[beachbum]

Hey D-Series Members,

I recently have been having A/C issues in my civic where the air conditioning would work when the inside of the car was cool, but would not work when hot inside the car. I researched a bit and found that other civic owners have had this same issue in the past. After thinking about it logically knowing that the A/C did in fact function at times, but only in a certain temperature range, it seemed likely it was a connectivity issue. I tore down my climate control and tracked the problem down to a malfunctioning button on my climate control unit.

Since I had it apart, and not seeing a really good comprehensive explanation of how to remove the climate control anywhere else, I started snapping pictures and decided to do a DIY. So here it goes.

Tools Needed:
- Phillips head screwdriver (Regular & Long)
- Set of mini-screwdrivers

Part #1: Removal of Climate Control Unit

Step #1: Remove heater control wire from the bracket and un-clamp the wire from the clip holding it in place. (This cable is located on the passenger side to the bottom left of the glove box.)

Step #2: Remove lower console cover. There are 4 screws holding it in place which I have highlighted.

Step #3: Pull the lower cover forward and unhook the cigarette lighter plug.

Step #4: Remove CD Player/Stereo. This step should be easy for anybody. Just slide the CD player out of its slot by pushing from the back and unplug the antenna wire and wire harness. I didn't take any pictures of this, but there is more than enough info on the web to figure this one out. If you can't figure this one out, then you are already in trouble and should just stop now, haha.

Step #5: Unplug the two climate control plugs from the wiring harness. There is one big one which is in this photo, and a smaller one above that I wasn't able to get a shot of. Can't miss it though. (There is a picture of it in the Step #7 Picture)

Step #6: Unscrew three screws holding the climate control unit in place. This can be done with a regular size screw driver, but a long one really comes in handy right now. There are two screws on both sides of the back of the unit at a 45 degree angle. I got kind of a fuzzy picture of it, but it does help.

The third screw is in the center and rear of the climate control unit.

Step #7: Pull the unit out making sure to guide the wiring harness out from behind the dash so it doesn't get snagged on anything. This is a picture of what you should have now.

Part #2: Climate Control Teardown

Step #8: Remove green wiring harness plug and fan speed selection controller. The green plug just has a tab to push down and then pull out. The fan speed selector clips in to the climate control unit. Just push the two tabs holding it in place together and slide it out.

 

[beachbum]

Step #9: Remove plastic holder from heater cable slider. You have to twist the holder and pull up. I had to use a little force with a screwdriver and pry it out carefully.

Step #10: Remove the 6 screws holding the bracket onto the unit. (This can also be completed before steps #8 & 9 if you prefer)

Step #11: You should now be able to take the black face plate off the climate control unit. This gets kind of tricky. There are 2 tabs on the sides of the unit and 2 on the bottom that must be carefully pried up while sliding out. You must also carefully slide the temperature control and fan speed sliders over their tracks.

One on both sides!

Bottom 2 tabs.

Most complicated part. You have to try and slide the face off while gently lifting the sliders over the track, and while having the 4 black tabs lifted as well. I honestly couldn't figure out how to remove the sliders, and at the risk of breaking something plastic I decided to do it this way. There is room to do this, but still be careful. The red dots indicate the sliders you have to lift and pull over.

Step#12: Remove plastic portion of unit housing the circuit board. This is done by lifting up on 4 plastic tabs and removing one screw.

Three tabs on one side...

One tiny one and the screw on the other side...

 

[beachbum]

Step #13: Now you have to pop off the tray and the buttons on the unit. I just gently pried on the clear plastic as you see below from one end to the other and the buttons popped out.

Finished Product:

Note: At this point you can now replace the two small bulbs that light up your climate control at night. The bulbs are attached to the red wires and a small black plastic piece you just gently pull out.

Step #14: Remove three small screws holding the white plastic housing from the circuit board and remove the black plastic molds holding the lighting bulbs.

Step #15: At this point you will now have the circuit board for the climate control unit. After inspecting mine and talking it over with my brother he noticed that the solder points on the A/C button were in fact cracked! That explains why the button would work in cool weather but not hot due to the expansion and contraction of the metal. So he re-soldered them for me and it solved the problem! Yay for Air Conditioning during the summer in the Central CA Valley! Haha.

Cracked solder points:

Put everything back together in reverse order. It's way easier to put back together!

 

[BigJnWorldWide]

Very nice!!!!! Most definitely a needed thread. Cheers.

 

[hotrodj]

Very good write up! Ty

 

[95_EJ1]

Had the same issue in my EJ1, great writeup man :TU:

Repped!!

 

[Louie]

similar info and other solutions as well:

airconditioning - hondalioness