No heat and only cooling, or only heat and no cooling, or erratic temperature control?

The temperature control knob seems to have quite a bit of issues for early RX8 owners where the system will cool only, and not provide heat despite the position of the control knob. This can also work in the opposite way, only heating and no cooling. After living with it for a season, I finally pulled the heater control unit out and repaired the circuit board. It was simple to repair and because I was going to have to pull the unit out anyway to replace it, it was not much extra work. The replacement unit (part FE01-61-190) retails for $350, some vendors on this site sell it for $240ish, and I hear there are some that sell used parts for $125ish. It is definitely covered under warranty for those lucky enough to be under warranty.
If you do not have heat, or only have heat, IMHO it is most likey the AC/heater control unit. This is the part which has the AC/heat control buttons and knobs.

Easy Diagnosis:
The easiest way to verify this is to turn on the radio, press and hold the power on/off button and press and hold the scan-up button for a second (full second). The word "A/C TEMP" should appear on the left of the display and a number from 0 to 16 on the right. I suspect yours will have the number 0 (or 16 if heating only problem) displayed no matter where you turn the temperature control knob. If this is the case you could turn the temp. knob to full heat and see if it goes to 16 after pushing down or to the right on the knob.
In a working system, the number moves evenly in increments of 1, from 0 to 16 as you turn the temperature knob.

Easy Fix:
I was able to take mine out and solder 3 loose connections to fix it.

The beginning steps are the same as for any radio removal procedure. Instead of reinventing the wheel I would like to direct anyone to John Masone’s excellent DIY for radio removal at this DIY:
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=36001
or directly linked here:
http://www.whatsmyip.org/ipodrx8/
The procedure is basically the same until page 7, second frame. Here is the modified step at that phase:
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/16-1.jpg
Removal of Heater Control Unit

I did not take pictures of the next step which is basically removing the cover on the temperature knob side of the control which requires a small screwdriver to three plastic clips on the perimeter of the cover. This will be evident when you get it in front of you. I stripped the circuit board down further than you may need to because I was also repairing cracked defrost (windshield and rear) buttons with superglue.

Then re-solder the 3 joints indicated in the next photos. A little bit of heat and just a little extra solder and they should be good to go.

http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5235.jpg
Front of Heater Control Circuit Board
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5236.jpg
Front of Temperature Control Knob (3 connections noted)
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5237.jpg
Back of Heater Control Circuit Board
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5242.jpg
Back of Heater Control Knob
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5241.jpg
3 Bad Solder Joints (Note cracks) Prior to Re-soldering

I did the power-button/up scan combination to get the head unit to display the dial position and it now travels even increments from 0 to 16, instead of jumping from 0 to 16 when pushed like before. And the temperature control works perfectly.

Good luck.

Excellent stuff. Hope this gets stickied.

you might want to take some bigger picture :)

Anyway, excellent post !

This is fantastic. I wish I knew it was this simple before I replaced my bad one.

Oh well, I guess I'll get the soldering iron out and repair the old one anyways, its always good to have spare parts.

Ahhh i was waiting for this.
it was getting annoying trying to find the sweet spot where heat would work.

I just got done trying this, and it worked perfectly. The most annoying part for me was finding (yes finding !?!) the bolt to undo the radio.

After looking around under the steering column for half an hour or so and not quite being able to get my head in the right spot to see the bolt, I finally removed the metal part that goes across the bottom of the column (you can see it in the bottom picture on page 4 in the radio removal DIY). It is held on with 4 screws. With that out of the way, I was able to see the bolt and get at it much easier.

Also, the part about being careful about not dropping the bolt is important. I was being very careful right up until I dropped it into a bottomless pit.

I just got done doing this today. Worked EXCELLENTLY. I'm posting up some additional tips and instructions to make this even easier.

Tip: When unscrewing the bolt behind the dash, make sure to put some sort of sticky, adhesive substance on your ratchet socket. I went ahead and put some electrical tape on mine, sticky side up. If you don't do this, your bolt will likely drop somewhere behind the carpet and be lost forever. Also, when putting the bolt back I recommend taping its rim to the ratchet socket. That way it will stick to the socket until it is locked in tight enough and you can just pull the socket off, with nothing falling.

Ok, from this point in Masone's guide til the beginning of Wingnut's DIY you should have no problem following the instructions...

Now, once you get the first picture posted by Wingnut, his last step mentions to unscrew 2 screws to get out the ac unit. It is actually 6 screws, two on upper unit, two on lower, and two below the unit, although you will likely figure this out just thought I'd put it in there for sake of completeness.

Anyway, after you have pulled out the unit, you will arrive at my first photo (attached below). Unclip the pieces using a small flathead screwdriver at the three locations indicated by the red circles. Also, loosen the wire bundle on the right from its hooks so that it can slide into the case later on (when pulling out the circuit board).

After this (as indicated in my second photo), flip the unit around and unscrew the center mode control by unscrewing the screws at the 4 red circles. Next, bend out the side portions (at the yellow circles) a bit to unlock the board from the plastic case. I recommend unmounting the left side first. When doing the right side, use a small flathead screwdriver to pry the wirebundle (indicated in my third photo) from its socket on the board. This allows the board to come out enough so that you can solder the joints.

Lastly, you should have access to the necessary joints (indicated in fourth photo) and you can resume following Wingnut's great DIY. The soldering was very easy - as Wingnut mentions - and I didn't have to remove the two wire bundles plugged into the board in picture 4, as I was able to get it to bend out far enough to easily work on it.



I hope this helps someone out! After you do it, you too should be: :git:

Good stuff.. I was hoping someone else would figure this out for me :lol:

Thanks!

Thanks Wingnut. I thought I was screwed out of a few hundred dollars until I did a search. Took about half a day including having to pick up a soldering iron. Couldn've been simpler. Hopefully Mazda will make this a recallable issue. Sounds like this issue is showing that the circuit board has some defects.

have not had the problem with my car, but did the same on a dell laptop..

great job!!!

beers :beer:

YESS you are my hero now. Works fine thus far! However, a question to those whoi did it.... where does this thingie go? lol It was below the ash tray...
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/3764/thingxx4.jpg

I don't remember seeing that piece anywhere, hmm. My guess would be it belongs to the ashtray door hinge somehow...

YESS you are my hero now. Works fine thus far! However, a question to those whoi did it.... where does this thingie go? lol It was below the ash tray...
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/3764/thingxx4.jpg

Oooh I had lots of fun with that piece at one point. You will notice your ashtray door now swings freely and doesnt have the "snap" to it.

That spring goes in the ashtray piece, on the back. I'll try to snap a picture when I do this fix...

thank you very much. i'm going to do this next free saturday i have. probably next saturday. i'm under warranty but if i go to the dealer i'll likely lose my warranty for various things, so i'd rather just fix it myself.

Oooh I had lots of fun with that piece at one point. You will notice your ashtray door now swings freely and doesnt have the "snap" to it.

That spring goes in the ashtray piece, on the back. I'll try to snap a picture when I do this fix...

Please do. I figured it went somewhere on the back to hold it and all, but could not figure out where exactly to put it.

Dear wingnut, I heart u

memebers such as yourself are what makes this club worthwhile

cheers!

Wingnut - Thanks! Great instructions, links and pictures. Took about an hour an a half and saved $$$. Kudos!

IKoRTy - That is from the ashtray hinge. Mine came off as well and that side of the hinge decided to disintigrate. A well placed screw fixed the problem for me. It is a little harder to open/close now, but it beats buying a new one when I never use the dang thing.

well great now i have to take it off again and try to figure out where the darn thing goes haha.
does it stick somewhere in the back? or what.

It goes on the back (left IIRC) ... Look for two little holes where the flat ends of the spring can go. One hole on the lid, one on the base.

I should be doing this fix over the weekend so I will snap a pic then

Hey CnnmnSchnpps, when during the weekend do you think you're gonna be doing this? I'm probably doing mine over the weekend as well. Maybe We could have a "Fix your heater" party with a bunch of the guys from the club

Looks like I have to do my wife's car over this weekend. I think she was waiting for me to experiment with my car before she trusted me with her's. Although her's is a little different as the temp setting keeps changing arbitrarily. I am hoping it is the same fix. I am up for the virtual party! Anyone want to come over and take care of that little bolt in the back for me??

Big thanks to you Wingnut. I did the fix and everything works perfectly now! Thanks for taking time to figure this out and document it so well. I'm ready for winter now. (c:

Devin

Big thanks for your work you did, you beat me to making a DIY. You did a great job. Saved me 300.00 bucks

Hey CnnmnSchnpps, when during the weekend do you think you're gonna be doing this? I'm probably doing mine over the weekend as well. Maybe We could have a "Fix your heater" party with a bunch of the guys from the club

Whoops, sorry mate, missed your message. Did this today.

Wingnut - Very nice DIY! Thanks a ton. It only took like an hour to do this fix. My soldering ain't pretty but it will do the job :eyetwitch

Someone had previously attempted the radio removal on my car, since I had no retaining bolt, and the main harness connector on the back of the radio was mangled beyond recognition, so much so that I could not actually remove the radio...



Please do. I figured it went somewhere on the back to hold it and all, but could not figure out where exactly to put it.

As promised, here is where this part goes (picture taken with the ashtray lid closed) - on the right side of the ashtray assy. It's a real PITA to get back on - have fun :rant:

-D

I want to thank everyone that posted tips on this...
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I just finished doing my 2004 and the heat and cooling control now works like it is suppose to. Mine started acting up a little bit a year ago, but got real bad a few months ago. I had a dealer look at it a couple weeks ago, and they quoted me $800 to fix it and I believe they misdiagnoised the problem and were going to replace the A/C amplifier under the drivers side dash! Lucky for me they didn't have the parts, so I left with no bill.

