Heater controls not heating

[dubuquer49]

I have a 98 T&C LXi. It has dual controls, one for the driver and one for the passenger. We spilled a cream and sugar coffee on the control panel. We lost the ability to get anything from the heater. It has improved, we get the (AC) to cool but we do not have good heat yet. Can I spray contact cleaner on the slider controls, find a pick and pull, or just suck it up and go the dealer? Looking forward to the help! A new member of the forum.

[RIP]

The order of the options you stated sounds good to me. Always go for the easy, practical fix first.

[dubuquer49]

Thanks RIP for the reply. Can someone post some service manual pictures of the blend door location, outside air door and the mixer door? Can you get to them from the blower removeal opening or do you have to remove the upper dash panel?

[peterjon1]

From your description, there's no reason to tear the dash apart to get to those items. The problem likely lies in the electronics behind the hvac controls. There are 2 (or maybe 4, but it's raining so I'm not going out to look) screws and some clips holding the hvac panel to the dash. Maybe 2 just above the radio, and 2 behind the slim trim panel (just snaps off) below the hvac controls. The piece you need to remove surrounds the radio and holds the hvac controls. You will then see the electronics on the back side of the switches. Use the contact cleaner, and if that fails, get a JY replacement. Probably all that sugary stuff is blocking the electrical signals telling the blend doors etc. what to do.