Has anyone swapped out their Manual Climate Control unit on a 1997 850? I have a unit that binds up between about the 10 o'clock position and the 2 o'clock position. Following earlier threads, I have pulled the cables on the driver's side, after removing the dash panel, knee bolster, etc. However, I am having a heckuva time gaining access to the cable end and cable jacket anchor point on the passenger side. Do I need to lift the dash up?? Even with the lower dash panel and knee bolster removed on the passenger side, I can't find a way in there to disconnect the cable.
I have all but confirmed that the control module is the culprit - the dampers move freely and the cables seem to be OK, too, but the MCC looks like it's been torqued at some point in the past - I can see that the black cover piece on the back side of it isn't fitting very well.
Any help on removal and replacement steps would be appreciated. I know Ozark Lee has been (at least partway) down this path before. This Minnesota winter is requiring that I switch between defrost and heat on the floor!
Thanks in advance,
Craig
MCC swap on 1997 850
-
Ozark Lee
- MVS Moderator
- Posts: 14798
- Joined: 7 September 2006
- Year and Model: Many Volvos
- Location: USA Midwest
- Has thanked: 4 times
- Been thanked: 76 times
Removing the glove box makes things easier to get to on the passenger's side. The MCC is a real bear to deal with no mater what but deal with the levers on the damper end of things first before you go yanking the entire unit out of the dash. They can get stuck and a little gentle persuasion by hand will often free them up.
...Lee
...Lee
'94 850 N/A 5 speed
'96 Platinum Edition Turbo
Previous:
1999 V70XC - Nautic Blue - Totaled while parked.
1999 V70XC - RIP - Wrecked Parts Car.
1998 S70 T5
1996 850 N/A
1989 740 GLT
1986 740 GLT
1972 142 Grand Luxe
'96 Platinum Edition Turbo
Previous:
1999 V70XC - Nautic Blue - Totaled while parked.
1999 V70XC - RIP - Wrecked Parts Car.
1998 S70 T5
1996 850 N/A
1989 740 GLT
1986 740 GLT
1972 142 Grand Luxe
-
Fish stick88
- Posts: 543
- Joined: 24 June 2010
- Year and Model: 1994 - 850 Sedan
- Location: Iowa
I had this problem, quoted 1500 to get it fixed, plus parts... currently its the only thing wrong with my car, I am a bit afraid of doing it all myself, but currently, I only have defrost, 12-3 and (at my face)
if you do do it yourself, please post some pictures, as maybe it can help others. I had a non-volvo mechanic do it, and make it worse.
Im looking for the (dampers- unit-, if i can get an intact piece, that would be much better.
havent had any luck searching though.
if you do do it yourself, please post some pictures, as maybe it can help others. I had a non-volvo mechanic do it, and make it worse.
Im looking for the (dampers- unit-, if i can get an intact piece, that would be much better.
havent had any luck searching though.
Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary... That's what gets you.
'94 850 Sedan - 160k miles
'94 850 Sedan - 160k miles
Thanks, Lee, I'll pull the glovebox as well. I have the damper ends free, and they seem to operate OK, so I'm all but convinced that the problem is up on top (necessitating the removal of the control unit).
I'll try to snap a few photos, too, 'stick88. I've been encouraged to attempt it myself after reading posts from Ozark Lee and others here (plus I'm a cheap I-can-do-that-myself engineer). I picked a replacement control unit from a U-pull-it yard, so I have that plus the attached cables. Look around; you might be able to find something similar.
- Craig
I'll try to snap a few photos, too, 'stick88. I've been encouraged to attempt it myself after reading posts from Ozark Lee and others here (plus I'm a cheap I-can-do-that-myself engineer). I picked a replacement control unit from a U-pull-it yard, so I have that plus the attached cables. Look around; you might be able to find something similar.