The easy and sure diagnois with the "hold ON/OFF button and push SCAN up" gave me confidence this was the problem. And it also confirmed the fix before I even started up the car, just turned the key on and checked it.

The only bad part was my ash tray spring did pop out, and I wasted a half hour trying to put it back in. Then I noticed one of the holes was broken in half (not on the ash tray door, on the ash tray body. Is this caused when the ash tray is removed with the door open? Would it have helped to close the door when removing it? I don't know, but I am happy the heat/cool works again. I was able to super glue the broken bit, and then put 2-part epoxy over it for more strength. The ash tray snaps open/closed correctly now, I'll see for how long.

Took 2 hours, including my wasted 1/2 hour with the ash tray spring. Somebody more familiar with the electrical connectors could do it faster. It did go back together easier than taking it apart.


Thanks to all.

Worked like a charm!!:boink:

I tried the power button and up scan and all I get is all the icons on display light up and and a/c temp. Am I doing something wrong.

^ you should get a/c temp with a number next to it - turn the temperature knob to see if the numbers increment smoothly or if it just stays on 0 or 16

I tried the power button and up scan and all I get is all the icons on display light up and and a/c temp. Am I doing something wrong.Be sure and follows wingnuts instructions, turn the radio on, then press and hold the ON/OFF button while pressing SCAN "up" (not SEEK, which lights up the entire display test).


Easy Diagnosis:
The easiest way to verify this is to turn on the radio, press and hold the power on/off button and press and hold the scan-up button for a second (full second). The word "A/C TEMP" should appear on the left of the display and a number from 0 to 16 on the right. I suspect yours will have the number 0 (or 16 if heating only problem) displayed no matter where you turn the temperature control knob. If this is the case you could turn the temp. knob to full heat and see if it goes to 16 after pushing down or to the right on the knob.
In a working system, the number moves evenly in increments of 1, from 0 to 16 as you turn the temperature knob.

Wingnut, you are awesome. this diy came just in time. heat completely gave out a few days ago and i was expecting the worst. all better now. Thanks!

Here is an addition to the testing information.

My wife's RX (yes, we have matching cars. I would consider it weird if they were Fords, but, hey, they're both RX-8's!) had different symptoms, but the same solution.

On her car, we first noticed a problem when we were running the A/C and it would suddenly blow hot air. Sometimes we would play with the knob and sometimes just goosing the accelerator would get it working correctly. Once I learned that I could see the A/C temp settings from Wingnut's post, I tried it on her car. I realized that if I tapped the temp control knob it would jump from 0 to 13 (I think 16 is the max, but her's showed 13). It would not stop at any other number when you turn the knob (or tap it).

I took it apart last weekend to celebrate the virtual party and the same fix works for the intermittent problem as well.

Now, do I need to do this every 70,000 miles or will the solder hold?

Thanks again Wingnut for starting the thread and the post. It has just doubled my savings!

I didn't know the heater thing was that common. We just bought a 2005 that had only 6000 miles on it, and the heater started going wonky on me. I took it to Mazda yesterday and they are going to replace the part on Monday or Tuesday. I'm still under warranty so I don't mind letting them fix it, since I won't pay anything.

Does anybody know if the new parts will eventually have the same problem? Or did Mazda fix the loose connections in the new part? I'm just wondering if the heat will go out on me again in another 6000 miles or not.

thanks a lot. this diy worked great. heater works, and now i can get temps other than "hell" or "icebox"

Awesome DIY I'm new to the forum and this was a big help I did this fix today on my 04 GT and it works great now, if only I could figure out how to stop my tail light from getting condensation inside all the time.

sunsilver: the water in taillight problem is quite common. A little searching on the forum will turn up some threads, such as: http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=62150&highlight=water+in+tail. This issue is common enough that there is a Mazda TSB covering it (you'll see the link to it in the above mentioned thread).

When I bought my used '05 it had this problem, so I took it to the dealership and they fixed it no charge, no questions asked. (I'm within warranty though, so I'm not sure how it will work out if you are out of warranty).

Thanks for this. I have lurked this forum for ages and never had a reason to post. I actually pulled my hvac controller 3 years ago and looked it over and missed those 3 small connection points.

Thanks to this I pulled it again and fixed it in about 20 minutes.

it's nice when people you never seen before help out for reasons the world shall never know about do what they and we do without question or price.thanks for all your help when seeing the dealer priceing makes me blood curdle.this thank you go's to all on this board who took the time to help out some of less brain power than most.you have made a lot of people happy.thanks again!!

i'm trying this fix right now and have a problem. i've located the under the dash bolt and here's the problem...i have the nut part off, but the bolt part won't budge. i've done the rest of the screw removal and can't get the unit to slide out on the drivers side so i thought it must be that bolt. am i missing something - other than much greater hand strength?

thanks!

Phunky,
Make sure you have the right bolt, check the last frame on this page:
http://www.whatsmyip.org/ipodrx8/4.php From your description it sounds like you took off the nut on the bottom with the red circle around it, and not the bolt futher up. I believe it is a bolt and not a nut.
After that is out, it does take a little muscle to get it to first budge.
Good luck.

seems i made it harder than it needed to be by finding the most obscure bolt on there....got the right one now. Thanks!!

ok so this was looking like it was going to be my second winter with no heat...it was 38 when i left the house this morning(i know not that bad compared to some) but i was so cold on the way to work and decided to check here...and low and behold i find this page of glory...just took out my radio while i'm here at work and just need to go get a soldering iron and some solder! hope this works!

holy shit...nothing beats savings yourself a trip to the dealer and 500 bucks change! thanks a bunch...this was so easy and fast...my heat actually works now...it goes 0.1.2.3.4.5...all the way...thanks again!

I recently found out my heat's wonky, so I took it to the dealer to look at it. The heat wasn't working on the way to the dealer, but when the mechanic checked it out, the heat worked just fine, so they sent me home because "there's nothing they can do unless it's not functioning at the time."

I just did the diagnosis posted and sure enough, it stayed on 0. I don't have any soldering experience so I'll try to find someone else to do it.

Thanks a lot for the info! You saved me a bit of money. :)

hey as far as the soldering experience....just get a soldering iron (7 bucks from advance auto) and a spool of solder (3 bucks from AA...i was there yesterday) and then plug in the soldering iron...give it a bout 3 minutes to heat up...hold the end of the soldering iron over each of the points to solder and just touch the solder to it...it will melt and drip right onto the circuit board...then viola! heat!

Damn. I wish I found this thread about 30 minutes ago. I just ordered the part from Mazda for $175. :banghead: I'll make sure to do a better search next time.

Before doing this fix I hadn't soldered anything in like 5 years? :lol: If you can try to find some old piece of electronics that you don't need, take it apart and go wild :)

so i just did followed these steps and put it all back together. random things don't work.

none of the audio controls on the steering wheel work.

the volume on the dash turns up and down, but doesn't power down. the cd's eject, but won't load. i can tune the radio by the tune up/down arrows, but i can't program any of the 1-6 presets. the hazards do work. none of the modes work, by steering wheel or dash.

the air flow works, but now it only blows out hot air, not cold. and none of the air mode's work (the whole circular cluster doesn't work...head/feet/defrost, no a/c, no recirculation...).

any ideas? everything is plugged back...i guess i can recheck the connections tomorrow. but it seems a bit random that some things work and other don't. especially considering i didn't mess w/ anything other than that one connection area...unless i just didn't plug everything in firmly enough??? it's going to be a long drive to work tomorrow w/o radio/cd...

so i realized this morning that my air mode (head, feet, feet/defrost,defrost), of which i have no control over, changes one position every time i start the car. last night i was on head, this morning it was on feet, leaving the store to come to work it was feet/defrost! haha, what?!

also, none of the lights work - gotta be some weird connection problem. the weirdest thing to me is the steering wheel controls don't work either. i didn't put that last bolt in (by the steering column), is that some sort of grounding connection that is needed? stupid, but i thought i'd ask.

i guess i'll take it all apart tonight and reconnect everything...any ideas would be great!!

2tone,
I have to believe that there is one (or more) loose or unconnected wiring harness plugs. There are quite a few, and some could be missed. I have a hard time imagining a scenario where the soldering or missoldering of the temperature dial could result in the symptoms you describe. Worst case is a pin in a harness plug got bent, but I assume there are couple of loose connections.
I regards to the 10mm bolt, I did an aux-in hack a few years ago and forgot to put the bolt back in and have never missed it since.

Good luck.

thanks!!

i agree, i just HOPE we're right! i can't imagine that screwing up the soldering would result in 75% of the stuff not working. besides, my heat works now, so the soldering did something!! although now i can't get it cold! haha. man.

oh, my driver's side heated seat heats up, but the indicator light doesn't work now - just an example of a bad connection probably. i guess i'll take it apart and reconnect everything tonight in the hope that it will work!!

oh sweet! same thing happened to my 04 ride, I haven't gotten around to doing it yet, but I'm glad i did a thread search before looking for a heater control replacement unit. these forums kick ass.

awesome DIY, this just saved me buying a replacement control! My ac readings where jumping around when the control was left in one place, and would not even change through half the dials rotation. Looked at the solder and you could see the rings where the solder cracked. Now works fine, dial reads steady from 0-16.

Wow I am glad I found this DIY...I was driving this weekend and noticed that heat would not go to a mix. I get all hot for the entire dial, then cold if i push it all the way to the coldest setting. I can't wait to do the diagnoses check to make sure this is the issue but I am pretty sure. Thanks again for the DIY.

Wow I am glad I found this DIY...I was driving this weekend and noticed that heat would not go to a mix. I get all hot for the entire dial, then cold if i push it all the way to the coldest setting. I can't wait to do the diagnoses check to make sure this is the issue but I am pretty sure. Thanks again for the DIY.

