Solution To Flickering Fan Speed 2 Or 3 A/C PART 2

LOL okok, this weekend maybe, after I fix my CEL...
Yes I need working AC...I need working AC.......(telling myself)

Josh
 
LOL okok, this weekend maybe, after I fix my CEL...
Yes I need working AC...I need working AC.......(telling myself)

Josh
Just think of yourself in a boiling pit of lava while driving around in your car... A/C would be nice eh? (sun)
 
Just think of yourself in a boiling pit of lava while driving around in your car... A/C would be nice eh? (sun)

Ah yes but if it's really that hot I would just use speed 4, which is working fine, like what i did today...
OK I'm gonna end this...

Josh
 
Tried the soldering technique...so far, so good! All is working well.

Word to the wise though, don't overtighten the little white, plastic washer when reassembling the controls...it will break! My friend helping me did this and broke mine. Not impossible to fix, just a pain in the butt.
 
Tried the soldering technique...so far, so good! All is working well.

Word to the wise though, don't overtighten the little white, plastic washer when reassembling the controls...it will break! My friend helping me did this and broke mine. Not impossible to fix, just a pain in the butt.
Wasn't too bad eh?
 
No, wasn't bad. The only part that slowed us down was putting it back together because of the overtightening mishap. Simply put, the whole threaded part snapped off (check out pic below). The part that's threaded in the picture is now gone.

Also we didn't pull each female connector from the white side. We just didn't want to try to remember which wires were which. You can see that in the pic too.
 

Attachments

  • 001.JPG
    001.JPG
    36.9 KB · Views: 1,377
Last edited:
haha we tried. When you tighten the white washer, it just pulls the threaded part off the again. In all honesty, it's probably better not fixing because if I ever needed to take the HVAC out again, I don't have to worry about removing screws and undoing the face to get to that white washer. I just simply slide the switch out the back and it's disconnected. :) I might actually be so inclined as to recommend to anyone that decides to solder the wires...don't reattach the white washer if you think there is ever a day when you need to remove the trim bezel/HVAC again. Might save you some time/grief. Just my opinion. (friday)

P.S. A/C still working too. Big props to Weborific for this method.
 
You don't need to over-tighten the white nut because the switch is already held in place from rotating by its geometry (hex shape) and I believe a pin that orients the switch (so fan positions are always aligned, not up-side down or whatever). Sorry to hear about the cracking. You could've removed the while white block the wires are in and just draw a pic to show where the wires go, or just look at the pics I posted. Glad to hear it's working great for you! It's still working PERFECTLY for me!!
 
Has anyone ever tried swapping the switch out with another model switch, like one off the Miata? I don’t know if they are the same size or not but just curious if anyone has looked into getting a switch from another model Mazda that does not have this problem? Also if you go the route of soldering them onto the switch, the only way to remove the Trim bezel from now on is to remove the fan switch entirely? How hard is it to remove once soldered on?
 
Heya! I'm new here and about to replace the Blower Motor Resistor cause I've only got full power #4 fan or nothing at all (yet the engine still seems to act as if power is still being drawn...). SO am I missing a post or thread about this? Can't find a reference to anyone replacing that and their success??
Thanks for any assistance!!
~katee~

(-; ZOOMLICIOUS ;-)
 
Actually, I did do one thing different...

Instead of popping that entire rotary switch out, I left it in and took it apart on the back side. It basically snaps together. Under that back cap you will see the connecting points/contacts. There is an electric grease substance on there and I cleaned some of that off, not entirely, but some of it. Not sure if anyone else took the switch apart like I did, just an extra tidbit of information.

Ok, so mine started the flickering last week, then speed #2 went out completely. So I took my AC console off and took the switch apart. Inside the switch, as Pyr0TeK mentioned, is a 3-point connector plate. I noticed that the plate is loosely mounted between the selector and the contact plate. So here's what I did:

Pic # 1 - Shows the tabs you need to pry to disassemble the switch.

Pic # 2 - Shows the back part of the switch removed.

Pic # 3 - Is the contact plate that makes the connection.

Pic # 4 - Shows what I call the "rotor" and contact plate. This turns with the front knob and makes the contact to select the proper speed.

The contact plate and the switch were not making complete contact, as you will see when you take out the rotor, and put it and the contact plate up to the back part of the switch.

Pic #5 - So I took the contact plate off of the rotor

continued in next post.............
 

Attachments

  • Image052.jpg
    Image052.jpg
    53.2 KB · Views: 1,374
  • Image038.jpg
    Image038.jpg
    59.5 KB · Views: 1,277
  • Image039.jpg
    Image039.jpg
    51.7 KB · Views: 2,324
  • Image046.jpg
    Image046.jpg
    60 KB · Views: 1,203
  • Image048.jpg
    Image048.jpg
    62.5 KB · Views: 1,236
.......Continued

Pic # 6 - So I noticed 2 small holes under the contact plate, and ......

Pic # 7 - I cut a pen spring (the spring from a retractable ink pen) in half and put each half into one of the holes.

