Gbrown Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Hello all, I've noticed that AC/Heater control panel is not venting ac/heat air from the dash vents. Seems also to turn on the AC when I push the defroster control button. Seems to be stuck on blowing air on the floor. Except when I push the Defroster button. Fresh air/Recirculate button works. I pulled the control panel and checked continuity, only got a reading on the Fresh air button. I thought that I could unplug the panel and jump from ground to the pin that would move the door to vent the air to the dash vents. Just proceeded to pop the fan fuse. Jumping across pins had no effect, except for the Fresh air button. My thinking at this time is I have a bad control panel AND a bad motor for the dash vent door. I'm I on the right train of thought? For some reason it just doesn't seem like I'm on the right path. Thanks in advance to the braintrust. Gbrown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 the defrost does / is supposed to turn on the a/c. you have a bad control unit. someone recently posted they took theirs out and worked with it and re-installed it. all better. i replaced mine with a used unit. there is a great write up on the removal, it is related to replacing the illumination bulbs on the back side of the unit. (bet you didn't even know it had bulbs to light it up, i didn't.) when removing the unit. it is easier to undo the heater control cable at the bottom, floor end than to mess with it at the top, control end. the hvac controls are about 35$ used. get one and replace the bulbs before you install it. do a search for the post / link. http://www.car-part.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookatmyrust Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 sorry. i would be selling mine but i now need it for my racing cockpit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbrown Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 Thanks all, I'm thinking control unit too...especially since I spilled a soda pop in it about 5 years ago...ooops:redface: Thanks all G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phila Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 When I bought mine, every button was very hard to press and none of the buttons lit up. I just took it out, cleaned up every possible component, and replaced the bulbs. It worked perfectly afterwards. Cleaning it will work wonders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feldman Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 i just had this problem with the outback i just bought, when i bought the car the vents were stuck in the middle then all of a sudden it started working again but i didnt want to deal with it working on and off randomly. I just went and pulled one from a newer outback at the junkyard and so far it has worked without fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmd003 Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 the defrost does / is supposed to turn on the a/c. you have a bad control unit. someone recently posted they took theirs out and worked with it and re-installed it. all better. i replaced mine with a used unit. there is a great write up on the removal, it is related to replacing the illumination bulbs on the back side of the unit. (bet you didn't even know it had bulbs to light it up, i didn't.) when removing the unit. it is easier to undo the heater control cable at the bottom, floor end than to mess with it at the top, control end. the hvac controls are about 35$ used. get one and replace the bulbs before you install it. do a search for the post / link. www.car-part.com It worked for a bit and then started acting up again. Was gonna get a used one to put in there but now I need a new engine so yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbrown Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 Thanks all, but how do I know it's not the motor under the dash that moves the door of the center dash vents? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lojasmo Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Unlikely to be two things. The control unit is cheap, used, and readily available. Most importantly, it is easy to replace. Try that first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I am having the same problem, it just stopped blowing through the forward vents and hit the floor vents during a storm outside of Chicago... Has replacing the control unit fixed this pretty much every time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbrown Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 Not for me, I replaced the control unit, still doesn't work. Techs wanted to replace everything for a lot of $$$. Motor underneath the dash works fine. I helped the mechanism with my finger to make the control arms move to open the dash vents in the summer, and close them to defrost/floor in the winter....car isn't worth enough to spend those kind of bucks, to replace it all. Sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamaha51 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 My car works some of the time, as long as the light indicating what area is on, it works but half the time there is no light and it just blows wherever lol. I have no idea why it does that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twisty Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Not for me, I replaced the control unit, still doesn't work. Techs wanted to replace everything for a lot of $$$. Motor underneath the dash works fine. I helped the mechanism with my finger to make the control arms move to open the dash vents in the summer, and close them to defrost/floor in the winter....car isn't worth enough to spend those kind of bucks, to replace it all. Sorry Where is the mechanism located? I haven't been able to tear into it since I'm still on vacation, but if it's easy to get to ill do it for the ride home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenva Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 To the OP. Mine did/does the same thing sometimes. The blend door was not moving properly. The cam to control it moves but it just won't always move the door. When it's acting up I can hear it faintly clicking as it tries to move the door. I followed the noise and found the slotted cam where the blend bar thingie hooks to it. It's above the gas pedal, a few inches to the right, white in color, grease all over it. Tap it and it might move to the desired position like mine does. I suppose I could fix it, but I just move it twice in the season. Def/floor blend during cold times, face vent during the hot season. RIP 96 Legacy 2.2 4EAT lost reverse @ 374,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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