That's exactly what mine is doing. I guess I'll be taking my dash apart once again.

Well i did this on Wed night and it went well. One thing to add is that I am not very good at soldering and I didn't see any traces on the top side of the board (same as the knob side) so I didn't mess with those connections. It was just the 3 on the bottom side of the board that fixed it for me.

Great DIY. Since it is getting cold out and I was tired of not having heat, I decided to give this a shot. I was able to solder the connections on the temp control knob and get my temperature to once again range from 0-16 instead of just 0 and 16. This saved me from having to buy another board, thanks!
Although my fingertips are hating those wiring harness clips - those things can be such a pain.
I did have to disconnect my PIE aux input prior to pulling my radio out. There was not enough slack in the wires to allow my radio to pull out far enough to get to the other connections.

I used this GREAT DIY successfully the other day, and while I was doing it I realized that the one thing I like best about owning an RX8 isn't in the car at all. It's the fact that any time I've EVER had an issue with or question about the car, a workable answer/solution has always been right here in the RX8 forum. GREAT WORK WINGNUT!!!!!!!

see Wingnut, I knew that engineering degree was good for something
(I work on the other side of the cube wall form Wingnut)

I've been without heat in my RX8 for close to 2 years now...living in Socal that's not normally a problem but the past few mornings have been quite chilly. This fix worked like a charm. Great job by everyone who chimed in on it, as you have saved me and countless others a lot of runny noses and money by sharing. THANKS!

One thing, I did this DIY and it is very awesome. I did not put any solder on the three connectors, cause I thought that if i missed and got it on the board that I would ruin it, so I just heated them up and that worked for about a week.. My question is can I just reheat them back up with out actually soldering them and then super glue them in place or do I need to solder them?

just solder them. it's really not hard

One thing, I did this DIY and it is very awesome. I did not put any solder on the three connectors, cause I thought that if i missed and got it on the board that I would ruin it, so I just heated them up and that worked for about a week.. My question is can I just reheat them back up with out actually soldering them and then super glue them in place or do I need to solder them?

The solder is what makes the connection. Yes you need to use more solder.

Great DIY, saved me a bunch o money. And I didn't even have to switch to Geico.

But did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

Wingnut is my hero.
Only one question, how the hell did you know about the stereo scan up thing. I was using the official shop manual to trouble shoot this problem and it sent me in a totally different direction. Nothing in the manual about this simple diagnostic... stupid manual.

One thing, I did this DIY and it is very awesome. I did not put any solder on the three connectors, cause I thought that if i missed and got it on the board that I would ruin it, so I just heated them up and that worked for about a week.. My question is can I just reheat them back up with out actually soldering them and then super glue them in place or do I need to solder them?

If you are really nervous about soldering you can use a mask on the board to make sure the solder doesnt stray to where it shouldn't be. I have some really bad skills with soldering and was able to do this pretty easily. As I mentioned i believe it is just the 3 connections on the back side of the board that need to be fixed. Also when i had the board free, i could flick thewire sticking through and hear that it was loose. After putting a small amount of solder on there i didn't hear the clicking noise.

Just did this ( my heater would only work at low level an go to cold anywhere else)

thanks

i tryed the test with the radio and the numbers moved from 0 to 16 some times they would jump around if i moved it to fast, so im not sure if thats the problem the ac sometimes blows warm air and when i use the heater it gets luke warm but not hot enough to actually heat the car on a cold day i took it to the shop and they said they didnt find anything....HELP please

fritschep,
For each detent/click of the knob, the number should increment by 1, i.e. 0,1,2,3,4...16, from cold to hot. I assume by saying "moved from 0 to 16 some times" you mean it was doing this most of the time, in which case you may have another problem.
If you can set the knob to to full heat, knob all the way right AND A/C TEMP number at 16 and still not get full heat when the engine is fully warmed up, then you most likely have another problem. Another check for the knob is to bring up the A/C Temp display, set your knob to about 8 and press the knob/move it around (without turning it) and see if the number jumps to 0 or 16, which indicates a bad solder joint.
Good luck.

thanks. both of my kids thank you too. we haven't had heat in years. no money to fix it. it gets cold here in ohio. you are a great person.
:)

thanks for the quick responce, i did the test and it functions properly but i just noticed that from the center of the radio to the far driver side is blowing hot/warm air and from the center to the passenger is blowing luke warm any ideas?

First and foremost I want to thank wingnut and everybody who help us put our 8's back inorder and saving us so much money. I know for myself I muster save at least 500-3000 dollars with all the threads that the club has on it. THANK YOU. sorry for the dealerships

We did this over the weekend and still no heat, so we bought a refurbished temperature control and it still did not work!! Please any tips to what else could it be?
thanks in advance

Ruizmc,
The key to determining the success or failure of the original unit, repaired unit, or refurbished is the Power-On/Up-Scan diagnosis at the beginning of the thread. If the unit passes this test then the problem is most likely elsewhere. I would recheck every connector first. I would suggest looking into the blend door actuator. I have read elsewhere on the forum that it is under the center console and can be observed from under the driver side and should move with the control knob. Good luck.

ruizm


I had the same problem, the actual control knob for the heat/cold air was working but it was only blowing hot air on full heat and the number one fan setting same with the ac the problem is the ac controller modual replace that and say goodbye to your heater problems hopefully oh start with you fuses befor you take anything apart could be a fuse thats just a thought.

I just did this to my rx8. Great DIY. I have never soldered anything before and I had a
huge soldering iron and was able to do it first try.

One thing I might add is that picture with the under the dash bolt for the radio is in the wrong spot. It is not higher that the 2 bolts circled its on the same level. I took off the metal pannel under the steering column and was able to reach the bolt with my hands so as not to drop it in the carpet.

Wingnut, what a great post! I finally took the time to make this happen and, BAM! All done.

Many thanks!

I just wanted to give a big thanks for this. I did this in -20 deg C weather outside somehow magically without cracking any of the plastics. Suffice to say that when you have to drive with the fan on and it is -20C outside it is FREEZING INSIDE THE CAR.

This worked like a charm, right away even without starting the car when I did the test I saw the difference thanks you wingnut.

Also, FWIW I found it much easier to take apart the board completely to solder and I recommend you take the little wire bundles out of the clips and remove it that way.

So do you need the replacement part wingnut first mentions in his post or do you just need to take the heater apart and solder the three points?

The mention of the replacement part was only for comparison. The original part is easy to repair with just a little soldering as shown.

Good luck.

you so rock!

Thank you wingnut.

I did this fix shortly after you posted it and it has worked great ever since. Thank you very much for the info.

First, a huge thank you to Wingnut for this! Did the fix about two weeks ago and the temp control knob works perfectly now.

One glitch I ran into after reassembly - my display is now erratic. If it goes blank/funky I can press on the faceplate right below the 1/2 preset button and it'll come back (at least temporarily). I suspect the pins on the radio did not make good contact with the contacts on the faceplate when I put it back together. Anyone have any tips/tricks to make sure they make good contact on reassembly? I'm going to be pulling the radio out again to send it off to be reflashed in a couple of weeks and I want to make sure I get it back together properly this time.

Later,

Luke

I didn't think I had the know-how to properly complete this fix, but surprisingly I did it right and it works. And my radio only started acting up a mere 6 hours ago...

The worst part was putting everything back together to test it and see it I had soldered everything properly. I knew I would have a lot of work to do if I had f---ed something up.

Next thing is to install my radar detector (escort 8500 x50) mute button in the blank tape spot in the middle of the radio. Should be fun...:banghead:

just got the time to do this and it works amazingly!! Thanks wingnut!

Just got time also.....Heat now works great. Now i just need to figure out how to get the A/C to work.

I think my wife took out the condenser with a chunk of ice around christmas

Excellent write up, very helpful. You saved many an RX-8 owner a good chunk of money. Heck, a refurbished unit costa $120 and then they're going to try to charge you install it themselves, and without John Masone’s help, we would have to pay it! I guess that's the long way of saying "Thank You"

has anybody had a problem with the ac/defrost/level select controll, when i called metra the uy gave me this forum but my heater and fan controls are fine its just that i cant turn my ac on and off (or defrests or level selects) intern it wont allow me to change the writing on my display. has anybody experienced this ?

has anybody had a problem with the ac/defrost/level select controll, when i called metra the uy gave me this forum but my heater and fan controls are fine its just that i cant turn my ac on and off (or defrests or level selects) intern it wont allow me to change the writing on my display. has anybody experienced this ?

Do this first, turn your fan on high and scroll through the mode select. If you can hear and feel the changes when you push the mode button but the display does not change, then you just need to update your firmware on your axxess box for your metra kit. That was one of the biggest problems with the early firmware for the box. you still have full control, but the display freezes on whatever it was on at that particular time. Same thing with the LEDs for the A/C and defrost buttons.

did this fix and it worked like a charm!

w00t! w00t!

I am going to do this fix tonight! I knew it had to be a bad connection because mine will only blow heat...unless I push in hard on the knob, which I assume is giving it a better connection and then I get cold air.

Since pushing it in I can get the ac temp to show 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. but I never knew about this DIY and the ac temp check so I haven't checked it when it is not working.

I should mention that I have done this before by pushing the dial in and it worked then as well, but only temporarily.

Thanks

Edit: I cannot believe how bad the soldering job was on the heat unit. I could move all three prongs with my finger tip, and it was evident that they were very loose connections. This fix worked great!

Oh, I decided against putting the bolt back in the side of the stereo, I hate that thing!

This is exactly what I was looking for. I have had this problem for a while but was travelling too much to deal with it.

I thought it was such a simple problem, so thanks for the perfect DYI.

