Amber Gramps

I'm doing a few things under the car and noticed something.

Mainly that the perfect left and right heater control boxes (including new left and right clamps) I got off craigslist for $40/set are not the same as the ones I have.

My current set are a tad rusty and in need of springs and a good sandblasting.

What I have is the ones with the bend built in, the ones I just got are the short ones with no bend.

It looks like changing them out is no big deal and would only require a little more of the orange tubing.

I did pick up two sections of the tubing and it looks like I could have gotten away with one.


....anyway, enough rambling. The real question:

What do I do with what must be part of the auto-heat that is connected to the right side flapper box?

It looks like a white sensor wire or electrode of some sort.

Any ideas of what to do with it or how to attach it to the new box before I go in and mess it all up?

It's the wire shown in this picture lifted from fellow lister imcarthur

irobertson

I just replaced my flapper boxes with new ones.
I just drilled the rivets out of the old one so I could remove the temp sensor, then drilled my new one in the same places and stuck it in.

Amber Gramps

Cool. That sounds like the perfect solution.

bodmin

I refurbished my flapper boxes recently. Drilled out the pop rivets and used 4mm stainless cap screws & nuts to hold the sensor in place. Should make it easier to remove next time around.

redridge

interesting, I think I have auto temp, but dont have that sensor in the flapper box. How can I tell I have auto temp control?

Amber Gramps

Auto heat has a dial with numbers between the seats. Manual has levers you pull up.

I want to go to manual so I can control left/right independently.

irobertson

If you are going manual then you don't need the temp sensor in the flapper box.

redridge

I have the dials and the lever... but dont have the sensors. Where does the sensor terminate to? TIA

HorstP

Autoheat has no lever. Moving the lever(s) for you is what autoheat does. It uses two sensors, one for cabin temperature, for later models behind the dash with a small fan sucking air in, right of the steering column and the second one mentioned above.

Autoheat has 0-9 settings on the dial plus a DEF setting, manual heat has 0-3 settings for the two footwell blowers.

Above is true for 1987 model year, others may vary. I believe there is also a version with a single "emergency" lever apart from the standard two levers for full manual.