1993 Climate Control Connector Interoperability

[VTRangeuh]

I stopped by the junkyard the other day and got quite a few nifty parts for my truck. The one in question here is the new (older actually) climate control panel I pulled from I believe a second gen ranger. It looks like this:

With this connector on the knob:

Whereas the one in my truck looks like this:

My question is regarding the A/C being "on the knob" versus the slidy thing. I had to replace a microswitch that gets hit to turn on the A/C in my truck when the slider is moved a certain way. I'm curious if the connector is compatible with the... Different style from above. Idk if this was also somehow bodged in or what. I mostly dont want to peel the dash panel off and unscrew the ahstray, remove stereo etc just to check and have to put it all back on when it doesnt fit .

On a tangential note, I've never seen a climate panel like mine. I have seen the older square style, like seen above, and a restyling of that to look kind of like mine. But all the panels ive seen were either a) heaters or b) had push for A/C. It seems the squarer style has "off" whereas the rounded one does not. But none of the ones ive seen images of online have an A/C selection on the top.

 

[VTRangeuh]

Okay I bit the bullet and pulled the dash off (held on with 1 whole clip!) Here's what I saw:

Connector is the same minus the two bottom A/C pins... Hmmm

This is the replaced microswitch. The red wire is spliced into the red/orange wire from the fan control, and the blue wire goes to the relay installed under the glovebox.

Here is a closeup of the connector the microswitch is plugged into. Red wire goes to red/orange andand blue/green goes off to the relay. Blue/wht comes back from the relay.

This is a very odd modification to the A/C system... The plot thickens.

Also I tried pluigging in the new panel and the bottom two wires appear to not be connected directly so I'll probably wire them up to the relay since its already there...

Was this done by ford? I can only imagine the panel was originally a htr panel and had the front sticker replaced. It does not say anything about being A/C compliant (no blue logo obscured by the dash).

Also here is the new one, in the position where the microswitch is mounted:

No holes at all... Very strange for an aftermarket modification if so. Does anyone have pictures of the slider for the heater only variant of this panel? Just to compare if that is what was here initially.

 

[RobbieD]

I don't think that your AC is "factory installed"; i.e. on the production line.

It looks like a Ford dealership add-on kit, or even an aftermarket kit.

I can only imagine the panel was originally a htr panel and had the front sticker replaced. It does not say anything about being A/C compliant (no blue logo obscured by the dash).

Bingo! That's how a lot of the add-on kits were. And even some Ford dealerships used aftermarket AC kits.



Does the belt routing diagram on the sticker on the radiator support show an AC compressor, or is it possibly updated with an added sticker?

The appearance of how the evaporator box under the hood is set up, would also tell a lot.

 

[VTRangeuh]

There is no sticker for the belt routing. I find it odd that they installed the r12 compressor and then updated it to r134a immediately after... Very strange indeed.

Is there a way to rewire it to work with the "correct" A/C panel and to ensure the compressor turns on when the button is pressed and I think when the defrost is selected? I'm trying to replace the panel because, well the retention thing for the blend door is broken and my zip tie solution makes it feel very spongy and lose half its range. I'd like to fix it now rather than later since I'm not busy at the moment

 

[Curious Hound]

Here are some pics of the htr only version. Let me know if you need a different angle.

 

[VTRangeuh]

Yup the top rail matches exactly. The "Panel" option is where the A/C option rests in my truck, which is kind of annoying if you've got hot feet. I find it odd there's even an off option, seems strange and like it wouldnt actually do anything.

I'm curious if you'd happen to have the circuit diagram for this? The diagram yoh sent on my other post has the purple wire going off to c208 on 54-2, which is just out of frame

 

[RobbieD]

1993 was the last year for R12. 1994's were built both ways- some (early?) used R12 and others used R134a.

It's likely you can can change to the push-button switch, with the right terminals or pig-tail connector, in place of the micro switch.

I'm just not sure if the push-pull cables for the HVAC system's ducting doors would work the same between the two control heads. You basically have a heat and vent only system, modified to also add the AC.

 

[Curious Hound]

Sure. Here's the rest of it.

you might like this page, too.

 

[VTRangeuh]

It looks like they're the same the A/C one just has additional stops added for the A/C and off options:
New:

Original:

All the switches and things seem to be in the same places.

 

[VTRangeuh]

Thanks for the diagrams, turns out the wire was not routed into the engine bay. Purple wire goes into the connector but nothing comes out. I think dismantling the connector, removing the purple wire and wiring it into the aftermarket relay connector is the quickest bet.