Great instructions!!! Not only was I able to confirm the problem, thanks to you, but I was easily lead through the whole process and it worked like a charm!!

I just got this 8 and found that this problem existed. Thanks for making this so easy to fix! The guy that sold it probably was ticked about the temp problem all winter and got fed up! :lol:

Looks like this guy had been in and removed the bolt for the radio and lost it as it was missing (probably when he installed the iPod cable (:biggthump)). I was able to see the bolt by looking through the console from the front and used a magnet to retrieve it.

I even found the spring at the bottom of the console for the ashtray lid and repaired it as was mentioned earlier in the conversation thread by another member! I used some 4 min epoxy putty and build a new base to seat the spring.

Thanks man!!

Scoot RX-8, Great work! :beerchug: I hope he did not leave you any surprises under the hood. :eyetwitch

I used this to diagnose and fix the very same problem in my car this weekend, I'm not mechanically inclined at all and I'd never soldered anything in my life before today.

Worked great, thanks for the guide!

Few steps seemed to be missing (the clear plastic bits), but this was great and totally made it amazing. Now my question is. Is it breaking because they used lead free solder? And if so how many other places and things are gonna go funky?

Another thanks to Wingnut...

Also, seems some people (including myself) had some trouble with flickering or no controls afterward...?

I don't know this for sure (and haven't read to look) but I think there is a security kill switch somewhere on the back of the unit so that if it isn't seated right and snapped all the way back in, it won't disengage or will switch on and off. I just made sure I pushed mine all the way back and it's good. Hope this helps anyone else with a similar situation...

Soldering tips for anyone who has never done soldering before and wants to do this DIY. (http://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php?p=2992020&postcount=16)

Thanks bro imma get on it..
Lets say i have never really worked on my car...
all i did was install a indash pioneer monitor with a friend of mine..
took the whole center console apart..
Is this a project i should do or just go to mazda and have them do it...
guy at mazda in delray a good friend of mine

Thanks bro imma get on it..
Lets say i have never really worked on my car...
all i did was install a indash pioneer monitor with a friend of mine..
took the whole center console apart..
Is this a project i should do or just go to mazda and have them do it...
guy at mazda in delray a good friend of mine

Chances are, if you take it to a dealership/mechanic they're just going to replace the entire part. I didn't price it out at my dealership, but it sounds like that's a $200-300 part from Mazda.

If you've installed an aftermarket stereo, you've done 90% of the work you need to. The extra part is taking apart the controls and soldering those three contacts.

I don't really work on cars either and I am not mechanically inclined. If I was able to do this, I would think just about anyone else could.

Thanks bro i appreciate that...
i just need to get the soldering kit,
but yea i know how to get to the controols and shit.. Imma work on it this weeekend hopefully

HAH! what are the freaking odds.. I actually was reading about aftermarket headunits on here when someone in a post deep inside a big thread linked someone to this thread... I rarely use the heat and just a couple weeks ago, I began using the AC and was thinking WTF, as the dial was acting very wacky. Figured something was defective, but wasn't gonna spend 400 bucks to fix it, and for some reason, didn't even bother to search on here for a fix (again, figuring the solution would be to replace some $400 piece :P). I was actually getting either extreme heat or extreme AC, but nothing in between.. so I figured I could live with that. Well, what do ya know.. a little solder and presto!

i believe this question is relative. After installing a metra kit with updated firmware the buttons for defrost, rear defrost, AC, mode, and the other button stopped working! Any ideas?? Im replacing the Axxess box but perhaps it could be something else as well?

Those of you who have done this fix: how on earth did you get the wiring harnesses for the climate controls disconnected from the back of the radio module??

I just got my RX-8 less than a month ago - a lightly-used 2004 6-speed! - and discovered that it has this problem. After some searching I found this forum thread and decided I could follow the directions listed (normally I'm all thumbs!). However, I got to the point in the radio removal step-by-step where I needed to disconnect the climate-control wiring harnesses, and discovered that I couldn't move 'em.

Is there a trick to it that I haven't found yet? There's just enough room to get my hand (my hands are fairly large) behind there, but not enough room for any leverage to pull the harnesses off.

Or is it just something I need to have a bit more persistence with??

Thanks for any suggestions - I'm really glad I found this forum!!

Phil

Those of you who have done this fix: how on earth did you get the wiring harnesses for the climate controls disconnected from the back of the radio module??

I just got my RX-8 less than a month ago - a lightly-used 2004 6-speed! - and discovered that it has this problem. After some searching I found this forum thread and decided I could follow the directions listed (normally I'm all thumbs!). However, I got to the point in the radio removal step-by-step where I needed to disconnect the climate-control wiring harnesses, and discovered that I couldn't move 'em.

Is there a trick to it that I haven't found yet? There's just enough room to get my hand (my hands are fairly large) behind there, but not enough room for any leverage to pull the harnesses off.

Or is it just something I need to have a bit more persistence with??

Thanks for any suggestions - I'm really glad I found this forum!!

Phil

I just did this yesterday. It's very annoying and is probably the hardest part of this entire DIY. First thing, make sure you are not pulling on the wires.. you don't want to break a wire by accident. On the connectors themselves though, you should be able to feel around for a tiny tab that you can push in to disconnect the harness. It's practically impossible to push it in with your hands.. you need to get a very small flat head or a pick tool. If you get it just right, the connector should disconnect (you should also be pushing on the tab at an angle so that it's also pushing the plug outwards). Oh, I just remembered, I ended up disconnecting all the connectors except the ones to the heat control.. This allowed me to flip over the radio a bit to get a better view of where to push on the connector with my flat head.

ANyways, be patient here.. you don't wanna scratch up the interior or the radio or pull too hard on the radio and pull out a wire by accident. It's also easier to do this if you keep the radio in the dash, pulled out just enough to get to the rest of the wires, before you flip it over to get the heat control harness..

I just did this yesterday. It's very annoying and is probably the hardest part of this entire DIY. First thing, make sure you are not pulling on the wires.. you don't want to break a wire by accident. On the connectors themselves though, you should be able to feel around for a tiny tab that you can push in to disconnect the harness. It's practically impossible to push it in with your hands.. you need to get a very small flat head or a pick tool. If you get it just right, the connector should disconnect (you should also be pushing on the tab at an angle so that it's also pushing the plug outwards). Oh, I just remembered, I ended up disconnecting all the connectors except the ones to the heat control.. This allowed me to flip over the radio a bit to get a better view of where to push on the connector with my flat head.

ANyways, be patient here.. you don't wanna scratch up the interior or the radio or pull too hard on the radio and pull out a wire by accident. It's also easier to do this if you keep the radio in the dash, pulled out just enough to get to the rest of the wires, before you flip it over to get the heat control harness..

Thanks for the response, maverick02 - I thought that might be the answer. I'll just have to try again when I have enough time to fiddle with that problem! At least, I HOPE I won't need heat for a while...

I've got a small set of flat-head screwdrivers, I didn't think to try that. It's difficult to see that tab on the connector from the driver's side of the radio module...

I'll keep at it - thanks again!

Phil

my AC button, Right defrost button, and mode buttons dont work since metra kit install any ideas????

my AC button, Right defrost button, and mode buttons dont work since metra kit install any ideas????

Try this first, turn your fan on high then push the mode button. Wait about 10 seconds or so then push it again. Repeat this 4 or 5 times. If you hear and feel the air flow change from the defrost to the vent to the floor then all of your buttons work, the lights and display are just stuck due to old firmware on your axxess box from your metra kit. Fix=Upgrade to v1.4

Try this first, turn your fan on high then push the mode button. Wait about 10 seconds or so then push it again. Repeat this 4 or 5 times. If you hear and feel the air flow change from the defrost to the vent to the floor then all of your buttons work, the lights and display are just stuck due to old firmware on your axxess box from your metra kit. Fix=Upgrade to v1.4


firmware = 1.4 and everynow and then the mode button works but NEVER the AC / left defrost buttons :(

firmware = 1.4 and everynow and then the mode button works but NEVER the AC / left defrost buttons :(

Hmmmm strange. Maybe a bad connection somewhere, some loose wires or a bad axxess box. Some of the plugs for the box are the same size and shape, but I'm sure you rechecked everything is hooked up correctly and securely, right? If all else fails, I say to contact metra to swap out the axxess box. I doubt it is a problem with your HVAC controls, but it is a possibility. Also, on the 1.4, did you do the update yourself or was it verified somehow if you didn't do it?

I may possibly be the stupidest person on this forum, after a week of no AC and taking apart and putting back the dash 10000000 times I realized today that the reason only the two button were working was because only half the plug was fully in ::hits forhead:: and now they all work. well atleast it was just a simple issue!!!!

And shes a beaut back together :D

I may possibly be the stupidest person on this forum, after a week of no AC and taking apart and putting back the dash 10000000 times I realized today that the reason only the two button were working was because only half the plug was fully in ::hits forhead:: and now they all work. well atleast it was just a simple issue!!!!

And shes a beaut back together :D

LOL, at least you got it working now, enjoy.

Its a thing of beauty ALL THE LIGHTS lit :lol:

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/45137/2062468330105211901S500x500Q85.jpg

Hallelujah! I just finished this fix on my month-old used '04, and everything works!!

I'll admit that I'm a bit surprised, because I'm generally fairly inept with DIY-type stuff. Thanks to wingnut for the reasonably detailed instructions - and to maverick02 for the encouragement! - I was able to get some heat for my RX-8. (Good thing, too, because here in Minnesota the temperature's not supposed to reach 60F today...)

