recirculating air

I have a 2002 Impala LS with a recirculating air problem. When you move the selector all the indications work fine, i.e switching from floor to defrost the light switches over from internal air to external but there is no longer a change in pitch and I don't just have air coming out from the defroster it comes out from all the vents. Seems as though there might be a selector valve somewhere that is stuck open. Any suggestions?

I have a 2002 Impala LS with a recirculating air problem. When you move the selector all the indications work fine, i.e switching from floor to defrost the light switches over from internal air to external but there is no longer a change in pitch and I don't just have air coming out from the defroster it comes out from all the vents. Seems as though there might be a selector valve somewhere that is stuck open. Any suggestions?I believe it's call an actuater switch which is controled by vaccum that is down underneath the inside part of the dash, my 1st impala out of the 7 impalas I have had in the past 3 years had the same problem, so the mech at g.m said, but after he stripped down the dash he discovered the it was working find only to come accross a small twig or part of a branch that got sucked down through a crack that was in the vent screen out underneath the hood by the drivers side wiper, the screen is the peice of plastic with all the holes in it, I broke mine attemping to beat the ice off around the wiper arms and cracked it, not knowing that a small branch or twig would eventually get sucked down that crack and block the valve for changing the heater controls,defrost, floor and vents,mine was stuck on the floor.

Thanks for the reply, I will check the inlet louvers for debris. It sounds like this actuator sensor you are talking about that is located behind the dash is hard to get to. Is it easy to recognize or locate?

Thanks for the reply, I will check the inlet louvers for debris. It sounds like this actuator sensor you are talking about that is located behind the dash is hard to get to. Is it easy to recognize or locate? The best thing to do before you do anything is to go to your nearest g.m dealer or call them to get an idea of where it is too,there are covers underneath the drivers and pass side that have clips on them that you can release to get them off but i'm not sure if you will get right to the problem area without stripping apart more of the dash.

The best thing to do before you do anything is to go to your nearest g.m dealer or call them to get an idea of where it is too,there are covers underneath the drivers and pass side that have clips on them that you can release to get them off but i'm not sure if you will get right to the problem area without stripping apart more of the dash. you where right,it is called the actuatur, air inlet valve, I am still not sure exactly where it is located but here is a website you might find interesting to see what it looks like, the entire site is a complete site for all the parts of the impalas.

www.impalaauthority.com (http://www.impalaauthority.com), when you get this site up click on Imformation and go to 00-05 impala parts list, part 29 on page 4 will show you what the actuatur looks like, thats all the info that I can give you, hope this is a little helpfull for you, Mike

The best thing to do before you do anything is to go to your nearest g.m dealer or call them to get an idea of where it is too,there are covers underneath the drivers and pass side that have clips on them that you can release to get them off but i'm not sure if you will get right to the problem area without stripping apart more of the dash. you where right,it is called the actuatur, air inlet valve, I am still not sure exactly where it is located but here is a website you might find interesting to see what it looks like, the entire site is a complete site for all the parts of the impalas.

www.impalaauthority.com (http://www.impalaauthority.com), when you get this site up click on Imformation and go to 00-05 impala parts list, part 29 on page 4 will show you what the actuatur looks like, thats all the info that I can give you, hope this is a little helpfull for you, Mike

The best thing to do before you do anything is to go to your nearest g.m dealer or call them to get an idea of where it is too,there are covers underneath the drivers and pass side that have clips on them that you can release to get them off but i'm not sure if you will get right to the problem area without stripping apart more of the dash. you where right,it is called the actuatur, air inlet valve, I am still not sure exactly where it is located but here is a website you might find interesting to see what it looks like, the entire site is a complete site for all the parts of the impalas.

www.impalaauthority.com (http://www.impalaauthority.com), when you get this site up click on Imformation and go to 00-05 impala parts list, part 29 on page 4 will show you what the actuatur looks like, thats all the info that I can give you, hope this is a little helpfull for you, Mike

The best thing to do before you do anything is to go to your nearest g.m dealer or call them to get an idea of where it is too,there are covers underneath the drivers and pass side that have clips on them that you can release to get them off but i'm not sure if you will get right to the problem area without stripping apart more of the dash. you where right,it is called the actuatur, air inlet valve, I am still not sure exactly where it is located but here is a website you might find interesting to see what it looks like, the entire site is a complete site for all the parts of the impalas.

www.impalaauthority.com (http://www.impalaauthority.com), when you get this site up click on Imformation and go to 00-05 impala parts list, part 29 on page 4 will show you what the actuatur looks like, thats all the info that I can give you, hope this is a little helpfull for you, Mike

Thanks Mike, that is a very helpfull site. I appreciate all you help and research in this matter and when I work on it this weekend I will let you know my progress, thanks, John

I have a 2002 Impala LS with a recirculating air problem. When you move the selector all the indications work fine, i.e switching from floor to defrost the light switches over from internal air to external but there is no longer a change in pitch and I don't just have air coming out from the defroster it comes out from all the vents. Seems as though there might be a selector valve somewhere that is stuck open. Any suggestions? hows it going, just checking to see if you corrected or found out how to fix your control valve, Mike