Yet another Climate Control issue...

[RSCarey]

Just what all you experienced wrenches wanted to read from a Barney like me...

Yet another Climate Control issue...

1983 300 D Turbo (123.133 617)

I recently had a MBZ independent tech troubleshoot the climate control system in my car. He said the push button unit is fine, but recommended a new ACC controller (“electronic switching unit” in the manual), monovalve, and aux. coolant pump in addition to the expected evacuation and recharge. I figured I’d blow off the AC side of things and concentrate on getting some heat--that is until I start sweating my @$$ off this summer, instead of freezing it off.

Thinking I could save a few $$$ I replaced the pump, rebuilt the monovalve, and replaced the ACC controller this afternoon. Only one problem... still no heat.

After exhaustive research and reading of old threads, I already found and tried the following advice from the forums:

“If no heat, you should check the voltage at the monovalve. If at 0 with far left button pushed, your climate control unit is working, at least on defrost”

Checked. 0 Volts found. What are the chances the controller is bad even though it passes this simple test?

“When electrical power to the monovalve is removed, it opens to a ‘full heat’ condition.”

“Disconnect the electrical plug on the monovalve. You should get full heat with the plug disconnected. See if that happens.”

I did, and it didn’t--still no heat--even with the car at operating temperature.

“I have been down the no heat road with a brand new monovalve repair kit. The plunger would intermittently stick in the monovalve body. I found the problem by bench testing it. Remove it from the car and very carefully wire it up so you can apply and remove power from a battery or other 12 volt power source. You should be able to blow air through it with no voltage applied, and it should seal completely when voltage [is] applied.”

It passed the blow test. I am still spitting out the coolant ...

“You can try bypassing the aux pump with copper pipe connecting the 2 hoses and you should get heat while driving if the pump has failed and indeed restricting flow.”

Pump worked fine when 12 volts were applied directly. When installed in the car, I can feel coolant running through the hose after the pump and into the monovalve. I can’t feel any coming out the other side, though. Why not?

“The temp sensor that measures the air temp inside the evap housing or the cabin air temp sensor is bad IF it is not the pushbutton unit. ...disconnect them and see what kind of resistance you get across them. If you don't get any then it is bad.”

Tried this one too. Reaching behind the vents, I could wrestle with the sensor, but couldn’t figure out how to unplug the connector so I could meter it. The manual shows the sensor, but not the connector, so I can’t tell what I’m doing wrong. Any ideas?

“...one way to crudely test the monovalve is to pull the electrical connection. ...touch the electrical connector to the pins - you should be able to feel the monovalve move as you make and break contact. For that matter, you should also be able to feel the pulses of the monovalve at any temperature setting by placing your finger on the top of the valve.”

I can feel the monovalve working--when energized directly by a battery--but can’t feel it working when installed in the car. Is this due to the fact that the interior temperature has not gotten up to a temperature where the sensor would close the valve? Another sign of a bad controller?

Which is/are the likely culprit/s?

Bad ACC controller? It’s a reconditioned one from ********AZ. Any ideas on how to test this bad boy without the plug in tester?

Air bubble in system? Should risk a major coolant spill by taking off the heater hose which comes through the firewall and goes into the engine block to see if there is some type of blockage, obstruction, or air bubble?

Bad heater core? Where is it? How do I get at it? How can I check it?

Possible thermostat problem? Even though the car operates at normal temperature while idling and at highway speed?

Please help, I’m not sure what to try or in what order to try it.

Thanks for reading my rant and offering any sympathetic suggestion,

RSCarey