Just wanted to say 'Thanks!' for the help...

just tested this out in my car and I had been thinking it was my heater control. Car often goes from cold to hot or vice versa...especially after hitting a bump in the road. I'm so glad that there seems to be an easy DIY fix for this. Now if I wasn't so mechanically inept.... =P haha

Hey guys, i'm screwed now, I double check two times all connection and still have some issues, First I don't have any display and the second is, all my control for A/C, defrost, etc doesn't work. I can eject cd but not load and can't play music.
All light on the radio are working fine. I just don't know what happen. Hope that I didn't break a wire. :( need help

it's working!! great job!!! :worship:

I'm now prepared for winter. Thanks, Wingnut!

Did this over the weekend, great DIY. Worked like a charm. Just be carefull and follow the steps. Well worth it.

Also i was amazed how bad the factory solder connection was. Almost no solder on the posts at all.

question i live in florida..PALM BEACH hotter than a mother fucker... ONLY blowing hot air... and i fucked wit ma knob so much that it goes in complete circles... Before i would b able to find a sweet spot to get cold air and i would have to hold it... but my little trick isnt working anymore...any suggestions. is this the same prob that u guys are having

tru80sbaby,
Do the "Easy Diagnosis" part and that should reveal all. Yes, I think it is the same problem but the knob spinning around all the way is another issue and may pose more of a problem. You may want to pull the knob straight off and see if the aluminum post spins all the way around or if it is just the plastic knob not securely mounting to the aluminum post.

Good luck.

Thank you very much for this write up. Took me about 10min to fix this since the write up was so well done. :rolleyes:

question i live in florida..PALM BEACH hotter than a mother fucker... ONLY blowing hot air... and i fucked wit ma knob so much that it goes in complete circles... Before i would b able to find a sweet spot to get cold air and i would have to hold it... but my little trick isnt working anymore...any suggestions. is this the same prob that u guys are having

You either broke the connections on the back or the internal parts of the potentiometer (dial thingy). If the dial still feels connected to the unit than it is likely that you broke the parts on the inside, and if it feels loose, than it is probably the connectors on the back. Either way you are going to have to replace the whole potentiometer. You can still follow the steps to do this repair, but you will have to put a new dial in. You will need the part number, your local Mazda dealer should be able to provide that. Once you have the new part all you have to do is follow the directions, remove the old one, and put the new one in. Should not be difficult at all.

I really appreciate both of yall... HOnestly i dnt wanna sound like a pussy, but i do NOT wanna go through all this shit to fix ma a/c. I work in the heat all day, but question... do you guys think that if i print out these steps i could take it to a mechanic and have him do it for me?...
Ooo and i just spend 399 at dealership to change 4 coils and install 2 plugs for me, trailing. I had to let them do someting because my boy at the dealership always looks out for me.... if not for that i NEVER get me car fixed at dealership they tried to charge me 41 for each sparkplug

I think you could do that maybe. The mechanic might even apriciate it. The hourly rate is going to kill you on this one. The mechanic is prob going to charge you at least three hours @ 70-80 per (210-240 min). 90% of this is done with pretty common tools so you could save yourself a bit of cash, even after buying a soldering iron and solder.

I think you could do that maybe. The mechanic might even apriciate it. The hourly rate is going to kill you on this one. The mechanic is prob going to charge you at least three hours @ 70-80 per (210-240 min). 90% of this is done with pretty common tools so you could save yourself a bit of cash, even after buying a soldering iron and solder.

I agree, I think I had about $20 and two hours invested in this. WELL worth the effort in my book. Go for it!

i appreciate it broSSS... lol but i just do not wanna take the time and do this.. plus i have a indash tv in ma car that i put in maself...

No worries. To each his own. Another option might be to get the whole unit and Just have the mechanic swap it in for you. Would be more expensive, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for you. One of the vendors here sells them, at least I think I remember seeing it on someones site. I'll see if I can find a link.

Found it: http://www.rotaryfx.com/product_p/per1042.htm

Great Post
Saved me a load of time and trouble.

2004 6M 165,000 miles and going strong

I just did this fix... A/C works good as new now! I must say, the solder job onthose three points from the factory was terrible! hardly any solder on it at all...

Hey I did this fix and now my heat works but after I put the radio back my instrument panel doesnt work??? The radio works but no lights on the panel.... I checked the fuses and they all looked good, I dont know which one runs the panel.. Any ideas??

I figured out the problem, officially I am a dumb a**.. unofficially if you forget to plug back in the wires on the side of the radio before reinstalling it the instrument panel wont work..

^SLAP urself with a hot IRON ;)

I'm going to ask a dumb question for clarification - by instrument panel are you referring to the radio-A/C display or the gauges (tach, etc.)? The reason I ask is that if you don't get the small wiring harness on the left (driver's) side of the radio plugged back in correctly, it will mess up the radio-A/C display. I didn't get mine seated fully on reassembly and it caused an erratic display. If it wasn't plugged in at all, you wouldn't get any display. The backlighting would come on, but no text, numbers, etc.

Later,

Luke

Edit: DOH!! I was a bit slow . . . . .

now that its cold again this is def getting done asap. thanks for the diy

^lol LAZY

^SLAP urself with a hot IRON ;)


I did plug the soldering iron back in and held it in my eye until I puked

^thats the spirit~! ;) :rofl:....Glad you figured out ur problem though!

I was not getting any heat out of my vents, and followed these instructions step by step and it worked perfectly. Kudos to the Author! -Thanks

+1 kudos for this post! This helped me out as well... only 20k miles in and the thing broke :(

Worked like a charm!! Thank you very much

Just did it for a buddy and it worked perfectly. Gonna do mine the next time we have good weather. Thanks!

I just joined this forum, looking for advice on my broken heater,,, found a thread posted by WINGNUT, told me how to diagnose the problem and step by step how to fix the problem! saved me time & $$$$!!!
thank you wingnut! :rock: you rock!!!!

Just did this today ! Everything is fixed ! took me about 1 hr 15 min
Thanks for the step by step DIY !

Thanks a ton for posting this - I just did the repair last night and it works like a champ.:bowdown:

Did this a couple of days ago on my daughters 06, and it works 100%. Only hard part was the disconnection of the wires. Otherwise great DIY. Saved me a pile of cash. Thanks again Wingnut.

thanks a lot.

Yep I just soldered a buddy's and everything works good now.

The DIY worked PERFECTLY!

It was a royal P-I-T-A to unplug everything. One of the leads in particular is so short that was tough to disconnect and reconnect, but I managed after several tries.

Disassembly is super easy and soldering was no problem, though I strongly recommend no more than a 15amp soldering pen. Anything hotter and you risk burning a trace if you aren't careful.

I had this same problem. My car was stuck on the AC. It was fine until the fall started to really cool off. I opened the ac diagnostic menu, and my ac was stuck at 0. This is a great thread! Follow these steps exactly and you wont have any trouble fixing this problem!!! Thanks so much to the OP!!I finally have heat!

I'm yet another '04 owner who had this problem, followed the DIY, and now am back to fully functional heat/chill.

I'll just add my comments for any who find their way to the back pages.

- the bolt on the side of the radio was easy to remove by hand after starting it with a wrench. Just be careful and keep a good grip. (I re-attached it hand tight.)

- the biggest PITA in the entire process is disconnecting the various harness connectors. I found a mini-screwdriver to be the best tool to eventually do the trick.

- I broke one of tabs holding in the center section top plate (around the shifter). If you've never removed it (as was my case) keep in mind that they all pull straight up. The one on the right, to the back of the hand brake was the one I lost.

But it's a very do-able, if frustrating, DIY.

Hi I'm trying to go through with this diy but im having a real hard time pulling out the radio. I checked to see if if might of been the bolt thats behind the dash however I do not see one there, just an empty hole. I'm pretty sure its the right one cuz its right above the two that you are not suppose to take out. Ive got the radio part way out but it feels like somethings snagging it on the left side. Any ideas?

i just did mine this weekend.. works like a charm!! It took me an hour to take it out solder then put it back together

It was a great DIY. Took me entirely to long. But thats because that long somewhat hidden screw to remove the radio...didnt exist for me. so i looked for about a hour, and then just pulled it straight out, felt like a dumb ass. lol.

It was a great DIY. Took me entirely to long. But thats because that long somewhat hidden screw to remove the radio...didnt exist for me. so i looked for about a hour, and then just pulled it straight out, felt like a dumb ass. lol.


Was it easy to pull straight out? Cuz Im using as much brute force as I can without breaking it and that thing will not budge, I have it about an inch out and it wont go anywhere after that....

Was it easy to pull straight out? Cuz Im using as much brute force as I can without breaking it and that thing will not budge, I have it about an inch out and it wont go anywhere after that....

If you have it an inch out you're home free.
The main radio wire bundle is secured in the back (I believe) by electrical tape if I remember correctly.
I just pulled extra hard and managed to break it free from what was holding it back.

My heater temp control goes between 13 and 16 and my fresh air/recirculation button is stuck on fresh air. Both problems started at the same time. Thoughts?

My car is an 07 with 16K miles, 2 days out of warranty but I have a $100 deductable on my extended warranty.

You might have the same issue with the heater temp control where you need to solder the three leads for the pot.

And since you'll have that circuit board out, then look at the push button and see if its stuck.
I don't recall if the push button is surface mounted for PTH, but you can inspect for insufficient solder on that too.

If you have it an inch out you're home free.
The main radio wire bundle is secured in the back (I believe) by electrical tape if I remember correctly.
I just pulled extra hard and managed to break it free from what was holding it back.

When you were pulling it out were you grabbing it (center console) from the top and bottom or the sides? Could it be possible that one of the wire harnesses might have caught on to something?

When you were pulling it out were you grabbing it (center console) from the top and bottom or the sides? Could it be possible that one of the wire harnesses might have caught on to something?

Possibly.
Next time I pull out my radio I'll look to see if there is any tape or ties broken.
If not... then maybe it was just caught on something.

Finally completed this yesterday! Worked as promised.

