A/C Climate Control Panel Help

A

acid2499

New member
Hi all. Over the weekend while at the beach my AC climate control panel suddenly quit working, which shut down my AC, the blower fan, and even the outside vent toggle. I took it to Toyota in Panama City because I thought it might be a power issue that would affect my alternator, but the alternator came back ok. They did say that the climate control panel would have to be replaced, roughly $1300 for new. I was shocked and angered to say the least. :mad:

After driving back to Birmingham in 90 + heat with no AC or outside vented air coming in, I took it to a shop that is run by a guy I trust, and he said that the panel is fine and that there is a power issue probably on the dome circuit. Specifically, he hooked up a laptop scanner and it showed no power at all going to the AC.

Has anyone else had any problems with this? Its just supposed to get hotter from here on out and I really don't want to waste money on parts and labor that I don't need. Sorry for the long post.
 
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I really don't want to come accross as a arse, but did you check your fuses? As for it being a power supply issue, I could believe that, but did your technician actually test for voltage at your A/C Control Panel connector?

Do any of the lights on the buttons light up? Do you still have a fuel mileage indicator? or is the whole LCD screen out?

I believe we have some stickied threads where you can get the factory wiring diagrams for the vehicle. By the way, we could use some information on what vehicle you have.

i.e. Trim, Year, Engine. As some models came with a dual zone climate control and others did not.
 
I have a 2005 SR5 V6 with standard trim. Mine doesn't have the dual climate control. The entire panel is dead. The LCD screen seems ok because the clock is displayed and still responds to changes, but everything else is blank. I have no MPG indicator or outside temp gauge. The three controls as well as the rear defogger and outside vent control are nonresponsive and are not lit up at all.

All the fuses checked out ok. That's the first thing we looked at this afternoon. I think he's gonna take the panel off tomorrow when I leave it with him to check the voltage, but his laptop that he hooked up to it showed no power going to any of the HVAC components. There was also an issue where the side window motor went out of sync and the rear windshield wiper quit working temporarily. I was able to get those back in sync.
 
Acid, if everything checks out ok, and TOYOTA insists that the panel is dead, GO on ebay and find a climate control display (comes attached with the buttons and such). They go for about $100-150. As you know, look for an SR5/Sport compatible. Paying $1300 for a NEW one is insane. it take about 5 minutes to install (including taking the old one out and installing the new one)

Good Luck

Ed
 
The lights and the controls are different circuits. It doesn't make sense for the entire panal to stop working. Was the vehicle ever flooded?
 
Well I heard back from my mechanic and he confirmed what the Florida dealer said. The panel is getting plenty of power, but is dead as a doornail. Just checked Ebay, and there is a new one on there right now for $825, but my shop is getting me a used panel from a Toyota / Lexus parts dealer in Tennessee. Its gonna be about $850, with a one year warranty, which is alot better than the $1400 that Toyota wanted. They even gave me an 08 Camry as a loaner until the part comes in, which should be around Friday.

I wonder what makes those things go bad. Thats an awfully expensive part to be so vulnerable.
 
acid2499 said:
Well I heard back from my mechanic and he confirmed what the Florida dealer said. The panel is getting plenty of power, but is dead as a doornail. Just checked Ebay, and there is a new one on there right now for $825, but my shop is getting me a used panel from a Toyota / Lexus parts dealer in Tennessee. Its gonna be about $850, with a one year warranty, which is alot better than the $1400 that Toyota wanted. They even gave me an 08 Camry as a loaner until the part comes in, which should be around Friday.

I wonder what makes those things go bad. Thats an awfully expensive part to be so vulnerable.
Click to expand...

Could be a lot of things. Bad sodder joints, mother board, etc etc etc.
 
Did that work because mine is the same way only thing that works is the time no mpg temp gauges fan nothing works
 
Hi guys,

I am new here. Great site!

I have the same issue on my 03 4Runner. My clock works great as does the light on display but nothing else.

I replaced it with used ones I found on ebay. The first 2 I got did not work, 3rd time was a charm. It lasted 2 months, thankfully through the heat waves here in NCal until it recently died too.

I went out looking for a replacement again and have had very little luck. I have bought 3 more and each of them did not work on arrival. I have rec'd refunds but am skeptical on the used ones on market.

What I know now is this is obviously a very common issue. My mechanic said there is a internal bulletin on it. No fix it is a replacement item. I was quoted $1100.

Anyone have a good source for OEM parts? I have read someone will rebuild them for a fee but unable to locate link.

Thanks for any help
 
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Follow up

I'm late to this thread but was wondering if anybody found a good resolution? My AC controller is not responding to any input. Backlighting and clock are okay. I got a used AC controller from Ebay and replaced it, but still no luck. I took it apart and don't see any problems with the ribbon connectors but then again I'm no electronics expert. Any suggestions? btw the dealership wanted $1,800 to do the exact same thing, so even though it didn't work I'm glad I didn't let them do it. 2004 4runner LTD V8
 
Did you replace it with another dual control? Mine blew a circuit on the board (visible by a burned area) and I replaced it with a non-dual control from an SR5. Initially it didn't work but I found I had to mess with settings using the bad unit. Basically I had to put in the old unit, turn it on and swap in the fully functional unit which then worked. In other words I had to eliminate any dual control setting before replacing it.

Not real technical but you get the idea.

