Climate control problems for first 2 min W126
 

Hello:

I've been browsing this board for a week now, and what a great site! I think this will be addicting....
;)

I've purchased a '87 560SEL w/ 149K mi about a week ago now, and loving the car (awesome power, good looks, space, etc.). Some minor issues that I'll tackle once I get some time include a bunch of squeaks in the interior, and removal of swirl marks on the exterior, dent extraction, etc.

But one think that I discovered about the car: For the first 2 minutes (give or take a minute) after I start the car, the climate control system seems to have a mind of its own! None of the controls do anything (off position does not turn it off, the temp. dial has no effect on the temp. of the air being blown). For example, this weekend it was nice out here in Cali, but the car insisted on blowing hot air through the defrost vents, no matter what I selected. Also the recirc button and even the seat heater controls don't work.

But after the first 2 minutes, the controls actually work the way they're suppossed to. Off position turns it off, temp. dial works, seat heaters turn on and off, and recirc button works also. I'm totally puzzled by this behavior, but I'm thinking that some of you gurus out there know the answer!

TIA

The ACC system is set up so that in the event of a failure, the car will go to full heat and defrost. This is sort of a safety net so that if the system does fail the windshield won't fog up. Possibly for some reason the ACC isn't getting power when the car is cold, like maybe a crack in a fuse, which starts to pass power after it's had a chance to warm up? Don't know what else to offer, except maybe some cracked solder joints in the control unit (push button panel). I'd start by replacing a few fuses.

Gilly