I recently changed the bulb on the left vent control (dash control ****) **** and after reassembling the bulb works but the **** doesn’t change the air flow vents. The **** spins freely and I can’t feel the indentations for each vent locations change (ie feet, face, both, defrost etc). I’ve disassembled and reassembled numerous times but to no avail. I can change the vents from the rear of the assembly where the cable attaches using my fingers and when I disassemble the front 1/4 of the assembly I can change the vents from sticking a pic into the gear with the male pin below the activation button. It seems like the male pin on this gear is not mating up with the female hole and teeth on the rear of the actual **** therefore not turning the vent settings. I also have a ‘12 xB and decided to disassemble the same **** assembly on this xB to see if I dropped a part between these two gears but it appears the same. I made sure not to rotate this assembly so everything mated up the same when reassembling. When I reassembled this **** assembly the same thing happened!!! Now I have two xBs where the left vent control **** won’t change the air flow for the vents! 🤬🤬🤬 So frustrating! I have the OEM Service Nanuals and they don’t mention anything about reassembling the gauges in any specific location or direction in relation to each other when doing so. Please advise. I’m going to try to attach pics. Thanks.

Left vent ****


Rear of the assembly I can change vents from here. When rotating the assembly here I can hear the vents change and feel the indentations for each setting.

It’s like this female hole and gear don’t mate with the male pin and gear in other pic.

 

I do like a puzzle. This is a good one.
Are you missing a part? In picture 4, the arrow points to a ring gear. Usually that would connect to a spur gear, possibly centered on that small hole just above the ring gear. In picture 2, there seems to be a mating axle pin to support the other end of a connecting shaft, that would also have a mating spur gear


Short shaft?? 2 spur gears on it??

 

i was thinking I might be missing some sort of gear between the two gears (female and male) but when I disassembled the ‘12 vent **** it looked the exact same.

 

I’m going to take a wild guess and wonder if its an actual electrical input that’s changing the flow and not mechanical?