1999 Intrigue Climate Control Problems

Hello! I have a 1999 Olds. Intrigue (3.5 L) and am experiencing some problems with the climate control unit. About every fifth time I turned the car on over the past few weeks, the climate control head unit would not turn on. All other electronics in the car work fine during this time, and if I drive the car for a bit, sometimes it will eventually turn on. If I turn off the car and start it again, it will often times (but not always) turn on. It's not blowing air, cold or hot, neither are any of the lights on the unit turning on when the problem arises. This problem has become significantly worse, where now the one in five times it actually powers up. I have checked/replaced all the fuses that I can think of. Someone mentioned a climate control switch to me before, but I'm not sure if that's the issue or where that could be found.

Any help would be greatly apreciated! Thanks!

Is this the auto head unit or manual?

Thanks for writing back, it is the automatic one.

Anybody want to sell me their working head unit? I'm going to replace that next, unless someone else has another idea...

The Climate control switch you mentioned in your first post is probably the auto head unit, sometimes called the Climate Control Unit. I would say that, short of a loose ground or broken wire, it is probably this unit. Try checking the ground wire and check the 10A HVAC fuse and replace it, be sure and clean the contacts in the fuse panel before installing the new fuse. If all this fails then check ebay for a new control unit.

Below is a link to a control unit on ebay that will be over in approx. 2 days. It is at $9.99 right now. I have seen them go for less than $20.00 for a used one all the way up to $175.00 for a (supposed) new one.
Do a search on Ebay motors and there is almost always one for sale.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1998-OLDSMOBILE-INTRIGUE-CLIMATE-CONTROL-A-C-HEATER-NR_W0QQitemZ160159572125QQihZ006QQcategoryZ33545QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have a quick question. In addition to other problems for my daughter's 99 Intrigue which I've posted, her car also experiences intermittent climate control operation. Sometimes the A/C comes on and works when starting the car, sometimes it comes on later, and sometimes not at all. When it doesn't come on, the entire unit is dark (no lights, etc.). Is this the same problem as mentioned above? Also, to check the contact and wires for the fuses, should I disconnect the battery first? Thanks, Rick

I have a quick question. In addition to other problems for my daughter's 99 Intrigue which I've posted, her car also experiences intermittent climate control operation. Sometimes the A/C comes on and works when starting the car, sometimes it comes on later, and sometimes not at all. When it doesn't come on, the entire unit is dark (no lights, etc.). Is this the same problem as mentioned above? Also, to check the contact and wires for the fuses, should I disconnect the battery first? Thanks, Rick

Sure sounds like the same problem. Grounds can come loose or corrode causing an intermittent problem. Of course it could be other things and as everyone knows, intermittent anything can be a pain to diagnose. I would disconnect the battery before trying to clean the contacts just in case you were to cause a short.

Before I got my Intrigue I was driving a '94 Chrysler Concorde. I had an automatic climate control in that and also had similar problems. I would lose all of the controls and the heat would turn on high. I took it out of the dash, opened it, and soldered some of the connections. This was about a month ago and it has been fine since then. Maybe this could help you.

Just as a quick update with more questions, I installed a new head unit........the problem's better, but it still happens. What else do you guys think it could be? If it were to be a loose ground wire, where would I look? Thanks!

~Alex