jimbo74

Need help with my 2003 Lancer ES, HVAC system. one of my controls is broken, The knob doesn't turn, you can try to force it, but it barely moves

I have looked on ebay, and have found a bunch of repair kits, but they are for the temperature control, and not the one I need

What is the selector called that I need?

rickb928

It's called the Mode Control. really.

- Both knobs are the same.

- Both shafts are the same, also. The shaft is what's usually broken...

- A broken mode knob is fairly rare. You may have other problems inside the heater box, but if you just bought this car I bet the previous owner swapped them. If you have had it for a while, I am a little surprised that the right knob won't turn.

Try pulling off the bezel, two screws under the knobs, pry off, and then the control box comes off fairly obviously, two or three screws, and pull it forward a bit to see how the cables are moving. the mode control has not been accused of being a problem, though the temperature knob is a big problem unless you had the fixes done including the blender door.

jimbo74

I got this car about 12k ago. However, the seller was my supervisor at work, and I trust him... He never mentioned anything about that issue, and when I got it, it worked fine, one day, I turned it, and it made a clunk, and n longer worked... Car currently has around 110k mi.

He did have the whole AC system replaced, and I have paperwork from a shop saying they replaced the condensor, compressor, and a bunch of other stuff, to the tune of like $2k

the other 2 knobs, work just fine

jimbo74

so the FSM call it the BLOW VENT CHANGEOVER DAMPER CABLE

do you think this is a cable issue? or something else?

how exactly do I get the bezel off? the pic just looks like it has clips, so do I just pull up a corner and start yanking?

rickb928

The bezel has clips, but remove the knobs and find two phillips screws holding it in. Then snap it out carefully. radio does not need to be removed, obviously.

Yes, I bet the cable anchor broke, or something else right in there. the box has the cable anchors, shafts, and gears/cams to move things. I suspect you;ll figure it out pretty quick when you see it.

These are hard to find in the yard, most were taken to try and fix the temp knob. If you find one with a broken temp knob, of course, you are in luck, as the shafts are identical but the mode (whatever) side is what you want.

jimbo74

ok, so after over a year, my lancer is running again, and I want to fix this

here is what is going on

jimbo74

so another problem and completely my fault, I broke both sides of my vents.... tried to install one of those vent clip phone mounts, and snapped the plastic pegs on several of the louvers

jimbo74

ok, so I was at the junkyard today, and found the part i needed for the vents.. .

anyways took apart my dash... easy peesy

looked at my hvac unit...... the shaft was fine --- found out the problem not sure how it got that way, but the hard cable to that line made a Z shape, where it is supposed to be straight...... I bent it back with pliers, and it functions just fine now..... odd that it could even jam itself into that shape.... but it's fixed.....

jimbo74

ok, so I got it all back together, and it still doesn't seem quite right, I might still have some binding somewhere.....

I can feel each positive lock on each setting, but it wont engage that setting until a little bit past the emblems.... and it seems tighter than I think it should be..... but for now, it's working.....