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Thread: Dumb prob: replacing climate control module, whats w/ the metal connectors?

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Posts: 1-10 of 11
2014-03-18 21:04:18
#1
Dumb prob: replacing climate control module, whats w/ the metal connectors?

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Well this is the dumbest thing ever. I finally got around to getting a whole new new climate control box for my '92 B13 b/c 1 of the levers inside have been broken forever (as many of us have experienced, the fresh air/recirculate lever) and the intensity level NEVER worked on setting 4 (opposite of the blown resistor, weird )

The only part that's electrical is the intensity 1-4 setting, the rest, fresh air/recirculate, hot/cold, and vent location are actual levers physically moved (besides the A/C). I already plugged it in and it works perfect settings 1-4 (also strange - I discovered I had an unused wiring harness hanging there that plugged right into the new modules A/C harness and my car NEVER had A/C from the factory in '92 - bizarre
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The problem is well, they suck.I have been unable to manipulate the cables manually with the accessories on and the air blowing; I haven't been able to switch from the floor vents to the main vents, hot to cooler air etc. and I'm having a difficult time attaching them. It's no wonder these little plastic lever broke on so many of our cars, they're way too flimsy to manually pull on them to change the settings over time. Is there a trick to getting these things back on? They are black and thick with wire hooks sticking out. Here's the ends of 2 of 3 of the connectors:
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And here's the fresh air/recirculate lever not hooked up yet (you can see the little hole in the end):
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How can I do all this complicated shit to these cars and this stupid thing I can't? BTW I also got a new power mirror switch, installed it and the passenger side mirror still won't work, had hoped it was the switch but guess not.

P.S. has anyone ever tried to "reinforce" the levers themselves inside the CC box? Like make them stronger somehow and less likely to break? Since I have the thing apart right now. I was thinking wrapping them in electrical tape maybe
Last edited by Storm88000 on 2014-03-18 at 21-19-03.
2014-03-19 02:44:17
#2
Didnt ur momma tell u to leave things alone
2014-03-19 08:11:30
#3
everyday. but the old one had broken levers inside
2014-03-19 09:19:52
#4
Well I figured which ones are which finally, the hard part is reconnecting them. Don't understand why they were designed this way, I guess to keep costs down. its a real pain, you have to figure out with wire goes to which lever, then make sure you set the lever correctly on the box and it uses these cheap little clips to hold the cables in.
2014-03-19 12:02:20
#5
I just changed the bulbs in my p10 hvac. I had one of those cables with it, everything else was electrical. They are a pita, I just had to manipulate it just right and move the lever far enough to get it through the hole, and the clips on mine where metal, seemed good enough.

Also, if you think that was a pita, after I got the hvac out of the p10, I had to take it apart to get to the bulbs, which were sooo tiny and had to get these mini bulbs from radio shack and re-wire them on the lil twist plugs, oh and one I had to solder in b/c it was missing the twist plug.

Ahh, the things we get ourselves into.
Last edited by blckse-r on 2014-03-19 at 12-04-05.
2014-03-19 12:05:53
#6
Lol I remember doing this on my b13. It's a pain. There's my wisdom for ya. Keep track of the metal hooks and where they go. If you can get access to the "fresh air door" lube that up so it wont give you so much resistance. That was the problem in mine as well.
2014-03-19 19:49:01
#7
Ok cool. I swapped the bulb with a new one while I'm at it, it's still not hooked up as I got tired of tinkering with it last night except knowing which is which wire. i'll put some grease in there too.
2014-03-19 21:23:04
#8
Not sure it'll help but I recently attempted something similar...I took some pics that may help in 'my projects thread.'

The fresh/recirc is still not working proplerly even though I repaired the HVAC control side...the other side, at the fresh/recirc door, I could not get to...absolutely NO access without disassembling/removing the evaporator. I may try it again if we get some more nice weather on a weekend...I think I can get to it if I remove the dash. I have never actually removed a dash before but from what I gather, I only had 4 bolts left...I already had everything else removed except for the steering wheel (not sure if that's required to remove). Anyway, something at the door was binding, which caused the cables to seperate when they were forcefully man-handled.


Also, I had the same issue with blower position 4 not working and although it's not the norm, a resistor also fixed that problem.
2014-03-20 00:34:37
#9
Interesting. I changed out my resistor twice and it never did anything- and when the blower resistor actually did "blow" I had no settings at all, 1-4..

Another thing still sorta of weird, why did I have a wiring harness for the A/C dangling there when my car never came with it from the factory? Just cheaper/easier to keep one harness? odd. I know this because the new HVAC has A/C and it plugged right in, even the little green light comes on when you press the A/C. Of course I have no A/C at all or parts but it's funny.

Edit: here's a photo of the one that came w/ the car, look at bottom left, no A/C button just sort of a little panel in its place.

Last edited by Storm88000 on 2014-03-20 at 00-42-50.
2014-03-20 01:24:30
#10
Originally Posted by Storm88000

Another thing still sorta of weird, why did I have a wiring harness for the A/C dangling there when my car never came with it from the factory? Just cheaper/easier to keep one harness? odd. I know this because the new HVAC has A/C and it plugged right in, even the little green light comes on when you press the A/C. Of course I have no A/C at all or parts but it's funny.


Um yes, cheaper AND easier to only make one harness...at least as few as possible.

From a production standpoint, it is cheaper (and with less error) to mass produce one harness that multiple models could utilize vs. making a version for every possible option....AC is just an option.
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