Fixing the car with superglue and a dremel.

Golf, Opened
You can go see the whole photo set that I put up on Flickr.
So, the AC and fan stopped working on my VW Golf a couple of weeks ago. In July I had the AC compressor replaced. This was not cheap. So I was pretty ticked off. I tried to get the shop to fix the new problem, as the repairs were still under warranty. They figured out that the problem was in the dash. Since it turns out that during the original repairs, they had not touched the AC/fan control mechansim in the dash, I was SOL on the free-repair front. They said that it would be "at least $150" to even look at it, due to the location of the unit, and the hassle involved in actually getting there. Bah, I said. I can do this myself.

It turns out I was right. An afternoon, a dremel, and some superglue was all I needed.

Of course, they were right too. It was an incredible hassle to get to the part. I had to remove the driver's trim end cap, the left driver's kneeplate trim, the right driver's kneeplate trim, the passenger's trim end cap, the glovebox, the center console, the antenna cable, the three cables that control the air destination (defrost, main vents, feet), the frame that holds the cupholder, stereo, and AC/fan controls, the AC/fan control knobs, the AC button, the recirc button, and the AC/fan control circuit board. Just to get to the plastic box that holds the fan speed knob and the contacts that complete a separate circuit for each fan speed.

I don't know exactly what happened in there (stray Chai Latte foam? crappy VW electricals?) but something shorted and got hot enough to melt a) the fan speed knob, and b) speed controls frame.

The result of a) was a hardened blob that hung off the knob that prevented it from turning away from the top speed. Not that the fan was blowing, because the little piece of metal that completes the various fan speed circuits had come of the knob in the melting.

The result of b) was a control frame warped right where the circuit board was supposed to snap in. Thus the circuit board was askew in one corner, just enough for the AC button to fail to make contact.

So I took my dremel* to the blob, and smoothed out the knob so that it would turn freely. Then I applied superglue to the little metal contact and stuck it back on the knob. I need the superglue there because one of the little plastic tabs that had held the contact had been melted into oblivion. I expect that it's remnants are currently coating my lungs.

Then I snapped the circuit board back into the unit. I forced the board and the warped corner of the frame into compliance, and dabbed it with superglue (I *love* that stuff!) until it held.

Did I mention the goo? There was brownish goo on the fan speed contacts. This was not that conductive grease lubricant crap they put on the switches. This was some sort of goo that should not have been there. I don't know if the goo caused the problem (the latte-foam theory -- the cupholders loom precariously above the stereo and AC/fan controls) or if the goo was a symptom (faulty wiring of some sort). Either way, I got rid of it with an old toothbrush, some baking soda, and some vinegar. I couldn't remember what I was supposed to add to the baking soda to use it to clean electrical contacts, so I added vinegar, because it bubbled nicely. It seemed to work, and I was able to eradicate all the goo I could see.

Then I put everything back together, and even found holes for all the screws I removed!

Somehow, I either damaged, or mis-installed the little bulb that sits in the hub of the fan speed knob, and whose light is directed via a framework of clear plastic to all the little lighted labels on the AC/fan control unit. So, when it's dark out, I just have to go by feel when I want to adjust the temperature. But I can adjust the temperature.

Also, I found the clip-on sunglasses that I lost two years ago at Lake Granby. They had slipped between the top of the ashtray and the console trim, and nested under the center of the dash in a pile of gas station receipts, expired coupons, and a forgotten Albertsons customer loyalty card.


* Please note that I use the word "dremel" here in the manner that one would use the word "kleenex" or "tivo". I don't know what to call the little tool that spins to grind and cut. The one that I have was made by the fine people of Black & Decker, not Dremel, and I have no complaints with it. "Rotary tool" sounds too cumbersome, but I am open to suggestions.