QuestionQUESTION: Last winter, I had to commute for an hour every day with the heater and fan on high and it barely kept me warm. Today I learned that my A/C comes on whenever the fan is on, no matter if the A/C switch is on or off, even if the heat is on full. Also, the green light on the A/C switch does not work. Can you tell me what the problem is, please?
ANSWER: The A/C is designed to run in either of the following circumstances:
1. The A/C switch is on.
2. Any setting with defrost is chosen (i.e. defrost or defrost/floor).
If the A/C is operating and neither of these conditions is met, it would seem that the most likely cause is that the A/C switch or defroster switch is shorted. But also keep in mind that the mode select knob (dash/floor/defrost) may be broken, making it appear that defrost is not selected when in actuality the knob simply spins without turning the switch away from defrost.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: The selector switch works fine. I forgot to mention, my rear window defogger does not work either. Could this be part of the problem? I can hear a relay behind the dash click when I depress the defog button, but nothing else. How does the panel come off to replace the A/C button? Thank you.
AnswerThe rear window defogger is on a separate circuit. The fuse for the rear defogger may be blown, but this shouldn't affect you're a/c operation.
The heater controls are attached the the center dash panel, so you'll need to take the cables loose from behind the dash so as to not damage them. Two cables will be on the left side of the heater box, and one will be on the fresh/recirc door behind the glove box. Then remove the two screws behind the cup holder and the entire center dash panel should be able to be snapped out of place. You should now be able to detach the a/c switch from the control panel from the rear.
