I just bought a 2000 C5 and I'm new to the site and my navigational skills for searching through the forums for information may be lacking at this point, so the information I'm looking for may be on here somewhere. I found plenty of information on the display function of the climate control module but the other issue I have is that the positive stops on the temp control **** for the driver side do not work. Without the display, I have no way of telling what's happening temperature wise. I know that the temperature runs from 60 -90 degrees and the passenger side stops turning at the upper and lower settings. While driving, I turned the driver temperature control and the heat came on, but reversing the process did not bring the heat down. When I made a stop and restarted the car, the control apparently reset and the heat was now off. My question is: Should I replace the controller or have it rebuilt. I know the display can be fixed but not sure about the temperature control. Thoughts?

 

The driver's temp control doesn't have positive stops. I think fixing the display will solve your problem.

 

Thanks Will .45. Being the impatient type, I ordered a remanufactured one with a 90 day warranty. I have a friend who can restore the display and if that works I will have two. Appreciate the advice.

 

How much did the remanufactured one cost?

 

you could have a blend door actuator issue ????

 

You could have spent $50 and had the original one repaired with a warranty - resoldered and all new bulbs. If your friend is doing it, get ready to replace all the incandescent bulbs in addition to resoldering the resistors as the filaments in them will most likely be breaking as he works on it.

 

$375

 

Ed, I could have. But I didn't. I sourced it from a local business and if I have issues I can drive to their shop. The picture you paint about the hassle my friend may have repairing the old one makes me wonder how anyone would do this for $50. I bought the car cheaply enough that I would have the contingency to cover unexpected costs. So far, so good. I just returned from a 1000+ mile trip with no issues other than the HVAC and I love this car. Thanks for the information. I appreciate your input.

 

It's not hard to do - I have done it. Desoldering the old incandescent bulbs is where most will get screwed up and overheat things. What tends to happen is that the physical bulbs have fragile filaments after this many years. After I installed mine and the climate control display worked, there were button bulbs not working, then as I monkeyed with it more more bulbs kept failing, I realized what was happening. After talking with Travis at VetteTronics, it all made sense. Guys like him have the proper equipment (good solder suckers and proper irons) and work on a lot of electronics so for them, it's an endeavor that they can do quick and make a little money at the same time. Also, many people aren't ready for the tiny resistors to fall off the board which makes for a fun time. Also you have to be sure not to install bulbs with too little resistance - when that happens, they pull more current, burn hot and can even damage the buttons. I measured the resistance of the bulbs over a year ago - for some reason something like 38 ohms sticks in my head.

My last post could have been stated better - just don't be surprised if he has to replace the incandescent bulbs. The two things are resoldering the LED resistors and usually replacing the incendescent bulbs.

Before I met Travis, I did what you did. I purchased a mint head unit from a 17k mile car. I still have it as a backup or future sale. I put the original unit travis repaired back into the car.

 

Absfixer did mine for $75. They’ve probably done thousands of them. See if you can return the one you bought. You’ll need that $300 for other repairs down the road.

 

Thanks Ed. My friend worked for Ericsson before they shut down here. So he’s pretty experienced with electronics. I will pass your information on to him so he has some awareness of the issue.

 

At the least warn him that one side of the solder is usually broken and when he heats the unbroken side they move. If he knows to at least hold them in place he will be good. He can also use an inexpensive plastic clamp to hold them to the board.