Or maybe the replacement unit you got is bad if you did get another dual control unit. $50 on eBay!
 
Checking to see if this was resolved... I just put a new HU in and while I was buttoning everything up, I noticed that the panel isn't working anymore. I also have no clue where the fuse is for it.:eek:
 
hate seeing a thread like this: no answer or follow up.

From what I gather, replacing your HVAC panel with an EQUAL one (dual vs. non dual, LImited vs. SR5/Sport (there is a difference in fitment, but not functionality) seems to be the cure.

My HVAC isn't original to my truck (had it re-LED'd and other things.......), but the replacement worked fine. The only issue I had was the fact that in 2005, Toyota had a different type of airbag circuitry, so I had the "guts" to the original one implanted on the "new/ebay" one.

So yes, ebay is the answer. Just make sure you get the same panel for your truck.
 
I had this same issue come up. No control of the lower buttons for fan speed, temp, or vents. My lcd screen did work and displayed the clock. I still had power to everything as represented by everything being illuminated when I turned on my headlights. After testing the circuits inside the climate control board and each ribbon cable (highly unlikely all 3 went out at the same time) and putting in another climate control panel from my buddy's working 4runner climate control unit, I found that the AC amplifier behind the unit is what control all of this display and information.

Part #88650-35190 or 35200

Depending on dual climate control or not, to my knowledge. I found one of these little ac amplifier boxes on ebay for $40. Replaced it yesterday and everything works perfectly. This is my experience and what I found to fix it. I found these threads as well in my search to this problem. Hope this helps.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/173657-update-c-control-panel-2004-4runner.html

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/159120-03-4runner-multi-information-display-issues.html

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/96061-ac-multi-information-display-went-out-more-m.html
 
2014 Toyota 4Runner SR5 manual climate control problem

I have been wrestling with this problem for over 2 weeks. My manual climate control started acting up. No fan speed control, not able to change the heat settings, light off on A/C button, light off on recirc button, light off on rear window defrost button (defrost wouldn't work). Then the controls would come on for a little bit and go off again. The next morning, everything worked fine for about 20 minutes. I set the fan control switch to full speed. I turned it off and it was still at full speed. I couldn't change the speed or turn it off. It was getting hot inside on our trip, so I set the A/C to full cold. No indicator lights on, fan at full speed (set at off) and A/C blowing at max cold, unable to turn it back to heat. It was a cold trip back from Southern Central Oregon with the outside temperature at 40 degrees. Seemed about the same inside.
I searched this forum for help, but didn't find anything specific to 5th Gen. Checked the fuses. OK. Tried to locate the specific relays, but I still don't know which ones control the climate control. Is there anywhere that ID's which relays are where and what they control? Inside of the fuse box uses abbreviations that don't make sense.
So yesterday, I found a YouTube of a nice gal that showed how to remove the trim pieces that hold the climate control in place. When you remove the climate control, the wire connection is exposed on the back. I figured I could do some testing of the wire harness. When I pulled on the wire harness connector, it fell out of the socket. When I pushed in back in securely and started the vehicle, voila, everything works as it should. This connector does not have a "catch" to hold it in place, just a friction fit. I had driven a really bumpy ice/snow ridden road the day before my problems started. I'm convinced the bumpy road caused the connector to back out.
So, if it is of help to someone with the same symptoms, pull the climate control out and check the connection first. You just might get lucky.
 
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If no power on AC control panel and no turn signals dont work but hazards do. it is the IG1 fuse under drivera dash. 2007 4runner.
 
Climate Control Panel and other issues resolved

lightfreak said:
Check the IG1 fuse , the AC control and turn signals are tied to it as well as a bunch of other stuff.
Click to expand...

Lightfreak, you are a genius. I've been chasing this problem for three days.

Day one, I noticed my Fog Lights were not coming on. I checked the fuse and it was good. Could not find the issue so gave up and decided to chase it down later. Went to the store and my Turn Signals were not working. Humm, now what could that be? On the way back from the store, the AirBag, Trac Control, Check Engine lights all came on. I reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery. Some of the lights went out only to come on again after driving for a few miles.

The next day I tested the Alternator output and got 11.7V. I decided to go to AutoZone and have then run a OBD test, however, as I was pulling away from my house, the engine died and the battery was dead. Now I was sure it was the alternator. Charged the battery, started the engine, disconnected the battery and the 4Runner died. Confirmed, bad alternator.

Removed the alternator to return to the company I purchased it from (it was under warranty) the next day as they were now closed.

The next day, when I got to the company, the gentleman took the alternator to the back and tested it. He came back and informed me that there was nothing wrong with the alternator. He was kind enough to take me back and show me the alternator running on the test machine, putting out 14.2V. After much discussion, I convinced him to give me a replacement alternator. Put the alternator on fired up the 4Runner and some of the warning lights still on, Turn Signals, Fog Lights, Climate Control not working and alternator only putting out 11.9V.

I logged on to the 4Runner forum and started searching each of the issues. I did not like some of the resolutions being offered. Then I saw Lightfreak's post, "Check the IG1 fuse. Wow, if only I knew where it was. I found the following site,

2005 Toyota 4Runner Air conditioning fuse - StartMyCar

Scroll down to the Instrument Panel fuse box, second row, last fuse on the right, 15A. I pulled the fuse, blown, replaced it and everything working as it should. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
 
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