OT: Question on heater controls, '95 Jeep Cherokee Sport Options

[dbgriffith75]

So basically I don't know what to make of this. The heater/ac controls on my wife's jeep work in a half assed fashion. The temp selector works, and the position selector works, but not the speed selector. The fan will only blow air on 4; but 1-3 there's absolutely nothing.

So I thought maybe I just need to replace the control console. Well you bet- only $135 for a brand new one. So I tell the dealer I'll get back to him and instead I call around to the local salvage yards... there's only one in town that has one available. So I go out and pick it up; but the guy warns me that all purchases are final. There's no returning or warranty of any kind on the purchase. Well, for $100 less than what they wanted for a new one, I couldn't really bitch; so I buy it anyway.

Get home, wait for the wife to get home and tear apart the dash. Luckily it's not that complicated- just pop off the cover trim and remove a few screws to pull loose the control console. But before I get too far into the switch, I hook up the plug that runs the speed selector [to the new control console], and you betcha- this control console doesn't work either. Well, what could I really expect from a salvage yard to begin with, right? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

So I've come to the conclusion that either this was a common problem for heat/ac control consoles on jeeps of that era; or, since 2 different consoles aren't working, it's a wiring issue. My personal opinion is wiring issue, but since I couldn't return the salvaged console, I decided to disect it and see what makes 'er tick. It's pretty basic- just a copper plate with circuits punched out of it (similar to the relay boards on our teeners), and the speed selector is just a copper disc attached to the knob that contacts different circuits as it's rotated. So, given that the console is as about as basic as you can get, I'm thinking more that it's a wiring issue.

Anyway, just wanted to see if anybody had any thoughts on what could be going on? Kinda need to get it sorted out with winter right around the corner here....

Thanks! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)