- Craig
'97 850 150K miles
-
Fish stick88
- Posts: 543
- Joined: 24 June 2010
- Year and Model: 1994 - 850 Sedan
- Location: Iowa
I live south of you in Iowa, I'm pretty sure I drive the only Volvo in the county.
Thanks
Thanks
Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary... That's what gets you.
'94 850 Sedan - 160k miles
'94 850 Sedan - 160k miles
Starting a project right before the holidays isn't a good idea, especially when you'll be traveling. However, I finally finished swapping the climate control panel on my 850.
This was the procedure I used for replacing the climate control panel in my ’97 850. Unfortunately, the control panel is mounted into the dash from the BACK, so it needs to be REMOVED OUT THE BACK as well.
1. I started by disconnecting the battery.
2. Remove the radio. (Make sure you have your radio code written down somewhere before you pull the radio.)
3. Remove the faceplate from the climate control panel. Gently pull the knobs off their shafts, making sure you don’t lose the metal clip inside the knob that aligns it with the flat on the shaft. Remove the two mounting screws behind the temperature control knobs that hold the faceplate on, then remove the faceplate. It is not necessary to remove the switch assemblies for blower speed, recirc, & A/C; you can leave them attached to the faceplate and just let the faceplate hang down. Carefully remove the circuit board containing the backlights; the plastic may be brittle and the tabs that hold the board in place can easily break. As long as you have the board out, consider replacing the lamps at this time.
4. Remove the lower dash panels on driver and passenger side. They are held in place by three T25 screws.
5. Remove the knee bolsters on driver and passenger side. Each has three 13mm nuts holding it in place. You may have to wrestle with them a little to get them out, but they will eventually pop out.
6. Remove the glove box. (Thanks, Ozark Lee!) You will not be able to access the passenger side heat control cable end without the glove box removed. First, release the glove box door support arms by inserting a small screwdriver next to where the arm goes into the door. There are six T25 screws mounting the glove box; two on top and four across the bottom. Although it’s not necessary, I found it easier to operate with the door removed as well.
The passenger side heat control damper as viewed through the glove box opening.
7. Disconnect the power connector at the lower right corner of the climate control panel.
There are locking tabs on the ends of the connector which need to be released; I used a stem from a pop rivet to get enough purchase on the tab to be able to release it. Reach inside and pull the connector from the back as you work each tab loose, working from side to side.
8. Remove the screws holding the climate control panel to the dash.
9. Disconnect the far cable ends at the climate control unit. The driver’s heat control and the two mode control cables can be accessed from the driver’s footwell area, and the passenger’s heat control cable can be accessed from the passenger side. There are loops at each end which pop off a pin on the damper arm. You also need to remove the anchor clip that is clamping the jacket in place.
The black duct in this photo was preventing access to the anchor clip on the passenger side, so I temporarily removed it.
Here is a shot of the anchor clip for the passenger heat control, after the black duct was removed.
10. At this point, the control panel should be loose. Push it toward the back and down, toward the driver’s footwell, while guiding the cable that runs from the passenger side so that it follows the whole assembly out the bottom.
11. Before I installed the replacement control panel, I lubed both ends of the mode control cables with Tri-Flow, per recommendation from the forum. Remove the back cover of the control panel to access the cable ends that attach to the cams. The heat control cables are solid-wire, so lubrication isn’t as important with these.
12. To install, start by threading the passenger-side heat control cable up from the driver’s footwell into the area where the control panel sits, then continue to work the new control panel into place, attaching it with the mounting screws. Snap the power connector back in place (it’s keyed, so it will only go one way. I believe the pink wire is at the bottom center.)
Make sure you dress the driver's and passenger's heat control cables behind the trim panels on the center console side of the footwell, and that there are no kinks in any of the cables.
