[Troesma]

Since I am out of warranty I will not be running to have that looked at; tonight the E nver showed up when I went for a ride to dinner, will keep posted and thanks! Dogdoc

E means the climate control actuator is not working properly, OR that the temp sensor is gone. Replacing the actuator implies taking the dash out (about 5 hour job in total) for what is a cheap spare, which is infuriating.

 

[Troesma]

I got this code almost permanently - changed the outside temp sensor (located in driver's mirror) door card off job and wing mirror internals out and it now comes on occasionally.

New a/c control is £330 in the uk (ish) but I reckon taking it out and cleaning the contacts would poss fix it.

How easy is the heater control panel to remove ? Can't believe it's a full dash out job ?

As easy as a 5 hr (maybe 4 hr) labour can suggest... the actuator (pretty much plug-and-play) is deeply buried inside the front dash, not accessible from outside (you can touch it if stretching your hand underneath the gap left where the steering wheel is, that's as much as you can go).

So, let me see... parts at about 40 quid + VAT, labour at (stealership rates) 130 quid + VAT. You get the picture.

 

[Troesma]

I'm talking about the actual control knobs on the centre console/transmission tunnel, i.e the one that does the fan, temp control etc. Repaired the actuator on my Ghibli, which was a head under dash job. In my experience most things mechanical can be repaired if they've broken, it's the stuff with chips in that confuses me. Similarly a mechanical/electrical item such as heater control switches should be easy.

I've previously taken apart and totally rebuilt ignition barrels that were beyond repair, all you need is patience, skill and an inbuilt aversion to paying someone £150+vat who really does give a toss whether he fixes it or not.

Just want a quick heads up on removing the switchgear before I spend time finding hidden fixings etc.

Gotcha. So you want to do this...

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c143/edsalazar/Maser/Consoleout.jpg

Not that difficult (two DIN plugs is what you need). And you will go nowhere as the actuator can only be accessed if you remove the top dash drawer. That's not difficult either, but dunno what else you need to take away to access the damn thing.

 

[Troesma]

... the jobby !

Is it just the two bolts that hold on the reverse lever panel, remove that, then showing up some hidden fixings for the top panel covering the heater controls ?

When you talk about the actuator are you talking about the heater cock actuator rather than the heating controls ?

On the sides of the LCD display you should see 2 slots. Use a DIN plug on each side, pull towards you and off it goes. There you will see 2 fixing screws. You also need to take off the panel where the reverser is to take away the control unit (1 block) where the knobs are. If so, you will have a DIN slot (a small hole) at the lower center of that panel (some models came "bolted-in" with two bolts on the sides).

See

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/partTable.asp?M=3&Mo=389&A=2&B=20987&S=

The PIC I posted came from my mechanic...

Actuator -> heater cock actuator that is, NOT the panel controls. When the E fires, that signals the actuator got jammed. So you want heat... none, as the controls are unresponsive. Ditto for A/C.

Trying to find on the Eurospares site where the heck it is...

 

[Troesma]

Very helpful - I can actually change the heat within the cabin when the E code is on, it's just that the climate control won't work (auto temp sensing and adjusting) everything else works fine, which makes me want to give all the control faces a good clean off before I get too involved under dash.

Will let you know how I get on - thinks it's a fairly common issue.

CJ

See my edited post above for the Eurospares reference, which should give you additional guidance.

 

[Troesma]

Well - I have to say - listen to the expert ! Looks like it is this bit (heater cock/actuator jobby that's now ripe for investigation.

Had a good browse through the Eurospares site and can't see it anywhere - did you ever find it ?

Cheers

CJ

Part # 12 or 13 here maybe..?

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/partTable.asp?M=3&Mo=384&A=2&B=20557&S=

which I guess by looking at this one

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/partTable.asp?M=3&Mo=384&A=2&B=20517&S=

and knowing how to access the air pollen filter by removing part # 1 here

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/partTable.asp?M=3&Mo=384&A=2&B=20546&S=

suggests, maybe, thay you can only access the sucker from inside. Price for the part also matches what I was quoted (40 quid).

But then, I'm not Joe Mechanic