I'd say getting the wiring harnesses disconnected from the radio was by far the biggest pain in the ass. I can't imagine getting a big hand back there to disconnect it, mine got dam near crushed. And I thankfully managed not to drop the radio-bolt but I did remove that metal plate for easier access. That dam ash trey light never would come out for me, I just let it hang to the side.

Bonus tip: I think it's easiest to wrench on the radio bolt when laying down on the seat backwards with your head underneath the wheel.

Bonus tip: I think it's easiest to wrench on the radio bolt when laying down on the seat backwards with your head underneath the wheel.

If you remove the bottom plastic cover under the steering wheel column, you can see the hidden bolts through there.
I used a socket with an extension + U-joint from underneath while watching/navigating it to the bolt through the opening under the steering wheel column.

User shadetreehill posted this message in another forum and I am having the exact same problem. Any ideas/help would be appreciated:

"heater problem 2005 RX-8, vent on driver's side is blows cold and vent on passenger side blows luke warm. checked temp control function (utilizing test mode with radio buttons) and temp control advances between 1 and 16 (one number at a time). both the inlet and outlet tubes at the heater core are extremely hot. Any idea problem? how do I test the blend door actuator? Could it be anything else? "

Awesome. Just did this. Took a while as some of the connections are a bear to get at in order to pull apart. Just hit the leads with a little bit of new solder. Good tips throughout the post. Funny as I came up with two extra screws ... oops. Oh yes and dropped the socket down into the abyss when removing stereo screw but pulled back carpet enough to reach down and grab it with finger tips. lucky me. I am not that auto mechanically inclined so I am very happy with how it went. Heat is working as it should now. Thanks to all. Taking the metal shield off from under the dash is a definite help.

I am sooooo glad to find this DIY repair. My temp knob was on full heat and only cold cold cooooold air was blowing out. It was FREEZing the other morning and this morning too! I haven't had a chance to do the diagnosis, but I'm confident this is my problem. I'm going to try this fix ASAP! :yesnod:

I am about to do this right now, its been about -5 out this past week and I finally gave up with having cold air always coming out.

Just figured out mine is broken 2 days after buying it. Luckily it is stuck on 13-16 and it's pretty chilly outsite. I'm taking it to the dealership tomorrow to see if they will do it for free. If not, I think I can manage the DIY.

Does anyone know if the same hack for the ipod would work for a satellite radio output jack?

Took me about 2 hours. Hardest part was finding the bolt underneath the steering column. I took pictures of a direct line of sight to the bolt.

http://www.e-imagesite.com/Files2/27519849.jpg

http://www.e-imagesite.com/Files2/1566900.jpg

Well I just got done searching for the bolt and finial found it, then I can on here real quick to see if anyone answered the question about if the ipod hookup would work like jack for any sound device like the ipod or satellite radio.

I wished I would have checked on here before the bolt search, thanks for posting pics to help anyone else.

Can someone post a picture of what the connections should look like after the soldering has been done, thanks.

This just happened to me.

But i'm not smart enough to do this my self.

I will check and see what the dealer will charge, and i'll post back.

Can someone post a picture of what the connections should look like after the soldering has been done, thanks.

If your ac is for sure broken. Then it wouldnt hurt to go over each of the 3 solder points. All 3 of mine were bad. It just looked like a metal rod going out of the circuit board. After i put solder on each one, there was a nice pool of solder going around the circuit.

Example (http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/images/joints.gif)


This just happened to me.

But i'm not smart enough to do this my self.

I will check and see what the dealer will charge, and i'll post back.

They were going to charge me about $300. Which isn't bad but figured i would give it a shot myself first. Turns out it worked.

No heat and only cooling, or only heat and no cooling, or erratic temperature control?

The temperature control knob seems to have quite a bit of issues for early RX8 owners where the system will cool only, and not provide heat despite the position of the control knob. This can also work in the opposite way, only heating and no cooling. After living with it for a season, I finally pulled the heater control unit out and repaired the circuit board. It was simple to repair and because I was going to have to pull the unit out anyway to replace it, it was not much extra work. The replacement unit (part FE01-61-190) retails for $350, some vendors on this site sell it for $240ish, and I hear there are some that sell used parts for $125ish. It is definitely covered under warranty for those lucky enough to be under warranty.
If you do not have heat, or only have heat, IMHO it is most likey the AC/heater control unit. This is the part which has the AC/heat control buttons and knobs.

Easy Diagnosis:
The easiest way to verify this is to turn on the radio, press and hold the power on/off button and press and hold the scan-up button for a second (full second). The word "A/C TEMP" should appear on the left of the display and a number from 0 to 16 on the right. I suspect yours will have the number 0 (or 16 if heating only problem) displayed no matter where you turn the temperature control knob. If this is the case you could turn the temp. knob to full heat and see if it goes to 16 after pushing down or to the right on the knob.
In a working system, the number moves evenly in increments of 1, from 0 to 16 as you turn the temperature knob.

Easy Fix:
I was able to take mine out and solder 3 loose connections to fix it.

The beginning steps are the same as for any radio removal procedure. Instead of reinventing the wheel I would like to direct anyone to John Masone’s excellent DIY for radio removal at this DIY:
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=36001
or directly linked here:
http://www.whatsmyip.org/ipodrx8/
The procedure is basically the same until page 7, second frame. Here is the modified step at that phase:
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/16-1.jpg
Removal of Heater Control Unit

I did not take pictures of the next step which is basically removing the cover on the temperature knob side of the control which requires a small screwdriver to three plastic clips on the perimeter of the cover. This will be evident when you get it in front of you. I stripped the circuit board down further than you may need to because I was also repairing cracked defrost (windshield and rear) buttons with superglue.

Then re-solder the 3 joints indicated in the next photos. A little bit of heat and just a little extra solder and they should be good to go.

http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5235.jpg
Front of Heater Control Circuit Board
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5236.jpg
Front of Temperature Control Knob (3 connections noted)
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5237.jpg
Back of Heater Control Circuit Board
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5242.jpg
Back of Heater Control Knob
http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/rr191/waxer/IMG_5241.jpg
3 Bad Solder Joints (Note cracks) Prior to Re-soldering

I did the power-button/up scan combination to get the head unit to display the dial position and it now travels even increments from 0 to 16, instead of jumping from 0 to 16 when pushed like before. And the temperature control works perfectly.

Good luck.
yo thanx alot dude your thread realy put me on in understanding the situation man. good looking out kee!

now should i attempt this .. lol

Thanks for the DIY on how to fix the heater...

Its been atleast three long and very cold years for me, For anyone who lives in mountain areas, they know that when winter comes around mountains get very cold, and for me when it was 28 degrees outside... it was 28 degrees in the car.

Thanks again for the help, and my biggest problem was just doing the solder, also the wingnut had a upside down picture of where the solder points were. I didnt know what to solder really at first, but to help whoever gets in the same pickle, just add more solder to each connector, thats all I did and now I have a working heater.

Thanks again.

If your ac is for sure broken. Then it wouldnt hurt to go over each of the 3 solder points. All 3 of mine were bad. It just looked like a metal rod going out of the circuit board. After i put solder on each one, there was a nice pool of solder going around the circuit.

Example (http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/images/joints.gif)

I know I'm just being picky here, but even though its ideal to have the "Hershey Kiss" solder joint at the end of the lead, this isn't what you should be focused on.

You really want at least 75% vertical solder fillet in the barrel to have an acceptable connection.
The last couple temp control circuit boards I worked on had under 10% fillet.
So look at the topside of the circuit board to verify this before you reassemble everything.
Here is the page from the IPC document our factory goes by:
150036

thanks man my dad a mechanic ill get him to do it ive had this prob for a lil bit now piised me off not no more!

Did this method on sunday and Heater Control works like a charm now. Thank for the write up

Just did this DIY myself. I can't believe it worked. I suck at soldering. Never soldered a circuit board in my life. I soldered the 3 connections and put everything together and went to reinstall exepecting it not to work. WRONG!!
It works perfectly! One thing I had a problem with though was getting the stereo out. It wouldn't come out so I had to to take the face off with the rest of the unit still in the dash. It was either that or rip whatever wiring harness was caught in the back. Thanks for the DIY. I am so happy to have heat again. It's f-ing COLD!!

what about if my heat control and the buttons for my heat, like A/C and defrost, don't work?

it worked great did it today took about hour n half:ylsuper:

Has anyone had their temp controls reversed?
Mine are totally out of wack
Sometimes Heat is on the cold side (and vice versa), whether or not the ac button is pressed can affect if the heat is on
Sometimes it works like it should
Other time only the ac works

Did the ac test where you press the on button with the scan button and the first time through it passed and then when I got to 16 it dropped to 0 and stayed there on every setting.

Haven't specificaly read any of these symptoms on here before, but I am going to attempt the soldering next weekend.

Has anyone had their temp controls reversed?
Mine are totally out of wack
Sometimes Heat is on the cold side (and vice versa), whether or not the ac button is pressed can affect if the heat is on
Sometimes it works like it should
Other time only the ac works

Did the ac test where you press the on button with the scan button and the first time through it passed and then when I got to 16 it dropped to 0 and stayed there on every setting.

Haven't specificaly read any of these symptoms on here before, but I am going to attempt the soldering next weekend.

Sounds like the problem i was having at first. Then it complete crapped out.

Perfect!!! Thats all there is to say. this thread is a lifesaver!

Man i wish i was part of this forum b4 i replaced that whole unit.....

epic stuff, works like a charm!!! i was kinda worried though because the solder points look pretty mint... but i re-soldered them anyway then now its back to working perfect!

i was kinda worried though because the solder points look pretty mint... but i re-soldered them anyway then now its back to working perfect!

