CheeseHelmet
Member
It looks like you get a whole new climate control module (part #BL8W-61-190 corresponds to 61-190 in the diagram, "F" is the part version):
That's good to hear
Guide Permanently fix the "no A/C on fan speed 2/3" problem
- Thread starter CheeseHelmet
- Start date
It looks like you get a whole new climate control module (part #BL8W-61-190 corresponds to 61-190 in the diagram, "F" is the part version):
That's good to hear
^Helpful info, assuming the protege's made after 12/2/02 got the *fix (assuming the TSB fixed the problem) then i'm gona' go grab the heater control out of a 2003 (assuming it's new enough) in a local pick-n-pull.
If it's not new enough, well... my air recirculate-or button doesn't work either so i'll probably still go grab it
If it's not new enough, well... my air recirculate-or button doesn't work either so i'll probably still go grab it
Here is the same TSB# from a different source:
View attachment Masda AC TSB Flickering Light.pdf View attachment Masda AC TSB Flickering Light (2).pdf
I had to print, scan then upload so I could get it all on one page.
It says the same thing as previously posted.
What I realized during the repair is that My Car Doesn't Fall into the category of the TSB!
The TSB States that Applicable Models Are: Vehicles built prior to 12/02/02 AND with VINs lower than JM1BJ23150990
Mine is an 2002; However, the VIN does not coordinate. So I started to look a little deeper and first discovered that the switch is working as designed(part No. 61-200 in the above diagram).
As I was taking things apart looking for a culprit, It was then I discovered the Switch wire harness to be failing. The white plastic connector has melted and cracked. The Black Ground Wire has signs of overheating (the wire insulating sheath had melted back and exposed some of the copper strands. I could see that a few of the copper strands had broken and was not making good contact. I also found that with KOER, with A/C switch in Position #2 it would stay on for about 7-10 seconds at which point the wires in the harness would overheat immensely, at that point the A/C light would turn off and subsequently cause , as we all know, the a/c to stop working. Why does it overheat?!
High Resistance ?
Well, someone at Mazda figured out that the Heater Control Unit has a design flaw and they sought to replace the part with an updated or superseded version.
The Forum members fix that adding resistors to the circuit is a well thought out remedy, as is the other previous remedies. However, in my case, the before the resistor remedy can be executed, any damaged circuits had to first be repaired. Which I did by soldering in a new harness and 6 inch pigtail.(I did notice that the harness I cut out of the doner vehicle at the junkyard, was different. Two of the wires were a different color , and slightly different gauge. - I wish now that I had taken photos of the install so as to compare the two.)
The bad part of all of this is that I don't believe that I permanently fixed my problem. The wires still seem to get hot. So it's only a matter of time before this happens again. UNLESS I solder in the "Resistor Fix" before another failure occurs. Which I think Is a good idea so I can test whether or not it will resolve it once and for all.
View attachment Masda AC TSB Flickering Light.pdf View attachment Masda AC TSB Flickering Light (2).pdf
I had to print, scan then upload so I could get it all on one page.
It says the same thing as previously posted.
What I realized during the repair is that My Car Doesn't Fall into the category of the TSB!
The TSB States that Applicable Models Are: Vehicles built prior to 12/02/02 AND with VINs lower than JM1BJ23150990
Mine is an 2002; However, the VIN does not coordinate. So I started to look a little deeper and first discovered that the switch is working as designed(part No. 61-200 in the above diagram).
As I was taking things apart looking for a culprit, It was then I discovered the Switch wire harness to be failing. The white plastic connector has melted and cracked. The Black Ground Wire has signs of overheating (the wire insulating sheath had melted back and exposed some of the copper strands. I could see that a few of the copper strands had broken and was not making good contact. I also found that with KOER, with A/C switch in Position #2 it would stay on for about 7-10 seconds at which point the wires in the harness would overheat immensely, at that point the A/C light would turn off and subsequently cause , as we all know, the a/c to stop working. Why does it overheat?!
High Resistance ?
Well, someone at Mazda figured out that the Heater Control Unit has a design flaw and they sought to replace the part with an updated or superseded version.
The Forum members fix that adding resistors to the circuit is a well thought out remedy, as is the other previous remedies. However, in my case, the before the resistor remedy can be executed, any damaged circuits had to first be repaired. Which I did by soldering in a new harness and 6 inch pigtail.(I did notice that the harness I cut out of the doner vehicle at the junkyard, was different. Two of the wires were a different color , and slightly different gauge. - I wish now that I had taken photos of the install so as to compare the two.)
The bad part of all of this is that I don't believe that I permanently fixed my problem. The wires still seem to get hot. So it's only a matter of time before this happens again. UNLESS I solder in the "Resistor Fix" before another failure occurs. Which I think Is a good idea so I can test whether or not it will resolve it once and for all.
Last edited:
Low resistance + High current = High power.
Originally Posted by pcb
"OK,.. I read your analysis and it makes complete sense. (I am reasonably proficient with electronics) However my main concern is still the same. If the internal resistance of the switch (which is where I believe most of the resistance is coming from followed by the connector at the back of it) is enough to produce a 1.1 volt drop, that is 1.1 V x 6.35 amps equals 6.985 watts of heat in the switch for fan speed 2. For fan speed three, 1.1 V x 8.8 amps is 9.68 watts of heat and 1.1 V x 11.75 amps is 12.925 watts for fan speed four.
That is plenty enough heat to start melting things."
it affects vehicles built PRIOR to, not after.
