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Hey all, posting to see if anyone else has run into this problem and found a solution. Kind of a weird one, never encountered this kind of issue before so I'm clueless as to how to fix it. My 'COLD' to 'HOT' **** is stuck almost directly inbetween the two settings and it's not budging whatsoever. It's really becoming a problem because it's the start of spring here in mpls and I can't have heat still blasting I checked to see if there was anything obvious just simply lodged into the slide area but there's nothing. I can peer inside and see the inner workings but nothing foreign. Kind of seems to be a mystery as to why it's stuck honestly. here's a video of the incredible phenomenon but it's pretty self explanatory:
Any suggestions? At this point I'm pretty close to just trashing the whole thing and leaving a gaping hole in the center. Would be a better alternative to getting heat all the time (p.s. just how hot does the heater get??? It's not even on full HOT and the air is burning!! sheesh)
Pull the that control panel out and you will see the cable that the lever acuates. The cable might be jammed or got something stuck in it, or the door that it moves might be stuck. If you can't get the cable to free up, you can disconnect the cable from the lever. If the lever is moved all the way to the cold position it will open the vacuum control to the heater valve and stop the flow of coolant to the heater core. That should stop the flow of heat if the cable doesn't want to move.
Did you solve the stuck selector? My 85 is exactly the same right now. If you fixed it could you share how you did it?
Just trying to fix this thing up right now. Currently have the instrument cluster out for new bulbs.
Did you solve the stuck selector? My 85 is exactly the same right now. If you fixed it could you share how you did it?
Just trying to fix this thing up right now. Currently have the instrument cluster out for new bulbs.
My '84 did the exact same thing! Took the heater control out and the cable on the heater core side had a bend in it from a retainer coming loose....allowing the cable housing to move around and bending the inner cable! Bent it straight by hand, tightened the retainer....just like new👍
On my '84 the bellcrank for the blend door was frozen in the halfway position. You'll have to at least pull out the hush panel on the passenger side to get to it. A little oil and some wiggling got it freed up.
Pic is the front of the heater box out of the car. Don't expect your bellcrank to be painted. I had mine out so I cleaned it up. Cable is attached to the silver pin. The pushrod to the blend door is attached to the white clip.
I did have some water intrusion so its very possible that the bellcrank is rusted. Does the carpet hush have to come out or just the plastic panel to get access? Looks like its going to be fun.
Could be the cable too but it did work before its 8 year sitting nap....poor thing I just haven't had the time to mess with it.
Thank you both, I will let you know tomorrow what I find.
Hey guys, it turned out that the mechanism that controlled the cable was seized, so I took it out of the dash, applied oil on and slowly kept working it back and forth until it could move freely. It actually turned out to be a simple fix in that way.
,, If this solution doesn't work for you, it could be a seized cable- and that is a bit of a harder job as it requires digging more into the interior to the blender wall.
I took a video to show you what the mechanism looks like when it's entirely out . To fix mine, I only had to remove it enough so that it could be rotated just enough to reach the underside and apply some gear oil, so you shouldn't have to remove it entirely like mine. I'm just showing you what the mechanism looks like so you can understand it a bit better. It can be hard to find resources on these C4's- especially when getting visuals on things you can't normally see. Just so you can know what you're working with.
In the video, when I flip the control upside down and move the mechanism back and forth, you'll see this small peg at the end being moved- this is the small peg that holds a hook in the cable and it pulls and draws it in or out. The part that I applied the gear oil to was the white circle in the middle of the mechanism, where the metal makes contact and there is a lot of friction. You can even see remains of the oil we applied in the areas where there is friction. I'd start there- it could be something else though. Hope this helps
I did have some water intrusion so its very possible that the bellcrank is rusted. Does the carpet hush have to come out or just the plastic panel to get access? Looks like its going to be fun.
You should be able to get to it without taking out the knee bolster. And you're right, it's "fun."
My cable and bracket were completely detached from the plastic housing. It looks like the little bar that connects the bellcrank to the heater door is missing, and I can’t see much with the heater box still in the car. Is there any way to get at it without removing the box?
You could try fishing around in the slot with a magnet. If the rod is still attached it would probably be held up somewhat by the attachment to the blend door. If that fails you're probably going to have to pull the inner box. I'll try to get you a pic when I get to the car later.
'85 C4 Climate Control Stuck
I checked to see if there was anything obvious just simply lodged into the slide area but there's nothing. I can peer inside and see the inner workings but nothing foreign. Kind of seems to be a mystery as to why it's stuck honestly. here's a video of the incredible phenomenon but it's pretty self explanatory:
(p.s. just how hot does the heater get??? It's not even on full HOT and the air is burning!! sheesh)