Like I posted earlier... just because the solder appears good (Hershey Kiss joint), doesn't mean the barrel fillet is sufficient.
Having the barrel filled is more important than a perfect looking joint at the bottom.
So its good that you went ahead and added solder anyway.

I attempted to remove my radio following the excellent posted pictorial instructions. Everything work fine except I could not get the cable connectors apart. I know there is a tab I have to push in while removing the connector but I could not make it work. It is hard to see what side of the connector the tabs are on. Any suggestions or is there a tool I can use?

Which one of the connectors are you attempting to remove?
The large one?

Man wingnut you just saved me $515.99! I owe you a 24 pack!!! Your post worked like a charm. Thanks Again!!!

Ryan S.

You are the man. I just moved to AZ, and when I was in CA, I had no problem driving around with the windows down and the heat on low, but AZ is a different story. Took about 1/2 hour and made my commute SOOOO much better. Thanks, love this forum!

fixed my heat/ac last weekend. seems to work perfect now.

never had a single problem with this car until 48K miles/4 years period and after that, all of a suddent, flood gates are open.....have had about 10 issues in last 12 months :(

Wingnut, you rock in epic proportions. Thank you so much!!

just did this. the hardest part is to disconnect the damn plugs with my big monkey hands:)
but thanks for the help ill no lo9nger have to freeze in Michigan winters

^Ha, yeah. The hardest for me was the ash light. Actually, I never got it off.

B E A U TIFUL wow just been stuck with heat for 2 years didn't mind so much and after reading this for the hundredth time decided to buy a soldergun and go to work. 1 hour total time pretty easy overall. and works like a charm. thanks again dude great thread.

Had the out of control heater issue and "Thanks" for all the info on this site I was able to fill the dealer in on the problem and show them how to do the test...
Under my extended warranty...Yes...Yea!
Thanks again for all the info...and go Sid the Kid...Pen's

Regarding the bolt on the radio..
First find the two bolts on the right side..
Then look to your top right , there's the single bolt u need to remove.
Also, if u shine a flashlight through the hole by the ignition key
it shines perfectly on that one bolt so you know which one to remove.
cheers,

Hey,

Worked on a friend of mine's 05 RX8 and tried this fix on two different heater control units. Inititally his was stuck at 16. Now when I try either unit in the car after resoldering both, it cycles from 13 to 16 incrementaly (ie about every four clicks it moves up to the next number) I am beginning to think there is another part of the circuit affected (by the way I solder at my day job, so I'm sure the solder joints are good). Any ideas or maybe a wiring diagram for the plugs coming out of the heater control? I took resistance reading on the pot and they start at about 20 ohms and go up incrementaly to about 300 kohms, so the pot seems to be working and then I checked the output on the other side of the solder connections and got the same readings. Any help would be appreciated.

later
corvus

I had the intermittent temp locking. Only Hot or Cold discussed in this thread. I was unable to verify the problem due to having an aftermarket stereo via the Metra Kit. Don't believe the Metra Kit is the problem since it worked just fine for over a year.

Now not only do I have the temp problem, but the blower will not kick on. The other controls work such as AC, Defrost and Recirc, I have a feeling the Solder fix will no longer work for me and I'll just need to replace the whole control unit.

What do you guys think?

I had the intermittent temp locking. Only Hot or Cold discussed in this thread. I was unable to verify the problem due to having an aftermarket stereo via the Metra Kit. Don't believe the Metra Kit is the problem since it worked just fine for over a year.

Now not only do I have the temp problem, but the blower will not kick on. The other controls work such as AC, Defrost and Recirc, I have a feeling the Solder fix will no longer work for me and I'll just need to replace the whole control unit.

What do you guys think?

On the blower, I'd say start with the easy stuff and check fuses (if you haven't already). Without getting the manual out, I can't say if the same fuse would affect the other controls, but it's a simple enough place to start. Another possible problem is the blower resistor pack, however, when they go out, from my experience with a previous car you only get off and high speed.

This is super clutch.

No heat and only cooling, or only heat and no cooling, or erratic temperature control? and knobs.

Easy Diagnosis:
The easiest way to verify this is to turn on the radio, press and hold the power on/off button and press and hold the scan-up button for a second (full second). The word "A/C TEMP" should appear on the left of the display and a number from 0 to 16 on the right. I suspect yours will have the number 0 (or 16 if heating only problem) displayed no matter where you turn the temperature control knob. If this is the case you could turn the temp. knob to full heat and see if it goes to 16 after pushing down or to the right on the knob.
In a working system, the number moves evenly in increments of 1, from 0 to 16 as you turn the temperature knob.

On my car stereo panel I do not have a scan up button, what I have instead is 3 button's TA, PTY and AF. When I hold the power button and the TA button (your scan up button) I do not get A/C Temp instead I get FAN and Temp. When I turn the fan knob up I get an arrow going to the right and when i turn it down I get an arrow going to the left and if i leave it i just get a dash line beside the FAN. The same goes for the temp button. Does anyone else have this same configiration as me? BTW my car is a UK (Europe) 2004 model with fully automatic Air con

This worked great! I had no experience with this type of thing and was not confident with my soldering ability but I did it with these instructions. Only one hiccup, got too much solder on one of the points and was concerned I damaged the board because it overflew onto one of the other light green circuits but after some coaxing the solder went back to its rightful place.
The only problem was that the hoses were so dry that after I recharged the a/c the upper rubber hose on the compressor split wide open. Must have been very dry as the car sit for several years. The hose looks like a pain in the ass to replace but its nice and hot so I gotta do it.

Im trying to fix my heater right now and im stuck at step 6 picture #2. I cant pull the dashboard all the way out due to (what seems to be) a cord that is plugged into the back of it and keeping it from pulling out far enough for me to stick my hand back there and unplug it....

Help me anyone?

sorry bro. i've got the metra kit now. i don't remember anything about taking out the stock stereo. btw AWESOME diy. thank you so much. i originally thought it was the box included with the metra kit. but apparently the moving and shaking from taking the stock unit apart, must have been all the crap soldering on the board could take. thank you very much.

Im trying to fix my heater right now and im stuck at step 6 picture #2. I cant pull the dashboard all the way out due to (what seems to be) a cord that is plugged into the back of it and keeping it from pulling out far enough for me to stick my hand back there and unplug it....

Help me anyone?

the cord is a pain in the ass you gotta just yank it out tho careful not to
damage anything i used plyers and pulled it out but it was not easy

See i tried just yanking it out and it felt like i was going to break something. So i gave up and i guess I'm just going heaterless for the winter ;/

Try to tilt the head unit different angles to give you a clear shot at it.

yo man!! just do it made such a huge difference truz me well
guess kuz i live in canada it did but ya.. confidence is key plus
ppl say its harder than it really is so dont think so much n do
def worth all the work and it does work! saved my ass straight up:p:

Trying to do this repair this weekend. Stuck at Step 6 Picture 1 as shown here http://www.whatsmyip.org/ipodrx8/6.php - trying to remove the climate control connectors from the left side and underneath the radio. Do these connectors have some sort of tab you have to push to get them to release? So close to being able to get my heat working!

Do these connectors have some sort of tab you have to push to get them to release?

Yes... they all have tabs you need to press in except the round plug for the antenna.

Yes... they all have tabs you need to press in except the round plug for the antenna.

Thanks Jon. I've tried to feel all around these connectors, and don't feel a tab. Can you give me any clue where the tabs are? Specifically for the climate control connectors on the left and bottom?

Thanks Jon. I've tried to feel all around these connectors, and don't feel a tab. Can you give me any clue where the tabs are? Specifically for the climate control connectors on the left and bottom?

I want to say they were on the bottom... been a few months since I've last pulled the HU out, so memory is a little fuzzy.
I'm pretty sure I was able to pull the HU out enough to see under it and observe the tab location.
Grab a flashlight and look up at the connectors to see the tabs, it'll give you an idea on where to press once your hand is in there.

They're on the bottom of the plugs. Get down in the footwell where you can look up at the underside of the plugs (or use a small mirror) and you'll be able to see them. I had to take a small flat-head screwdriver and use it to push up on the tabs. They're really small and hard to press with a fingertip or even a fingernail. By far the biggest PITA of the whole process.

I did this the other morning. It was fairly simple. worked extremely well. Took me about an hour and i was takin my time and trying to keep my dog from attacking small children walking by lol. However, i can see how the tabs on the clips would be hard to find, jsut check out the bottom they are there trust me.

Well, I got it done, even if it wasn't pretty. Thanks to Jon, Luke and Phish for the advice.

I never did get the radio out - but I found that once I got the first climate control connector (Step 6, Photo 1) loose, I was able to pull the radio out far enought to remove the front cover of the radio by working backwards with a stubby screwdriver.

Wingnut's first picture shows you which screws have to be removed to get the radio faceplate off. Don't worry about the bottom pair of screws - you can remove them after you get the faceplate off - only the top and middle screws on each side hold the faceplate on. Also, don't kill yourself trying to get all of the connectors he shows in that first picture off - again, only the top connector on the left side has to be disconnected before you can get the faceplate off. The bottom connectors can be disconnected after you have the faceplate on your dining room table. :wiggle:. And getting the faceplate back on backwards is easier than you might think, because there are alignment pins below the middle screws.

Someone posted that they'd gotten this far, and gave up because of being unable to get the radio out. So, this is an option for you.

