Climate Controls Stopped Working

[SummerCowboy]

Greetings all , hope everyone is doing well;

So, this morning, heading to work, I noticed my climate controls were completely dead, nothing working. I did a search for the issue and it points to low battery voltage. This kinda makes sense as Sunday night I was cleaning and lubricating the seals and pivot for the roof, getting ready for summer. Well, I was moving the roof up and down to get to everything, didn't have the car running, eventually, the battery completely died. Totally wasn't thinking on that one..... So I charged the battery and everything seemed to go back to normal. I haven't looked at anything yet, but was wondering do I have to reset or clear a code or something to bring back the HVAC controls, or should they come back on their own?

Any advice would be great, gonna take a look at it after work tonight.

Bob

 

[flybobbie]

Climate change to blame....must be

 

[Mr Tidy]

I've had non-responsive Climate on my E86 a few times after collecting it from my Indy, and once before that when the battery died.

I just fiddled with all the controls and eventually it started working.

 

[SummerCowboy]

So, last night I figured let me see if there are any fuses associated with the climate controls. While there are no fuses that say "climate control", there were 3 that came close, a 5 amp fuse for the fan, a 10 amp fuse for the AC and a big 40 amp fuse for the AC. So I pulled them to check. Sure enough, the 10 Amp fuse was blown. I replaced it and look at that! everything is working again! I'm not so good with wiring, so I didn't think this was a fuse issue, but now I know to always look. I must have popped it somehow after killing the battery then trying to start the car. Oops.... Anyway, back in business and a little wiser.

Thanks all!

 

[matsmith749]

Congrats at finding the fusebox - not the easiest job in the world!

 

[SummerCowboy]

Hey Gang!

OK, problem not exactly solved. Threw a new 10 amp fuse in the 77 slot, thought all was well. next day, coming home from work, my climate controls are out again. Hmmm...... Didn't think too much of it since it's top down weather, for now. Once it heats up, I'm gonna need my AC. So, I threw another fuse in and it instantly blew. tried again, instantly blew.

So here's what I'm looking at.
- Did a scan and I'm getting a C914 code, "No Message (status, Air Conditioning, 0x246), Reciever JBE, Transmitter IHKA/SZL", not sure what it means, but sounds like some modules can't talk because of the blown fuse
- Did a bit of research and found that sometimes the interior trunk light plug can cause this. checked the trunk light and sure enough it's out.
- Tried pulling out the panel to get to the light, but it's a small surgical job, probably not hard, but I ran out of time.
- Car is a 2009 35I, manual transmission

I'm not great at automotive electrical, so I'm a bit baffled.

Anyone ever have this experience? is the trunk light (and glove box light too) part of the same circuit for the AC and climate controls? Can a short in the light plug or a busted light, really nock out the climate controls? I don't know how the light turns on and off, but with the trunk closed, I would think there would be nothing to short the fuse. Just seems weird, but I have learned to expect the unexpected with this car. I have seen similar weirdness in my RAM trucks over the years....

Gonna try to disconnect the trunk light tonight, see what happens.

Any thoughts/help would be much appreciated.

Bob

 

[AnubisZed]

Here's the wiring diagram for Fuse 77...



You can, carefully, pop out the boot light to see what's going on without removing the panel(s). The plug is to the right side, so pops forward from the left, and then pulls to the left slightly so as to not pull against the plug.

The bulb pushes into the base holder that then twists into the lamp body.

Hope that is of help

 

[SummerCowboy]

Oh man, thanks so much!! This is great. Definitely either the Trunk light or glove box light. Hopefully I'll have some time tonight so I can dig into it.

Thanks again! I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Bob

 

[SummerCowboy]

Hey folks, hope everyone is doing well;

Just wanted to close the loop on this one in case it can help someone else.

Problem solved! Since fuse 77 is part of the AC, trunk light and glove box light circuit, had to be one of these. I ruled out the AC becasue that had been working when I put a new fuse in. A few days later, I put another fuse in and the fuse instantly popped, no key in the ignition. Kind of an "aha" moment and a "duh!" moment. If it's popping immediately, it has to be a hot line. The only hot wires are the glove box light since the switch is built into the light. So, I pulled out the light and there it was, wires were pulled out of the connector and directly touching, casueing the short. Looks one of the previous owners tried to install an LED bulb and broke the connector. So, for now, I covered the ends with electric tape. Figure I'll fix the light later. Have to take apart the dash to gain access to the wires, not nearly enough slack in the harness. After that, installed another fuse, and changed out the air filter while I was under there, and everything works again.

This whole thing really wasn't all that difficult. I was way overthinking it.

Fixed just in time, the temps dropped back down and I need my hear, LOL.

Bob