Chilly in so-cal. using the heat in my 02. It is backwards!

[josh72ooh2]

I took the 02 for a nice long drive yesterday.

I hardly ever use the heat or fan controls.

A few things have baffled me since I got this 2002 about 3 years ago.

The heater temp control is backwards. When i slide it left to the blue dot, the heat comes out. When I slide it to the red, it is cool air. How could that be? If i installed the lever upside down, then the faceplate(with the red/blue) wouldn't fit properly. Is it something mounted incorrectly in my heater box?

Also, my fan controls go from OFF, High, Low, Medium. In that order.

I wasn't born yet in 1972 so i have no idea how it is supposed to go. Is that normal or just miked up wiring?

TIA. -josh

[Guest Anonymous]

sounds like the wires on the blower motor are attached in the wrong places and the heater valve is installed wrong. But just think, when the car is stolen, the thief might give up and return it, especially if you mis-wire a few other things, like the ignition switch.....

[josh72ooh2]

Ha ha.. yea... They are things i have gotten used to. It adds 'character' to the car. I just never knew what was 'correct' and what makes my car unique.

I'll probably fix it SOMEDAY.... but definitely not anytime soon....

[Mike Self]

are backwards on your car. A PO has reconnected the heater blower wires backwards, either at the switch on the dash, or the resistor on the heater itself--but probably at the dash switch. Check a wiring diagram to see how they're supposed to be--the wires are color coded.

As for the heater temperature control, that's an easy fix. The usual way to remove a heater control valve (in the heater plenum chamber, pax side, between two hoses) is to disconnect the lever from the valve, rather than disconnecting the cable from the lever. When someone did that, they reconnected it backwards, thus the reversed temperature setup at the dash.

To get it right, either

1. look at a friend's 2002 and observe the dash lever's position in relation to the lever on the valve (is the valve lever pointing towards the car's front when the dash lever is on cold or vice versa?) versus your setup. Bet yours is backwards.

2. If there's no other car to check, set your dash lever to cold, then unscrew the nut that holds the valve lever in place and position it in the opposite location from where it is now. If facing forward, place it aft, or vice-versa. Then reinstall the nut and you should have a properly functioning control.

cheers

mike

[josh72ooh2]

Thanks Mike.

The heater temp seems easy enough. I'll try to tackle it over the next few weeks when i have some free garage time.

[jerry]

josh, the blower motor was a new replacement Bosch motor and was Made in Spain. i found out later that they turn in the opposite direction as the original German-made motors. this has been discussed before as i recall. i think current replacement motors are also made in Hungary.

At the time, getting replacement motors was VERY expensive and difficult to find, but that has changed and now my stockpile of new motors that i originally bought out of England can be had for less money than what i paid several years ago. i've worked around this issue by installing jumpers at the motor connections using short sections with male-male connectors and female-female connectors.

as for the lever being backwards, very possible. let us know what you find.

[josh72ooh2]

Thanks Jerry,

Good to hear from you!

When i first got the car, i got the blower motor to function properly in the correct direction. So that problem is solved.

But the fan speeds is a simple mis-wiring. No biggy. I think it is wired correctly at the switch (i checked it when i installed a new dashboard).

I'll let you know what i find out with the temperature slider.

-J

[2thosd2]

Ha ha.. yea... They are things i have gotten used to. It adds 'character' to the car. I just never knew what was 'correct' and what makes my car unique.

I'll probably fix it SOMEDAY.... but definitely not anytime soon....

02 with Character = awesome. If I were you, I'd keep the hot/cold slider that way.

[billw]

Im lovin this chilly so-cal weather, it's the only time I can enjoy my heater that always blows warm....

Bill