PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post - W126 Climate control theory

tinypanzer · #7 07-28-2009, 05:51 PM

Hi Cal,

In my case, recirc was not working at all, and one of the things that lead me to realize that the pods were leaky was that hitting the recirc button would cause me to lose my center vents. Allow me to explain.... The center vent pods is spring loaded so that if vacuum fails, you get defrost not center vent. That's a safety feature. So, if you lose vacuum in that system anywhere, you will likely lose your center vents in favor of defrost.

So, whenever I would select recirc, or the CCU decided to recirc by itself as it does when it's really hot outside, I would lose center vents. Apparently, the CCU compares the inside temp to the setting on the temp dial and adjusts the vents appropriately.

Ivanerrol, I still haven't ordered the two pods as I am broke at the moment so I don't know what they cost yet. My guess is $50-75 each.

And yes, it took me all of 10 minutes to pull out the glove box and the two pods. All you need is a flat-blade screwdriver to push in the little catch on the bottom of the pod that locks it into place. You just disconnect the arm from the lever, push in the little tab with the screwdriver, then twist the pod out like a bayonet light bulb. You can remove the hoses either before or after you do that.... Surprisingly easy.

The glovebox is easy too. You pull out the little plastic plugs all the way around top and bottom, pull out the light assembly and unplug it, then the whole thing just pulls right out.

The easiest test I can think of to see if your recirc pods are shot is just to hit the recirc button when your AC is on and the center vents are working. If you lose your center vents shortly after pressing the button, there you go....