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?