Pic #8 - This pushes the contact plate more firmly against the back part of the switch to make a firmer contact. Notice the difference from Pic #4 in previous post.

I did this and put it all back together. Checked the A/C and it worked like normal. The reason I went this route is because I checked all my spade connectors and they were already tight to begin with. I thought that it HAD to be something else. So when I took the switch apart and noticed the weak connection between the contact plate and the back part of the switch, I tried fixing it to see. And there is a bit of grease back there, like Pyr0Tek mentioned. I didn't bother with it, just left it alone.

Let me know what you guys think........

I'll update this thread with the status of the A/C light later on this week, when I get to use the A/C in 90+ degree weather.

Oh, and pics are off of a cell phone, so excuse the poor focus on the close-ups.
 

Attachments

  • Image049.jpg
    Image049.jpg
    64.5 KB · Views: 1,100
  • Image050.jpg
    Image050.jpg
    62.8 KB · Views: 1,077
  • Image051.jpg
    Image051.jpg
    47.9 KB · Views: 1,079
Last edited:
Pic #8 - This pushes the contact plate more firmly against the back part of the switch to make a firmer contact. Notice the difference from Pic #4 in previous post.

Kind of hard to see. It looks like the largish copper contact plate is moved farther out along the rod on which it mounts. Is that what you are referring to? Are you saying that in normal operation the contact plate is free to slide up and down along the central rod of the switch? I would have expected there to be a a ledge or diameter change on the rod to hold the contact plate in the proper place, but maybe Mazda's switch just uses friction to hold the plate in position?

My only other thought is that I would be concerned about what might happen if one of the springs popped out and rolled around inside the unit. There are some pretty substantial currents available (note the size of the prongs) and one might end up with an incandescently hot spring if it shorted something.

If there is a ledge on the central rod, and it wears down, that could allow the contact plate to move away from its intended targets and result in the iffy behavior we have seen. Your springs are one solution. Another might be to cut a small tube to fit around the rod and move the plate back to its original position. Not sure what material would be appropriate though, since that is thick copper, and I wonder if the switch might not get hot in some positions from the substantial amount of current passing through it. I mean, nylon or teflon would be easy to do, but they might melt.
 
The copper contact plate does just slide up and down like you asked. It slides away from the contact points enough so that it can pivot and only 2 of the contact points on it will make contact, the 3rd one will just hover about 1/2 a millimeter from it's contact point.
You know, I never thought about there being a ledge or diameter change like you mentioned. The central rod in mine was the same diameter throughout, but it's possible that it wasn't always like that and it could have worn down.
If you look at the way the switch is assembled, the springs will not be able to pop out unless you take the switch apart. So it's pretty much impossible for one of them to pop out. Your solution would work also. For me, the pen was laying on my passenger's seat, so it was like a sign. "USE THE PEN, Memo" lol.

So I used my A/C yesterday in about 85 degree weather, car had been sitting in the hot sun for 5 hours. All worked fine. I'll keep updating this thread as time goes by so we can see if this is a possible fix as well.
 
The copper contact plate does just slide up and down like you asked. It slides away from the contact points enough so that it can pivot and only 2 of the contact points on it will make contact, the 3rd one will just hover about 1/2 a millimeter from it's contact point.
You know, I never thought about there being a ledge or diameter change like you mentioned. The central rod in mine was the same diameter throughout, but it's possible that it wasn't always like that and it could have worn down.

Probably there was no ledge. Switches that are designed with ledges usually have a smaller distal diameter, and a larger proximal diameter. It is just as easy to mold as a small ring around the constant diameter rod, and is stronger.

There are some prongs or tabs on the bottom of the plate which look like they extend forward (towards the knob side of the switch) and enter into depressions in the front part of the switch. Was there by any chance some smashed down rubbery material in there? The original design may have been to put the "spring" under those prongs, but over time wear and heat could have mashed down or broken up that material, which then allowed the plate to move forward. That could be the case even if there was no extra spring material, and the prongs were supposed to sit flat on the plastic housing, they could still have cut into it, especially if the copper plate and the attached tabs were hot, as they might well be with a couple of amps running through the plate.

I will try to find time to take mine apart this weekend. It would be great to have all 4 fan speeds working again.
 
As far as I can tell, there are no kind of springs in it at all. The copper plate just sits with the tabs in the slots. No trace of anything in the slots either. You could be right about the tabs/slots though. It's very likely that when the switches were first made, the tabs were tight-fitting. With the heat and constant turning, the slots could've grown, and the tabs got loose in the slots, allowing the plate to move. I'd like to know when you get it apart how your copper plate fits against the knob part of the switch. If this problem is constant in more of our cars, we could potentially have the ultimate cause here.
 
Nope. Lithium (dielectric) grease is to prevent corrosion on electrical connectors because it does conduct.

I scrapped the conectors and reapplied new grease. Works today. I was too lazy to completely remove the switch...

And now by the next summer i have lost ac in fan 2,3,and 4. (hand)

So now i will tear into it Uh gain. ..
 
Back