I was assuming the proteges made after the 12/2/02 would have had a different climate control unit in them from the factory, but if that's not the case then it doesn't really matter since i needed a new one anyways-
-the ac light flickering continues-_-_-_-_-*
-the ac light flickering continues-_-_-_-_-*
Did the Mod last weekend. It's been two days that it's pretty hot and Humid outside and Absolutely no problem with the light. Always Solid even between speeds!
Great solution and Hopes it will always stay like that!
BTW, Here in Downtown Montreal, speed 3 is the best on hot and sunny days! But speed 2 is great on the highway!
Great solution and Hopes it will always stay like that!
BTW, Here in Downtown Montreal, speed 3 is the best on hot and sunny days! But speed 2 is great on the highway!
I phoned my local Mazda dealer today with my VIN number and he looked up all the work that had been done to my car by Mazda.
I gave him the TSB number for the flickering AC light and it is a complete replacement (like in the diagram earlier),... however our cars are out of warranty now so we would have to pay out of pocket.
It's $573.72 (up here in Canada Eh),... I've seen complete running P5's online for less money.
I did however purchase four 30 amp relays (two bucks each) that I am going to install. That will reduce the current from up to 8 amps down to about 133 milliamps (0.133 amps) through the actual fan switch.
That should get rid of all that heat in the switch and allow it to work even if it's half burnt,... this along with cheesehelmut's fix should give us a very reliable AC system !!!
I will post a How-To when I do it. (it's really quite simple).
I gave him the TSB number for the flickering AC light and it is a complete replacement (like in the diagram earlier),... however our cars are out of warranty now so we would have to pay out of pocket.
It's $573.72 (up here in Canada Eh),... I've seen complete running P5's online for less money.
I did however purchase four 30 amp relays (two bucks each) that I am going to install. That will reduce the current from up to 8 amps down to about 133 milliamps (0.133 amps) through the actual fan switch.
That should get rid of all that heat in the switch and allow it to work even if it's half burnt,... this along with cheesehelmut's fix should give us a very reliable AC system !!!
I will post a How-To when I do it. (it's really quite simple).
Last edited:
h2opololea
Member
- :
- 2003 Mazda Protege5
Hi - late to the party here, but thought I'd chime in. Haven't tried the fix yet, but will try this one (the how to is awesome) or the pinch/solder one. Figure one should work. The reason I wanted to post is that I am driving a 2003 Protege5 and this is the exact problem I'm having. So, it affects cars built after 2002.
I'll update when I've tried the fix to let you know if it works on he later model. Really glad to know this is a cheap fix - usually anything with the AC in a Mazda is $$!
I'll update when I've tried the fix to let you know if it works on he later model. Really glad to know this is a cheap fix - usually anything with the AC in a Mazda is $$!
Installshield 2
Gothenburg Superiority
^^are you the original owner? If not, i wonder if the unit had been replaced or serviced for some reason...just asking, as i've never heard of a later model p5 having this issue...but every single early 2002 i've sat in has done it...hell mine started the problem just a month or 2 after i bought, which was finally when it was warm enough to need the AC...
i'm kicking myself for not doing anything about it yet...I now only have speed 1...used to get speed 4 most of the time so far this summer, but not for a while now...I have a drive to and from the beach starting this afternoon...its going to be over 90 out here...i'm an idiot...
i'm kicking myself for not doing anything about it yet...I now only have speed 1...used to get speed 4 most of the time so far this summer, but not for a while now...I have a drive to and from the beach starting this afternoon...its going to be over 90 out here...i'm an idiot...
On the plus side, now you get to roll with ALL your windows down... blasting your music... Girl's are attracted by that, right?
All the Honda driver's do it.
All I did was depin connectors, used my kelvins to pinch them tighter and repinned and they work great. I also pulled apart the switch and used a sandstone attachment on my dremmel to shine up the contacts. I decided to do this because the plastic nut that holds the switch in place was loose, which is now tight and held in place by glue.
h2opololea
Member
- :
- 2003 Mazda Protege5
I'm not the original owner, but everything looks original and, so far, I've been replacing original parts (other than the obvious upgrades like the stereo and air intake... And a hideous shifter knob that I quickly swapped back to the original). I'll let you know if I see anything when I finally get around to trying this. Maybe it wasn't fixed in early year production 03s? Don't know, but this is definitely what's wrong with my A/C. Gotta get around to trying the fix...
Had subbed to this thread a while ago and wish I had done it sooner but better late than never and am glad i finally did it. its a tight fit for two hands but pretty straight forward I was going to solder it and do it right but I ended up doing it just like the write up since its a tight fit. But thanks to the op my girlfriend would shake your hand and I would hug you very helpful
very helpfulkosteniuks17
Member
- :
- Mazda Protege5 2003
Do it, it works, I love that speeds 2 and three work. And it's flawless no flickering when changing speeds. I havent seen it flick once. Just make sure you strip the right wire bundle. It the one that more toward the bottom, I believe some people on here cut the wire bundle right above it. Pay close attention to the pics, and do a good soldering job and youll be set.
Last edited:
sleepwalker
Member
- :
- 2010 Mazda CX-7 i Sport
For curiosity's sake, check the build date on the door jamb sticker. Mine is a 2003 model year (according to the dealership window sticker) but has a build date in like Sep or Oct of 2002. And I have the flickering A/C issue.
spotthedogg
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Pro5
Mine has recently gotten worse, was there a follow up to the light always on question? Also is there an updated switch? For $30 I would buy that.
kosteniuks17
Member
- :
- Mazda Protege5 2003
Heyy so I just noticed that both my fans are not running behind the radiator unless I have my ac on. I have a thought that maybe installing this for our ac light flickering is causing my fans to not turn on. Does anyone else seem to have the same problem as me? Just noticed that today, i've had this resistor thing installed for several months now.
