My AC button has been unreliable for the last 5 years - and this week - stopped working all together with the AC turned off. This renders it kind of useless for going to the desert, so I had to find a fix. Some of the other buttons were also getting iffy.
I saw a thread
How to remove climate control knobs? Trying to fix mirror defrost button
in which they thought the screws were not holding the circuit board tight against the buttons, so I checked for that - nope - they were all solid and tight. But I liked the idea of it simply being a matter of spacing - so I took the circuit board out and plugged it into the car bare - so I could press the button directly on the circuit board to see if it was working. It was, I did not seem to need new electronics, only get my button to actuate the circuit board push switch. I first tried gluing some yellow plastic (1.2mm thick) but it was too thick, and the buttons could not move. I next used .2mm plastic, and it worked! I'll see if it stays working - always a concern - but I thought I'd share my experiences.
The steps, as I recall, are:
1. disconnect the battery (why not!)
2. pop off the frame that includes the buttons and dials (it comes off very easy - I used a plastic trim tool - a flat screwdriver would also work - likely best with some tape on it.)
3. disengage all the wires (four connectors - all came off easily with a bit of rocking.)
4. gently remove the plastic dials (I used a very small flat blade screwdriver working around the edges.)
5. remove the nut and washer that hold the dial stems to the frame.
6. remove the 6 (I think) screws that hold the back circuit board cover on (notice that one is down a little tunnel in the black plastic. And remove the screw on the large circuit board that is in one corner of the circuit board that holds it down.
7. lift the cover and gently remove the small wire harness that goes to the hazard light and transaxel switch (I used a small screwdriver to do this.) Don't remove the circuit board for these switches as I did at first - they are difficult to get back working again. (see picture below.)
8. cut little pieces of thin (.2mm or so thick) that just cover the area on the buttons that press on the circuit board switches. (see first picture that shows were I put the yellow ones before I changed them to the thinner ones that worked.)
9. glue them in place - I used rubber cement - use whatever you think will stick.
10. put back together and install.
I saw a thread
How to remove climate control knobs? Trying to fix mirror defrost button
in which they thought the screws were not holding the circuit board tight against the buttons, so I checked for that - nope - they were all solid and tight. But I liked the idea of it simply being a matter of spacing - so I took the circuit board out and plugged it into the car bare - so I could press the button directly on the circuit board to see if it was working. It was, I did not seem to need new electronics, only get my button to actuate the circuit board push switch. I first tried gluing some yellow plastic (1.2mm thick) but it was too thick, and the buttons could not move. I next used .2mm plastic, and it worked! I'll see if it stays working - always a concern - but I thought I'd share my experiences.
The steps, as I recall, are:
1. disconnect the battery (why not!)
2. pop off the frame that includes the buttons and dials (it comes off very easy - I used a plastic trim tool - a flat screwdriver would also work - likely best with some tape on it.)
3. disengage all the wires (four connectors - all came off easily with a bit of rocking.)
4. gently remove the plastic dials (I used a very small flat blade screwdriver working around the edges.)
5. remove the nut and washer that hold the dial stems to the frame.
6. remove the 6 (I think) screws that hold the back circuit board cover on (notice that one is down a little tunnel in the black plastic. And remove the screw on the large circuit board that is in one corner of the circuit board that holds it down.
7. lift the cover and gently remove the small wire harness that goes to the hazard light and transaxel switch (I used a small screwdriver to do this.) Don't remove the circuit board for these switches as I did at first - they are difficult to get back working again. (see picture below.)
8. cut little pieces of thin (.2mm or so thick) that just cover the area on the buttons that press on the circuit board switches. (see first picture that shows were I put the yellow ones before I changed them to the thinner ones that worked.)
9. glue them in place - I used rubber cement - use whatever you think will stick.
10. put back together and install.
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