But I'm still going to try and see if the remaining wires are there, as the wot relay is connected (it clicks when the ignition is on). I love my little truck and I dont want this dangly relay behind the glovebox situation if I can avoid it.

 

[VTRangeuh]

I'm having trouble tracing the blk/yellow wire. It definitely comes out of the fuse box (where the wot relay is) but I cant locate it after that. I can see a blk/yel wire that comes out of a connector, but it seems to go to the transmission so I assume the color was reused. Does the wire go to a connector thats tucked away somewhere or did they cut the wire inside the sheathing to hide the fact it didnt come with A/C?

 

[Curious Hound]

I'm having trouble tracing the blk/yellow wire. It definitely comes out of the fuse box (where the wot relay is) but I cant locate it after that. I can see a blk/yel wire that comes out of a connector, but it seems to go to the transmission so I assume the color was reused. Does the wire go to a connector thats tucked away somewhere or did they cut the wire inside the sheathing to hide the fact it didnt come with A/C?

It comes out of the WOT relay at the fuse box. Then goes through connector C113, where I'm pointing. From there it goes the the clutch in the compressor and a diode nearby. Both are to the left of my finger.

 

[Curious Hound]

I just went out and looked at my truck. C113 is basically under the fuse/relay box. The diode is spliced in inside the wire loom about 2 inches from the clutch connector.

 

[VTRangeuh]

I ended up going the easy way because I'm lazy lol. I finally did find the connector with your pointer, its kind of embarrassing because I attached an ABS off switch to it, so it was literally in front of my face the whole time. Mine is kinda loose someone had pulled it off at some point. Anyway, the yellow wire goes in but then nothing comes out the other side, and it has one of those rubber seal things, so I would have to get a new one with 4 wires instead of 2. I ended up doing the following:

1) Making a little "snap-connector" to spade adapter cable with the cheapest harness I could find at Advance (some headlight thing needed some reshaping but worked better than the Walmart spade connectors) and pulling the purple wire out of the socket.
2) couldnt get it to work at all, realized the blue/gen wire was actually switching negative, so the relay had positive on both sides.
3) pushed out the always positive signal I thought was ground, which is now dangling I should cover it in electrical tape... Anyway, I then pressed in the old wire I had replaced with my positive. Now I needed two switches to turn on the A/C, but we're closer.
4) I removed the old climate panel and took out the connector that connected to the microswitch. It was standard sized spade connectors, so one little wire link later I now had always negative wire from... Somewhere dont really care where it comes from.
5) zip tied all the pully bits to the thing (all the clips were broken) tested and it all works!

Here's the "after" picture:

Black wire I added, it is positive when A/C is requested, connects to purple wire. Blue wire directly opposite was swapped from the black wires position to there. Brwn/org and white wires were where blue now is, and are always positive, probably when the fan is running based on the color. I will cover that in some tape or maybe a dummy connector.

The other end of the black wire with the "snap in" connector snapped into the purple wire. I had to crimp down the blue bit some, but it is a firm fit now. Its not carry much, just enough to turn the relay.

Link to supply constant ground.

Blue/white wire which is a loopback from the output of the relay I believe. Was just a bare snap connector hanging out ready to blow a fuse. I put a dummy snap connector over it just to keep it safe without any sticky residue. Not sure if its supposed to go somewhere, but they didnt put it anywhere I know of.

And finally...

Nice green glow to match everything else. The old one was just white

And for completeness, the markings on the A/C microswitch wire, in case its a ford part or something:

QC9
960170096

17-0168A
SES1722

I realize some of this isnt optimal, but I at least know where theres little crimps to fail. Also I've been answering my own questions whenever I ask, but I'?m also just trying to document the process a little bit so if someone else has a "dealer modified" or whatever truck then hopefully they can find this and figure something out. Or at least ask their own questions.

I also like learning more about the truck, like the dealer A/C addition, explaining the weird panel. I think the reason it was nodded to take r134a is because it was made and sold very late for a 93. Probably also why they installed the A/C to begin with.

Tl;Dr it is kind of interchangeable depending on the exact mods, with very little modification to swap out.

 

[VTRangeuh]

Next project is going to be installing an instrument cluster with a stock tach, so I'm gonna be posting about that asking for wiring tomorrow, since I'll have to Repin the connector. Dont wanna risk breaking my one little clip putting it on more than once...