we've all pretty much fixed them as found in this guide on how to fix the nipples...

http://trialsnuts.com/ecc.pdf

what I have personally done is found a good set of nipples from a jy and replaced mine with a good hard set of nipples..lol sounds wierd

from STwater:at this point I would say give it a try and let us know how it turns out. The only thing I can see not working is the nipples will be shorter and you could risk the possibility of losing vacuum due to them not going into the connector very far.

I'd say good idea though!

So todd after I try that test and let's say that the actuator is good, do i still remove the rod? Also how do you remove it by lifting it up off the plastic hinge?

well if the arm does not move than test the A/C programmer by cycling the system. Watch to see if the arm moves back and forth when you move the temp up and down.

If it doesn't move than I would lien towards the programmer being bad.

As far as the rod goes get a long screw driver under it and just pop it up. Probably only take about 10 pounds of force to pop it off the clip.

Well I finally got it done. I popped the arm off and moved the door over to the right and my beautiful heat came back :) If i had know this back in the summer I would have done instead of sweating in the car. What is the permanent fix? I guess replacing the actuator will be best. Thank you so so much for all your help. It was -4F this morning when i went to work but i park in my garage so it wasn't that bad.

when you do replace the air mix actuator,
This will help you with calibration. Start by turning the temp to the maximum heat setting.



Wait until the actuator arm moves all the way to the right. Move the airmix door all the way to the right, hold it there, and then snap down the metal connecting rod to connect the actuator arm and airmix door arm.



Next turn the temperature to the maximum cool setting.



Watch the action of the actuator arm, connecting rod, and airmix door arm as a whole for smooth, quiet motion throughout the full range. Verify that the airmix door moves all the way to the left.



Then set your temperature to the desired setting. Turn off the ignition and restart the car. Either let it idle for a few minutes or take it for a test drive to verify that the ECC has stopped blinking. If it has, then you are set to enjoy air at the correct temperature again!