13. Set the control panel shafts to 12 o’clock (Defrost mode) for the center knob, and fully-counterclockwise (zero heat) for the temperature knobs. Re-attach the far ends of the cables to their respective damper arms. Because I was worried about breaking the damper arms, I temporarily put a shim behind the end of the arm with the pin while I was attaching the cable, to span the gap between the damper arm and the climate control unit housing. The damper arms for the MODE control should be pushed as far AWAY from the cable end as they’ll go while you attach the cable jacket to the anchor clips. The damper arms for the HEAT control should be moved as CLOSE to the cable end as they’ll go while you anchor those jackets.
14. Reinstall the black duct if you removed it for access on the passenger side, followed by the bolsters, lower dash panels and glove box. Re-attach the backlight circuit board on the control panel, then the faceplate and knobs.
I probably spent 5-6 hrs. total on this job, although it was spread over a couple of weeks. Now that I know what to do, it could easily be a Saturday morning job.
This was the procedure I used for replacing the climate control panel in my ’97 850. Unfortunately, the control panel is mounted into the dash from the BACK, so it needs to be REMOVED OUT THE BACK as well.
1. I started by disconnecting the battery.
2. Remove the radio. (Make sure you have your radio code written down somewhere before you pull the radio.)
3. Remove the faceplate from the climate control panel. Gently pull the knobs off their shafts, making sure you don’t lose the metal clip inside the knob that aligns it with the flat on the shaft. Remove the two mounting screws behind the temperature control knobs that hold the faceplate on, then remove the faceplate. It is not necessary to remove the switch assemblies for blower speed, recirc, & A/C; you can leave them attached to the faceplate and just let the faceplate hang down. Carefully remove the circuit board containing the backlights; the plastic may be brittle and the tabs that hold the board in place can easily break. As long as you have the board out, consider replacing the lamps at this time.
4. Remove the lower dash panels on driver and passenger side. They are held in place by three T25 screws.
5. Remove the knee bolsters on driver and passenger side. Each has three 13mm nuts holding it in place. You may have to wrestle with them a little to get them out, but they will eventually pop out.
6. Remove the glove box. (Thanks, Ozark Lee!) You will not be able to access the passenger side heat control cable end without the glove box removed. First, release the glove box door support arms by inserting a small screwdriver next to where the arm goes into the door. There are six T25 screws mounting the glove box; two on top and four across the bottom. Although it’s not necessary, I found it easier to operate with the door removed as well.
The passenger side heat control damper as viewed through the glove box opening.
- IMG_6326.jpg (81.01 KiB) Viewed 2434 times
- IMG_6337.jpg (101.48 KiB) Viewed 2434 times
- IMG_6332.jpg (77.37 KiB) Viewed 2434 times
9. Disconnect the far cable ends at the climate control unit. The driver’s heat control and the two mode control cables can be accessed from the driver’s footwell area, and the passenger’s heat control cable can be accessed from the passenger side. There are loops at each end which pop off a pin on the damper arm. You also need to remove the anchor clip that is clamping the jacket in place.
The black duct in this photo was preventing access to the anchor clip on the passenger side, so I temporarily removed it.
- IMG_6327.jpg (126.89 KiB) Viewed 2434 times
- IMG_6328.jpg (177.21 KiB) Viewed 2434 times
11. Before I installed the replacement control panel, I lubed both ends of the mode control cables with Tri-Flow, per recommendation from the forum. Remove the back cover of the control panel to access the cable ends that attach to the cams. The heat control cables are solid-wire, so lubrication isn’t as important with these.
- IMG_6336.jpg (96.46 KiB) Viewed 2434 times
Make sure you dress the driver's and passenger's heat control cables behind the trim panels on the center console side of the footwell, and that there are no kinks in any of the cables.
13. Set the control panel shafts to 12 o’clock (Defrost mode) for the center knob, and fully-counterclockwise (zero heat) for the temperature knobs. Re-attach the far ends of the cables to their respective damper arms. Because I was worried about breaking the damper arms, I temporarily put a shim behind the end of the arm with the pin while I was attaching the cable, to span the gap between the damper arm and the climate control unit housing. The damper arms for the MODE control should be pushed as far AWAY from the cable end as they’ll go while you attach the cable jacket to the anchor clips. The damper arms for the HEAT control should be moved as CLOSE to the cable end as they’ll go while you anchor those jackets.
