I have a 2006 dodge ram 1500 and the foot/defrost vents are stuck no matter where you put the knob. Basically the defrost blows well all the time and the foot just dribbles heat all the time. The middle vents turn off and on fine, the fan speed and temp knobs work fine.
Internet opinions seem split as to whether this is a vacuum problem, or a switch, or an actuator, or if the system even uses vacuum, etc. Wondering if anyone knows definitively how this system works and where to begin looking.
IF its the same style heater that the dakota pickup uses there is a plastic linkage rod on the left hand side of the heater unit just above the accelerator pedal that can pop off and cause your issue,the same thing happened to our dakota last winter.
it took some staring at it to figure out how it goes as there are two cams that work in conjunction with it and it has to be timed properly.
if it is not timed right when you watch it work you will see the two cams collide and the actuator will stop and go back where it was.
kind of hard to explain but those two have to roll over each other to work right.
cams may not be the right word for what dodge calls it but you will get the idea when you look at it.
if nothing worked I would say you had a bad actuator but it sounds like its working and stalling between the settings you describe which is what ours did.
forgot to add,if that is what you find you have to remove the actuator to get the rod back in place correctly.
you will need either a 5.5 or 7 millimeter socket to remove it,cant remember the right size at the moment.
I had the same thing happen to my 2010 Ram. When I would turn it on I could hear a clicking for a couple of minutes then it would just blow out of the defrost. It was a vent blender door actuator.
How did you access that actuator?
How did you access that actuator?
My guess is 3 bottles of Jack, a steak & a road trip to Iowa with a pretty please might get r done. 
thats pretty close Dutchboy !!
again,if its like our dakota you can look straight up at it,its located above the accelerator pedal between it and the dash,it may different on your truck.
I pray its not like my old cherokee with the dual climate control,twelve hours to get to that one!!
some engineer should have had his thumbs dipped in battery acid for that stunt.
So, it is not above the gas pedal as the vent system ends before going that far. Looks to be on the center console area – maybe I can get at it if I take the center panel off. I did it once for the radio and don’t remember it being super hard.
I can look into the passenger floor vent and see that the door moves about 1″ open but it must not be doing enough.
Hopefully dwalton responds.
in doing a quick search there are some youtube videos of it.
worst case scenario is having to remove the dash from what I saw.
sorry,it is different from what mine was.
So, it is not above the gas pedal as the vent system ends before going that far. Looks to be on the center console area – maybe I can get at it if I take the center panel off. I did it once for the radio and don’t remember it being super hard.
I can look into the passenger floor vent and see that the door moves about 1″ open but it must not be doing enough.
Hopefully dwalton responds.
On my 2010, I had to take the center part of the dash out with the radio and heater controls. I’m not sure how the 06 is set up. It was down towards the bottom in the middle. There are two of them there and I think they’re the same motor and I don’t know which one does what, so it’s kind of a crap shoot to get the right one.
I wonder if Toyota has the same components cause my Tundra does the same.
Well I was able to take apart the center console and remove the actuator with the help of two holes I drilled. It is fine, which means that the stupid door broke and the whole dash needs to come apart to fix it…
I guess this is why I drive cars forever and don’t have a payment. At least they can also fix the re-circulation door that broke well over a decade ago while they are in there.
Thanks for the tips everyone.
A $1,300 expense on my 2006 Ram. Dash had to come out.
An 06 Ram ain’t worth that much, is it? 
$1003 to get it fixed. On the bright side I now have a recirculation door again after over a decade so no more dripping condensation on the passenger floor.
Yay?
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