Also, for anyone who is planning to do this, I have a suggestion about the radio bolt that so many of us have had trouble removing. In the original instructions that Wingnut links to, Step 4 has you remove a plastic trim piece below the steering wheel. This exposes a metal brace that you can see in the last photo from Step 4 (See my first picture.) Once I removed the metal brace also (it's just 4 screws), I could kneel outside the car on the driver's side, peer through the hole under the steering wheel, and look right at the bolt in the side of the radio. (The first 2 bolts, which the instructions tell you are the wrong bolts, are closer to you on a vertical brace, but if you look to the right of the brace and further back, you can see the radio bolt.) And using extentions on my ratchet totalling 10 inches, I could reach through the opening (still kneeling outside the car!) and unscrew the bolt. I could even reach in as the bolt got loose and finish removing it with my fingers, so that it couldn't fall down in the bottomless pit. See my second picture - the radio bolt is in the green circle - by the time I'd took the picture, the bolt was out, but this is the location. You can also see the other 2 bolts that the Step 4 warns you are the wrong ones, in the red circle.

I hope this saves someone some time, and allows them to finish the repair. It's sweet having heat!

Also, for anyone who is planning to do this, I have a suggestion about the radio bolt that so many of us have had trouble removing. In the original instructions that Wingnut links to, Step 4 has you remove a plastic trim piece below the steering wheel. This exposes a metal brace that you can see in the last photo from Step 4 (See my first picture.) Once I removed the metal brace also (it's just 4 screws), I could kneel outside the car on the driver's side, peer through the hole under the steering wheel, and look right at the bolt in the side of the radio.

That's an excellent point. I started doing the same thing when I've needed to pull the radio out. It's definitely much easier to see the bolt if the metal brace is out of the way as well.

Someone has obviously removed my radio before. I have removed it twice and that nut/bolt was never there either time i removed mine lol

Thanks for all the great advice here! Took us longer than it should probably, 4 hours. I doubt that it had been apart before and the wires seemed a bit short accessing the back of the radio. Once we got the radio out, the actual solder took longer for the iron to warm up than the fix. We are so greatful for all the DIY. This saved us about $400-$500!

Just finished this, excellent DIY!!!! I have always felt that whoever invented electrical connectors for cars were really sick sadists though; the climate control connectors were a b**ch. It was really surprising how my board looked EXACTLY like the one in the pictures (in reference to the cracks on the solders).

just wanted to say thanks for this DIY. i haven't really done much soldering at all and it was easy enough to do after checking out some how to videos on youtube. i can't believe there are this many circuit boards with poorly soldered connections and they all just happen to be the exact same three! definitely something faulty in the manufacturing process.

your the man wingnut! no more freezing mornings! -_-"

I love this Mazda forum :)

Just got my car about 2 months ago, I didn't get to drive it at all because of travel for work until last week. Had this problem, found the DIY and fixed it right up. Took me about 2 hours to do since I had never taken the radio out of an 8 before and I didn't want my new toy broken. And to erasure everyone posting about the AC and radio connectors yes they are on the bottom, if you want to see how they work pop your hood and look at your air intake box (don't know technically what it is yet) and youll see a senser with he same type plug, that's what I did to get a feel for them.

WELL gang here is another HAPPY ENDING:rock:. My daughters car had been acting up she said that when you put the ac on it would get hot then cold. Well I drove this morning and could not get any heat to work got to my office and checked out the DIY section and there it be. Took about an hour to fix and my youngest son did it since he had a little experance putting in the ipod adapter in. Hell he gave me a bunch of crap say that can't be it. Well had the 3 loose soder joints and now it WORKS!!!!

Keep up all the great help

wro87

Chalk up another victory for ClubRX8.

I pick the car last week (used). I did not need the heat and never checked it before buying it. I checked the AC and it worked and my guess is because it would never read higher than 0.

At first I thought there was no coolant (leaked out somewhere or something). I stopped the car at the first gas station to check on it. The temp did not go up and there was lots of coolant

Total time to get it fixed was about 14 hours.

I had to wait overnight because I did not have any sodder and we don't have any 24 hour walmarts... I drove out to one I thought was open, but it was closed :cussing:

I have not tried it out yet, but I did the test and it now registers 0-16 and not just 0 :wiggle:

Thanks for the DIY

I ripped my radio out as well... did the solder repair on the 3 points noted at the beginning of the thread.... Took a total of about 45 mins to complete.

Now my heat works perfect.....

Had the exsact issue as stated... either cold or full hot... nothing in between.

Crazy that Mazda did not solder those properly on all the cars? It's not like people twist the crap out of that knob????

anyhooooo... works great now.

Thanks!!!

I just did this fix last week, Thank god, and Wingnut. I was really freezing my balls off in the morning on the way to work. Never soldered before, and everything went well, so ya!

Just finished to put all parts together and the it is working neatly. Excellent post the heater control works smooth now!!!!!! Spent like 4 hours doing the whole thing but at least I didn't have to pay for this, easy money!!!!

Excellent! I just finished puting the parts together and the heater is working just fine. It goes from 1-16 with no problem. I'm glad you guys figure this one out cuz I didn't have to pay for this fix, I spent like 4 hours working on this but my bank account is as happy as I am!!!!

wow, what a mess that was, but it worked! thanks so much wingnut for putting this up

Just finished this fix took a total of 1.5 hours and cost 15 bucks for the soldering iron and the solder. Fix couldnt have been easier and I have never used a soldering iron before in my life. Great DIY post!

With the help of this forum, the wife's '06 HVAC was repaired in about an hour. This should have been a Mazda recall. The QC on the circuit board was terrible if not non existant. Thanks to the forums members for the info. Given the opportunity I will return the favour.

Mr. Hemi.

Worked like a charm! Thanks to OP!

Unfortunately now the A/C button stays on and the defrost button won't go on since I installed the Metra Kit.

Does anyone know a fix for this? The Metra people think I may have cracked another solder point. I'm thinking of taking it out again and re-soldering all points :dunno:

Worked like a charm! Thanks to OP!

Unfortunately now the A/C button stays on and the defrost button won't go on since I installed the Metra Kit.

Does anyone know a fix for this? The Metra people think I may have cracked another solder point. I'm thinking of taking it out again and re-soldering all points :dunno:

first of all, are you seeing this behavior when you have the key in the 'on' position? when you turn the key to accessory, it looks like it isn't working correctly. next, i would certainly try to take everything apart in terms of the climate controls and then reassemble it. could be a bad connection, something not plugged in all the way, something in the wrong place, etc. also, visually inspect the cables that came with the kit to make sure they don't look damaged in any way.

first of all, are you seeing this behavior when you have the key in the 'on' position? when you turn the key to accessory, it looks like it isn't working correctly. next, i would certainly try to take everything apart in terms of the climate controls and then reassemble it. could be a bad connection, something not plugged in all the way, something in the wrong place, etc. also, visually inspect the cables that came with the kit to make sure they don't look damaged in any way.

It happens with the key in the "On" or "Accessory" position. It only happens when the fan control is on.

I'll check the connections when I get home, hopefully it is that simple.

it was pretty helpfull i just fix my heat today and now works perfect thank u very much.
u save me 400$ that the dealer try to charge me just for the part.

first of all, are you seeing this behavior when you have the key in the 'on' position? when you turn the key to accessory, it looks like it isn't working correctly. next, i would certainly try to take everything apart in terms of the climate controls and then reassemble it. could be a bad connection, something not plugged in all the way, something in the wrong place, etc. also, visually inspect the cables that came with the kit to make sure they don't look damaged in any way.

I disconnected and reconnected all connections, it is fine now. Thanks!

Ok so I've never soldered anything but do I just make the areas that are circled in the pic into a bigger bump with the sodder? So it can touch the power or w.e?
Also will this work for the rear window defogger
And my led's behind the control seem loose because when I hit a bump the led's for the climate control go on and off, and the led's for everything else seem dimmer than they should be, is there is a way to fix this? I know the whole dimming system and when I turn to all the way up it doesn't seem as bright as is should be

I signed up to say thanks. This worked perfectly.

I signed up to say thanks. This worked perfectly.


Wingnut is the MAN!

thank you very much for this tread, my ass was frezzing in the 8! thank you for the time that you put on doing this DIY

This repair worked great for me! Thank you for putting this method out there. 2004 RX-8. Taking that 10 mm bolt out resulted in the bolt falling behind the carpet, never to be seen again, just as warned. So what, there are more bolts where that came from!

I found cold solder joints on the three solder terminals for the multiposition heater control switch. Original post was right on the money!

Thanks, it's good to be warm again,
David

I started this today and for the life of me I can't get the ashtray light out. That white tab is not budging. I'll try again tomorrow. I don't want to keep messing with it while I'm pissed. I'll probably break something.

I started this today and for the life of me I can't get the ashtray light out. That white tab is not budging. I'll try again tomorrow. I don't want to keep messing with it while I'm pissed. I'll probably break something.

I couldn't get it out by pushing on the little white part showing in the picture. Instead of pushing from the "top" on the white, I pried it out from the back with a small screwdriver between the white light holder and the black ashtray.

Just did it and works great, thanks!

Is there anyone in the GTA/Toronto area that wouldn't mind doing this for me? Cash paid

Regarding the bolt on the radio..
First find the two bolts on the right side..
Then look to your top right , there's the single bolt u need to remove.
Also, if u shine a flashlight through the hole by the ignition key
it shines perfectly on that one bolt so you know which one to remove.
cheers,

So if I took out the right one, the bolt is about 3/4" long, correct? I can only get the radio to come out a little on the bottom, but the top won't budge. Not sure why and I don't want to break anything.

^^^Never mind. Finally got it done. Praise the Lord...Hallelujah... I have heat! Dial now goes from 0-16 just fine when you do the test. Kind of a PITA but when it cost me around $12 (soldering iron and solder) instead of several hundred at the stealership I guess I'll take it.

I had read through most of the posts here before I started and the only thing I would add that might help some people is if you happen to have one of those eyeglass repair kits that have a bunch of the tiny flathead screwdrivers in them...they work great for undoing the clips in back of the radio. Really skinny, short, and you can squeeze them back there fairly easily.