Spyder aircon issue

Hi Rich,
Thanks for this. ES seem to be listing them at £1800 if I read it correctly.
Not taken the unit out. Can it come out without taking out the dash?
Was going to check supply at the fuse to see if that gave any clues as that will be quite simple.

Yes, it was £1800 new (can they even get them?!) or £600 + used.
If I remember right, the unit should have a couple (maybe four?) screws hidden behind the trim panel at the front surround of the unit. Hopefully there is enough slack in the wires to then pull the entire thing forwards and see the back where the connection goes it.

Thanks Rich.
I fainted before I saw if they were in stock or just awaiting delivery! They were listed though.
Will see if I can locate the screws. They didn't design these cars to work on easily.

'hold up'

I have got an aircon control panel

If we were to do a meetup- we could swap it in to check for 'some' functionality, which would establish if that was the issue.

I say 'some' functionality, because when I got the Cup in '02, one of the inherited faults was the lack of control of the temperature mixer-valve for the cabin-heater matrix. This was traced to a failed output line from the aircon control panel, and yours truly paid £700 for a new one to cure the issue.

HOWEVER- although the new unit could control the mixer valve; the rest of the firmware was bananas. the system would ONLY run with the A/C on and it kept doing it's own thing. Glenvarigill (at the time) tried to tell me that this was 'correct'- but I had a better idea; I had kept the old unit from the car, and had been inside it- spotting a large (socketed) PROM chip. I got Glenvarigill to open both aircon controllers, and swap the PROMs.

hey presto, as they say.

So I have a 'new' controller with an 'old' PROM in the car, and an old controller with a new, but bananas, PROM, in the house on a shelf.

I don't think it would 'fix' your car Needamaser, but it would do SOMETHING and that would tell us a lot about what had failed.

Can you post a picture of your unit...?

How it comes out is; you remove the stereo first; this reveals screws which allow you to remove the wider fascia. This in turn reveals four self tappers for the control unit itself...
I've got pictures of this, if you would like me to post them...?


(P.S- further to your worries about wiring- I have complete schematics for the Ghibli, from which the Spyder is of course related and I do technical wiring for a living)

Many thanks!! Read this just now but will need to re read when I am fully awake. Think I may have posted photos when I got the car last year will have a look to see! Thanks again.
Stewart

http://www.sportsmaserati.com/showthread.php/21476-Initial-classic-ownership-thoughts/page2

Does this help??
Cheers
S

ohh...! Lovely..

Are you up by Tain...?

looks to be the 'identical' interior to the Ghibli, (of course), so no worries on the extraction of the unit.

I will try and post pics of what is involved later on- but it will be quite late on...

It appears you have the membrane-switch front panel; but I think the units are identical other than that... We'd soon know once we got them out...

Does the Biturbo use the same system as the 4200, my a/c is dead but i'm 99% sure it's due to the ignition switch being worn out, car starts and drives but the control panel is dead, wiggling the key has bought it back to life before but that doesn't even work now

Er no, Wack-

you are in a different world with the 4200.

I can't imagine how wiggling the ignition switch would help that... The relays involved are much further down the loom than directly from an ignition feed. I mean; there isn't a direct feed to the climate panel from the ignition switch.

if the car starts you should have the power.

but then- I don't have schematics for the 4200...

ZAM400209 said:

ohh...! Lovely..

Are you up by Tain...?

looks to be the 'identical' interior to the Ghibli, (of course), so no worries on the extraction of the unit.

I will try and post pics of what is involved later on- but it will be quite late on...

It appears you have the membrane-switch front panel; but I think the units are identical other than that... We'd soon know once we got them out...

Click to expand...

Yep.....Tain area.
I like this "we" bit. Someone that might know one end of a wire from an electric shock is a worthy addition to the team!!
If I can find time I was planning checking to see if there was at least power to the fuse which might give a clue as to where the problem lies. Is this worthwhile or is lying on my back in the footwell with a torch between my teeth pointless sado masochism?

Think I would probably call it a membrane switch. Doesn't feel as if there is a switch as such when you press the buttons. Bit like touch screen on the phone etc.

Lying on the floor isn't going to help you.

The whole thing connects up on a single (20 pin?) connector and you can't really tell much from that.

Let me look into the schematics and tell you what is going on.

Do you have a manual? with the fuse and relay layouts...?

another question- has the digital display for setting-temperature gone out completely..?

ZAM400209 said:

Lying on the floor isn't going to help you.

The whole thing connects up on a single (20 pin?) connector and you can't really tell much from that.

Let me look into the schematics and tell you what is going on.

Do you have a manual? with the fuse and relay layouts...?

another question- has the digital display for setting-temperature gone out completely..?

Click to expand...

Not got manual here just now but it does have fuse layout which is passenger footwell and is fuse 5. Nothing else running off this fuse.
Don't know if relays scheme there. Didn't spot it but was looking for fuses.
Whole unit is out. No display for anything. No fans . No temperature display.

for reasons best known to other people, (but not me)

this is going to be a one-image-per-post upload...

right okay

'bugger it'- out of control now!

Here is another picture

This isn't on my car actually- although I took these images. This is the type of control panel I have; and this is the type of multipin at the back you should see.

First of all you need to approach it logically and not faff about... do you have a 12v feed to any one those wires on that connector block? ...secondly do you have another 12v feed with the ignition key turned on?

You'll need a 12v test light! and calm down, It's only a car...


Dave

we can do better than that...

Fuse 157; '15A fuse protecting clock, radio memories, and air conditioner (in LH fusebox)'
Item No. 175; 'air conditioner control relay (in RH fuse box)'
Item No. 176 '30A fuse protecting air conditioner (in RH fusebox)'

I think 157 is our fuse. The rest are on outgoing lines to associated air conditioning ancillaries.

157 runs as R / red until it changes at a junction (123) to be LR / dark blue-red


Item No.124 in the schematics; 'air conditioner control unit'

25 pin connector

it gets a negative on pin 13 (HN / grey-black)
and a positive on pin 3 (LR / dark blue-red)

So with all that info at your disposable what do you recon the problem still is?

Dave

I'd have to see the car, Dave.

To make some measurements myself..

Then we'll know.

Perhaps that opportunity is coming up on the 10th of next month...

JimP

Hey Needamaser-

was that all a bit spacey?

did you get anywhere with centre console removal..?