Active Grill Shutters
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The shutters close at high speeds to provide better aerodynamics. It happens automatically. There is no manual control or indicator.
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Yeah I was going to say air causes them to shut creating a vacuum suction like effect that draws them close. Not sure. Would have to research.
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I think they're closed with an electric actuator that gets activated when the car decides it doesn't need as much air for the radiator and engine.
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Not chrysler specific, but this might help explain them. From the research on various dodge vehicles, the repeating word, "car variables would open or close shutters" was repeated. This video demonstrates those car variables.
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I found this diagram of the shutter in the Pacifica, but it does not match what I see in the car.
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(The shutter is item 25.)
I do not see this shutter. I can plainly see a large radiator, what I assume is the A/C radiator, right behind the front intakes.
After looking at the engine compartment a bit, I'm mystified about the airflow. There are obviously two large intakes in front, above and below the main bumper beam. But how does the air get out?
* It doesn't go out the bottom. There is a belly pan covering all of that. The belly pan is probably a big part of getting road noise and drag coefficient down. Apparently a third of a vehicle's air drag is typically on the belly.
* Not much goes over the windshield. They've gone to some trouble to seal that gap.
The only openings I found were in the wheel wells, around where the suspension bits connect to the wheels. Those openings are smaller the intakes. That's backwards. Air expands and increases it's viscosity as it heats up, so on airplanes the exit vents are typically larger than the intakes.
If anyone gets a chance to actually see the shutters, I'd appreciate it if you could post a picture.
(The shutter is item 25.)
I do not see this shutter. I can plainly see a large radiator, what I assume is the A/C radiator, right behind the front intakes.
After looking at the engine compartment a bit, I'm mystified about the airflow. There are obviously two large intakes in front, above and below the main bumper beam. But how does the air get out?
* It doesn't go out the bottom. There is a belly pan covering all of that. The belly pan is probably a big part of getting road noise and drag coefficient down. Apparently a third of a vehicle's air drag is typically on the belly.
* Not much goes over the windshield. They've gone to some trouble to seal that gap.
The only openings I found were in the wheel wells, around where the suspension bits connect to the wheels. Those openings are smaller the intakes. That's backwards. Air expands and increases it's viscosity as it heats up, so on airplanes the exit vents are typically larger than the intakes.
If anyone gets a chance to actually see the shutters, I'd appreciate it if you could post a picture.
The motor actuates the shutter between full open and full shut (depends on initial position) every time you turn the car on (to establish open/shut stop limits). If it finds it is stuck, it tries 3 times to cycle and, if temp is above 40 Deg F, you get a MIL light/code. The powertrain control module communicates with it via a LIN (local) bus and a control module and motor both mounted on the shutter assembly controls it. It can improve engine warmup times and open as necessary to manage temperatures. Otherwise it is shut above a certain speed. This is from hybrid service manual.
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cool so in theory, we can watch it upon startup.
Yep. This makes me think of the old TV commercial where the toddler has stuck oatmeal in the VCR.
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I was wondering if anybody saw it work? I tried to look in from the front, but didn't see them. But at the time, I didn't know what to look for. I'll take another peek later when my wife comes home.
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Did you ever find them?
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I see. So the active grill shutters are present only on the hybrid models....???
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Great post Gohawks...just when I thought I knew everything (just kidding).
Really though, this is fascinating, never thought a simple thing (wink) could provide so much benefit to car performance!
After watching the video, I looked all over the front of my 'gas' Limited and couldn't find them...they must be tucked in there!
Really though, this is fascinating, never thought a simple thing (wink) could provide so much benefit to car performance!
After watching the video, I looked all over the front of my 'gas' Limited and couldn't find them...they must be tucked in there!
Bought from Mopar for $135 as CD.
FWIW. I have R9 and that has a lot of info but I've been relatively bummed out with how incomplete it is. No wiring diagrams, engine section is applicable to gas Pacifica's, many illustrations are high level fuzz & not very good, DTC's are not indexed so you have to do a lot of reading to find them, etc. Going in as driver, I wanted to understand in detail how the car works so it's been helpful in that respect.
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Oh it's only for the lower intake? Want to post a pic?
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Finally, someone with the manual! I'm also planning on getting one, but waiting to actually buy the van and for release of the 2018 manual. I know that the the whole van schematic isn't there, but do they have diagrams for the individual circuits? I want to find where to connect power to accessories and check if the wiring to add lights from the gas model is present. May be you can share some files.
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