climate controller circuit board

[willabeest]

i brought my 1992 NSX to local Acura dealer to have the climate control board fixed as the heater etc. was intermittently working. the heater would shut itself off and come on as i was driving for no reason. the panel would light up or go dark accordingly (the climate control part).

the dealer quoted me 810 dollars for the climate control board (79610-slo-a02) and 1,055.32 dollars for the illumination assembly (79650-slo-a03). the technician said he tested both of them and they were both no good. i went on Dali racing and found the climate control board (new OEM) for 605 dollars.

i told the service writer i did not think the illumination assembly was bad based on my internet research. he told me they have to buy the parts from their service department.

so we left it that the technician will replace the climate control board and see what happens. i did not authorize the illumination assembly fixed.

does anyone know if the heater etc. will function if the illumination assembly does not work? does it sound like they know what they are doing at this dealership? i am a little worried. i do not mind paying a little more for quality work but this is beginning to sound like they are novices.

 

[T Bolen]

Your problem is the climate control board, which has capacitors that fail with age. The board can be repaired for $150-200. Do a search for climate control board here and you will find a wealth of information. I have had 2 boards repaired by Languth Electronics, and a local friend also had his done. Been working fine since. I have yet to hear of the illumination assembly failing on these cars.
Good luck - you may need to find a better shop.
Also, save your old board as several members here will want it to repair. Don't let the dealer trash it!

 

[D'Ecosse]

I would doubt that the illumination assembly has a problem.
You might have considered having Briank one of the forum members, repair your module - it would certainly have been a lot more economic for you.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

The best (and easiest)thing you can do, is to find a freind with a working system and swap the boards/display to define which is bad. This will save you the $$$ of purchasing in the "all or nothing" mode.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[willabeest]

Your problem is the climate control board, which has capacitors that fail with age. The board can be repaired for $150-200. Do a search for climate control board here and you will find a wealth of information. I have had 2 boards repaired by Languth Electronics, and a local friend also had his done. Been working fine since. I have yet to hear of the illumination assembly failing on these cars.
Good luck - you may need to find a better shop.
Also, save your old board as several members here will want it to repair. Don't let the dealer trash it!

that is about what i figured. the service writer did not know the board failures were an issue with the NSX so i figure he is
ignorant. but the technician worries me. i hope he knows what he is doing. regarding gettting board fixed. i know about that and i thought about doing it but it would mean paying to have the dash closed up then re-opened (in other words more labor costs) and i do not have the time to do it myself. besides which i would probably screw it up.
i will let you all know what happens. thankyou for the information it is very valuable to me. and i will save all the parts!

 

[Larry Bastanza]

I would not be too quick to blame the CC control board alone. His display is going blank, that is a clue it may be the display board. You really need to trouble shoot this, or spend the $$$$

JMO,
LarryB

 

[T Bolen]

it but it would mean paying to have the dash closed up then re-opened (in other words more labor costs) and i do not have the time to do it myself. besides which i would probably screw it up.

When I did mine I drove it the 2 weeks with the console out. Kinda gives you a "I could build a track rat out of this car" feeling.

Best of luck on it, and let's hope it is just the control board.

 

[Briank]

I have only seen 1 illumination display that had problems. I have seen lots of control boards that had problems that caused the display to not light up. Depending on what’s wrong you can have a unit that works but the display is blank or just not work at all. From my experience repairing CCU's 98% of the time the control board needs repair/replacement only.

Also Neillo offers discounts on NSX parts for NSX Club of America members


NSXCA.org.

 

[jlindy]

i know about that and i thought about doing it but it would mean paying to have the dash closed up then re-opened (in other words more labor costs) and i do not have the time to do it myself. besides which i would probably screw it up.

Willabeest, I don't think you know how easy it is to get to the climate control board. You DON'T have to mess with the dash at all and you certainly would not have to pay someone to do it. All you do is remove the center console which takes less than five minutes. I am a COMPLETE novice when it comes to mechanical work, but taking out the center console is so easy that I have taken it out at night while driving to a friend's house that was going to do some work on it for me. (don't recommend while driving though )

I would use Larry's suggestion of swapping the board out with a friend's working board to see if it solves the problem and do it yourself. It is free and very easy. If you don't know anyone that has a board, then have Brian repair it for you. I am sure that at the least, it will help solve some of the problems if not all. If for some reason, it does not solve the problem and you need to buy the whole thing new, you would have no problem selling that here on prime for probably what you paid for the rebuild.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Based on the comments above it sounds like the probability is in fact with the control board. I did not realize a control board failure would cause a blank display. Still would not hurt if you could prove it by swapping though.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[nis350]

Based on the comments above it sounds like the probability is in fact with the control board. I did not realize a control board failure would cause a blank display. Still would not hurt if you could prove it by swapping though.

HTH,
LarryB

My AC display went blank along with all other functions. I replaced the control board ($600 new) and everything is working fine now. It is not that difficult to replace the board by yourself. I would try that first.

I spent some money on repairing the board and didn't work out. I would suggest getting a new board with the warranty and be done with it.

Just a side note. The dealers will try to sell you the farm because they work on commission.

 

[sutphen77]

BrianK you got a PM

 

[willabeest]

My AC display went blank along with all other functions. I replaced the control board ($600 new) and everything is working fine now. It is not that difficult to replace the board by yourself. I would try that first.

I spent some money on repairing the board and didn't work out. I would suggest getting a new board with the warranty and be done with it.

Just a side note. The dealers will try to sell you the farm because they work on commission.

OK this is what happened...the mechanic the service writer told me was going to work on my car (good rep) didn't. when the climate controller board went in everything worked fine. so i figure NSX-PRIME
saved me 1100 dollars (thankyou, thankyou). it did not need the illuminator assembly that the dealer told me was tested and found wanting...perhaps the technician needed to be tested before working on the illuminator assembly? anyway i was very pleasant and next time i bring the car in i will tell them either the mechanic we agree on will work on it or it will not get worked on!!! :smile:

 

[jlindy]

OK this is what happened...the mechanic the service writer told me was going to work on my car (good rep) didn't. when the climate controller board went in everything worked fine. so i figure NSX-PRIME
saved me 1100 dollars (thankyou, thankyou). it did not need the illuminator assembly that the dealer told me was tested and found wanting...perhaps the technician needed to be tested before working on the illuminator assembly? anyway i was very pleasant and next time i bring the car in i will tell them either the mechanic we agree on will work on it or it will not get worked on!!! :smile:

Having trouble following this...

 

[willabeest]

Having trouble following this...

read the whole thread. if you still do not get it email me if you are still interested.

 

[Briank]

Did you get your old board back from the dealer?

 

[willabeest]

Did you get your old board back from the dealer?

yes. the mechanic who was supposed to work on it (when i brought it in they said he would work on it) was off or sick. once he showed up everything got done correctly. everything is fine now....i hope!

 

[Briank]

I buy bad climate control boards to rebuild. I pay $100, interested? PM me