicking to see which way it 'wants' to go and see if that gets it to stop. It will, however, reasonably regularly adjust that arm if the temperature control is set to anything but high or low... (even sometimes with the HVAC system off)

I would expect any grease that could come into contact with electronics to have dielectric properties, even if it isn't specifically a dielectric grease.

-Charlie

 

I actually have an unrepaired fault in this area. Don't have a CEL, but do have code B1239 (Air Flow Blend Door Driver Circuit Failure). I looked into it at one point when I had some time, foolishly thought it would be a good idea to hunt down and fix all my codes on all my cars, made little progress and sounded the retreat. I'd have tried further if it mattered to me. So anyway, ...

Have you checked for codes? As with me, I had no CEL, but my Foxwell NT520 came back with the B1239. If you can find a code, and then put it into the Google intertube machine, you might get more info to sort through (which might not help any )

My problem was definitely different vs. yours since mine was silent and throws a code. But I believe it is the same part. My code indicates circuit failure rather than a mechanical failure.

Everything @phattyduck is saying here make sense to me, and I will reference it next time I am "in there".

I found a couple of threads on here, when searching on that B1239 code:

https://www.odyclub.com/threads/climate-control-mode-problem.152219/

https://www.odyclub.com/threads/free-fix-for-center-air-vents-not-working-consistently.178370/

That second thread has a possibly useful video in there, aiming to show what his noise is like. Unfortunately I think he was driving through a hurricane for the first half of it, but reached the eye part way through.

 

Don't have a CEL, but do have code B1239

Body codes would not turn on the CEL, most Powertrain codes will.

 

If you complete the HVAC self diagnosis, your HVAC display will tell you tell you which motor has failed. There are two different HVAC controls for these vans (at least on 11-13) so you gotta find the one that matches your button layout. I can post pictures later tonight.

Personally I replaced my bad actuator with a 4-seasons brand from RockAuto. Much less expensive than a genuine Honda one (made by Denso)

 

I know this is an old thread. How has the 4-seasons actuator been holding up for you? Is it still working well?

 

Here is a link to another thread showing the instructions for a dual zone climate control self diagnosys:

https://www.odyclub.com/threads/hvac-front-mode-control-issues.368398/post-2484465