heater control knob

[Kmizzie]

Hey,i have a 96 accord lx and im having a problem with the heat control in my car, i went to turn the heat down and it clicked a few times, then wouldn't move.. now it's stuck halfway between cold and hot, and will not budge...any idea whats causing this? Thanks

[Palut]

I had the same exact thing happen in my '95 EX. Turned out that the cable that's connected to the back of the knob had popped off the knob. My local mechanic pulled out the dash, and fixed it for cheap. I put in a new cable for good measure, it was only $4.50 at the dealer.

[russiankid]

wat he said^^^^^

[AccordCodger]

wat he said^^^^^

?? That didn't exactly add much to the subject!

One other possible problem. The heater knobs on the earlier gen are rather flimsy, and the shaft tends to crack. Is your heater knob the kind you can pull off (towards you?) If so, see if you can remove it and see if it's cracked. If so, a replacement knob will last for a while, but my long-term solution was tricky - I fitted a tight brass band around the shaft so it couldn't spread when turned.

[fr3ca]

I have exactly the same type of problem. The cable goes from the most counterclockwise position (cold) and will only turn to about 80% of the way toward the full clockwise position (hot). Advice from this board sent me to look at the heater control valve, right next to the firewall inside the engine compartment. You can see where the cable comes out of the firewall (on the 94EX you can see it from the passenger side of the engine compartment) and connects to the heater control valve.

My valve seems sticky. Any idea on how hard that is to replace on your own?

I have no idea how to get the dashboard off. That sounds like it will cost hundreds for a mechanic to do that. Am I right on that?

Thanks.

[Palut]

My mechanic said it didn't take him very long to replace the heater cable, and he had to dig into the dash. Even the dealer only charge me 1/2 hour labor to adjust my old heater control cable.

As for the sticky valve, I just live with it.

[Kmizzie]

I took it to a mechanic cause i couldn't be botherd to take the dash out, and turns out it was the cable, and both knobs are cracked from turning, ive been trying to figure out a way to keep them from spreading, that brass ring thing sounds like a good plan though

[fr3ca]

I had the car in for radiator work and while there described my problem with the heater control. The mechanic took the glove box out and said the problem was the cable. (The knob is fine.) He quoted $200 for the cable plus labor. Most of the labor is for removing the dash.

For that much cash, I think I'll see if I can do it myself. Any advice on how to pull the dash off? I suspect that replacing the cable won't be that challenging once I get to it.

This could be an adventure.