14. Reinstall the black duct if you removed it for access on the passenger side, followed by the bolsters, lower dash panels and glove box. Re-attach the backlight circuit board on the control panel, then the faceplate and knobs.
I probably spent 5-6 hrs. total on this job, although it was spread over a couple of weeks. Now that I know what to do, it could easily be a Saturday morning job.
'97 850 150K miles
-
lcc014
- Posts: 238
- Joined: 5 July 2010
- Year and Model: 855, 1995
- Location: Boston
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 11 times
I tried to do the same because my MCC air flow knob is stuck and cannot be turned to Defrost at all. Also, if I turn the knob hard, it just spin by itself. I tried to remove drive side knee booster, it would not move at all after I removed 3 13mm nuts (similar) to passenger side knee booster. Passenger side was easy. How do I remove driver side knee booster ? Is there a fourth nut/bolt ?
Thanks.
Thanks.
-
lcc014
- Posts: 238
- Joined: 5 July 2010
- Year and Model: 855, 1995
- Location: Boston
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 11 times
I followed the instruction in this thread and successfully replaced the MCC unit (mechanical part) in my 1995 850 NA wagon, Electrical parts were fine. My case was the mode control couldn't move to windshield defrost mode. It stuck after the 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock setting. Also, the driver side heat control was not able to push the flap open such that no heat to driver side.
The two pins connector hidden behind the MCC panel was a bit difficult to remove. Instead of using a rivet pin, I used 2 small flat tip screwdrivers to push connector clips outward while the pulling the connector from the back side of the MCC panel.
To remove the 4 control cables was not too difficult. Heat control cable ends were easy to undo by wiggling the cable ends to move the "spring" like cable end out of the damper arms. The mode control cable ends were snapped into plastic "pin" in the damper arms. It needed more work to get it off the "pin". The time consuming part was to reconnect the mode cables to the damper arm. The orange color damper arm needed a shim or some sort (I used a long screwdriver) on the back side of the "pin" and then pushed the short cable end into the "pin" slot with a small screwdriver. It was not easy but it worked after a few tries. The other mode damper control arm (white color) was a bit easier because I used my finger as the shim and pushed the long cable end into the "pin" with small screwdriver.
I could hear the "click" sound when the cable end snapped into the "pin".
For passenger side heat control cable, I did remove the vent (clear color in 1995 instead of black color in 1997 model) to get more space.
With the knowledge/tips learnt from the thread, the total time was about 2 hours for the replacement.
The two pins connector hidden behind the MCC panel was a bit difficult to remove. Instead of using a rivet pin, I used 2 small flat tip screwdrivers to push connector clips outward while the pulling the connector from the back side of the MCC panel.
To remove the 4 control cables was not too difficult. Heat control cable ends were easy to undo by wiggling the cable ends to move the "spring" like cable end out of the damper arms. The mode control cable ends were snapped into plastic "pin" in the damper arms. It needed more work to get it off the "pin". The time consuming part was to reconnect the mode cables to the damper arm. The orange color damper arm needed a shim or some sort (I used a long screwdriver) on the back side of the "pin" and then pushed the short cable end into the "pin" slot with a small screwdriver. It was not easy but it worked after a few tries. The other mode damper control arm (white color) was a bit easier because I used my finger as the shim and pushed the long cable end into the "pin" with small screwdriver.
I could hear the "click" sound when the cable end snapped into the "pin".
For passenger side heat control cable, I did remove the vent (clear color in 1995 instead of black color in 1997 model) to get more space.
With the knowledge/tips learnt from the thread, the total time was about 2 hours for the replacement.
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post