Climate control issues...

[TonyC]

Problem solved. I rap on the dash and the switch lamps blink and I can get the controls to function briefly. I remove the cup holder and the upper vent panel and then I can see the connectors on the back of the control unit. Wiggle the big one behind the buttons and things go on and off. So I remove the unit and look at the little circuit board that the connector is soldered onto. It slides out by lifting two plastic clips. I resolder all of the connections on that little board, clean the contacts and reassemble. Took me 20 minutes and it's working again.

I was suspicious as soon as I saw the circuit board because I already went through this with the speedometer. I had to resolder all of the connections on the speedo head board to get that working again. Electronics is my hobby so I have the small soldering iron with a fine tip that is good for this sort of thing.

We'll see if it holds up.

By the way, the service manual says to disconnect the heater control cable from the heater. I found it easier to unplug the connectors from the control head, flip it over and pop off the C ring. There is a second C ring in the cable clamp that you can pop out with a sharp pointed tool. Then the cable just comes loose without crawling around under the dash.

Much easier than the speedo.

Hopefully this will save somebody some headaches.

Tony

[plain OM]

Tony:

Thanks for the update, and congrats on both your troubleshooting and soldering.

It seems the soldering on these cars is something to keep in mind. There are similar reports of poor joints in the multi-information display on 2005-9 vehicles, so it's not just the 1st or 2nd generation OBs.

[NWSub]

any update on this??? i am having the same problem. did the soldering last??

[NWSub]

resoldered the little board today. worked like charm. all is good

[TonyC]

Mine is still working fine.

[NWSub]

i am the opposite of you. the first time i did the bulbs i lost the c clip and could not find it. this time I disconnected it under the dash.

I am still looking for that c clip and a few lost screws. They seem to dissapear into space. LOL

[lyonkubb]

I have not been able to get my controls to work at all- Took the control unit out of the car and proceeded to check continuity as described in the Subaru Factory manual service procedure- Checked bad according to the book. Got two more switches from the salvage yard yesterday and they both test the same as each other, but test different than my original and also not as the book says. Any one else noticed this?

Also- I noticed that several of the switches in the salvage yard were coated with dried soft drink of some sort, I wonder if the switches short out because sombody's big-gulp spilled over?

I've got a couple to mess with now, may try the soldering-

[NWSub]

Originally Posted by lyonkubb

I have not been able to get my controls to work at all- Took the control unit out of the car and proceeded to check continuity as described in the Subaru Factory manual service procedure- Checked bad according to the book. Got two more switches from the salvage yard yesterday and they both test the same as each other, but test different than my original and also not as the book says. Any one else noticed this?

Also- I noticed that several of the switches in the salvage yard were coated with dried soft drink of some sort, I wonder if the switches short out because sombody's big-gulp spilled over?

I've got a couple to mess with now, may try the soldering-

I did not even check with a meter. just pluggeg in the iron and touched each connection. the reason i thought it might be bad is that i was sble to make it work by pushing the plug in the back up and down. that kinda told me that it might be a bad connection.

Just do it. only takes a few minutes

[lyonkubb]

So it was cold enough this morning that I put aside the engineer in me and just plugged in one of the used controls I just bought and everything works fine! Toasty & clear windshield!

So....like I said, this part I just put in the car does not test like the Subaru Factory Repair Manual Shows. (i.e. with the vent button pressed, should have continuity between posts 7, 8, 12 & 16- only had continuity between 7,8 & 16 + it had continuity between several other posts.

[scootrmonkey]

Originally Posted by TonyC

Problem solved. I rap on the dash and the switch lamps blink and I can get the controls to function briefly. I remove the cup holder and the upper vent panel and then I can see the connectors on the back of the control unit. Wiggle the big one behind the buttons and things go on and off. So I remove the unit and look at the little circuit board that the connector is soldered onto. It slides out by lifting two plastic clips. I resolder all of the connections on that little board, clean the contacts and reassemble. Took me 20 minutes and it's working again.

I was suspicious as soon as I saw the circuit board because I already went through this with the speedometer. I had to resolder all of the connections on the speedo head board to get that working again. Electronics is my hobby so I have the small soldering iron with a fine tip that is good for this sort of thing.

We'll see if it holds up.

By the way, the service manual says to disconnect the heater control cable from the heater. I found it easier to unplug the connectors from the control head, flip it over and pop off the C ring. There is a second C ring in the cable clamp that you can pop out with a sharp pointed tool. Then the cable just comes loose without crawling around under the dash.

Much easier than the speedo.

Hopefully this will save somebody some headaches.

Tony

Tony, did you happen to take pictures of the areas you soldered? I'm having the same issues, and I too bought a control panel with the same results. Would you by chance charge to resolder mine?