2007 Impala LT 3.5L Flex Fuel, 119K miles.
Several months ago the A/C on this car suddenly stopped working. Upon starting the car it just failed to come on. The A/C button on the control panel would blink 3 times when pushed, and the blower runs, but the system wouldn't engage; I was thinking maybe an internal problem, or maybe the compressor died.
I relayed the problem to a friend of mine who works on automotive and heavy machinery electrical systems, and he was nice enough to run some diagnostics for me. He comprehensively checked the entire system and determined the interior control panel switch itself was faulty.
So I intended to replace the control panel with a used part and got it removed. But while later browsing thru the Haynes manual I noticed a caveat which gave me pause.
The manual says "If the heater/air conditioner control assembly is replaced, a special scan tool is required to program the replacement unit."
Does anyone know if this is true? If so, is there a trick or some way to "program" the replacement part without the special scan tool that I don't have? Removing the old unit was pretty straightforward, and I assumed the replacement would be plug and play until I saw that.
FWIW I'm including a pic of the original part for clarity...
Many thanks in advance.
