installing digital climate control

[vnbelina]

jsut wanting any info on installing a didgit climate control in a vn commodore. can it be done , whats involved, is it worth it etc cheers

[Tekka]

Have a search around man, you will find people think it's to much hassel to attempt, maybe they are right. It can be done though

[fitzy2005]

im guessing its to go into your vn berlina and not an exec etc? but as Tekka said click on search

[timbra_88]

My mate did it in his vn...it looks sick as and i guess its a bit more fancy. he said it doesnt just go straight in, i cant remember exactly but u have to put something in as wel, could of been the heater core.

[The1985divo]

if you dont already have climate control in it, then your in for a lot of hassel and money.

The system is totally diffrent form the normal aircon, all the sesors and fans etc

[pauleee]

It takes a bit of time and planning but can definitely be done! I did it about a year ago.
Let me know if you want some more details of whats involved.

[Wesleyrpg]

what sorta budget is required to do this, and how about a list of parts that need to be replaced?

thanks

[pauleee]

I think i spent about $350 all up including the air con re-gas which will need to be done.
The way i did it was bought off ebay the whole heater box and electronic unit from a 96 VS statesman. Any system from a VN up to the last of the VS's can be used. This is the simplest method i think to get all the parts you need but i will give a list of all the parts you need anyway.
You will need: - The electronic control unit
- Vacuum valve pack (a row of 5 (i think)) electronic solenoids)
- Heater shutter motor
- Air con evaporator sensor
- Intake temp sensor
- sun sensor
- Ambient temp sensor
- Fan control transistor (goes in place of the fan resistor)

Everything on the dash needs to come off to get to the heater box unit. once all of that is off, the air con pipes near your wipers need to be disconnected and then the bolts for heater box need to be undone. The heater box needs to be taken out (there is no way around this as you need to mount a sensor on the a/c evaporator). Once you have your two heater boxes side by side, transfer all the parts from the climate control setup to your old setup. (the vacuum actuators don't need to be replaced unless you want newer ones which is what i did). NOTE: you may be able to do a complete swap with the heater box assembly, i couldn't because they changed the A/c evaporator connections from the VN to VS. The good thing is that the heater boxes were all manufactured the same and even in the execs, they have all the cut out markings for the electronic climate control system. So when putting the sensors, motor, etc. on the old heater box, some parts will bolt straight on, others will require a small bit a stanley knife work.
Wiring
THis is probably the trickiest part for most as you either need to get a new wiring loom that had a climate control system, or be able to change your wiring to suit the new system.
Most of the wiring to the climate control will have to be changed, the reason for this is that unlike most switches and relays, electronic control circuitry using transistors most often, switch the negative rail and not the positive.
As i said earlier it requires a bit of planning and what you will need to do is compare a wiring diagram from a climate control system to a non-climate control system.
I have all the material that i used to work all this stuff out, but i wouldn't be able to give very detailed instructions of what to do.

hope this helps

[pauleee]

shit! just wrote a massive post only to have it lost when i tried to submit it.
it cost me about $350 all up (including a air con re-gas)
- electronic climate control unit
- electronic vacuum valve pack
- inlet temp sensor
- a/c evaporator sensor
- sun sensor
- Fan control transistor
- Ambient temp sensor

I bought a climate control system out a VS statesman including the heater box. I then transfered all the parts from that heater box to my heater box.

Everthing on the dash needs to come out including the heater box for this job. Therefore you will also have to disconnect the air-con and a re-gas will be needed.
The hardest part may be (if you dont have much electronics knowledge) to change the wiring to suit the system. As the control unit switches the negative supply rail instead of positive, most of the wiring has to be changed.

cheers

[Wesleyrpg]

how paulee, nice write up mate!

all we need is someone to do it and post pics and we'll make it a sticky! Hey paulee are you in melbourne? maybe we can do the conversion on my VN Calais together, we'll take pics, so that others can see what to do!

[pauleee]

I am in Melbourne, but i don't have a particular desire to do this modification again as i don't have a ton of time.
I can however give some detailed instructions on what to do... and then you can go and do it and take photos and stuff. I will help if you get in the absolute shit along the way if you want.

Btw, how many other people are interested in finding out how to do this? please post if you're keen to do this mod.

[StealthX]

Im in! got the electronic climate control unit & electronic vacuum valve pack, lol! almost there!.. i should just find a calais n rip it from that. :-/ bit rare to find a calai wreck out here though

[SeanV8]

Btw, how many other people are interested in finding out how to do this? please post if you're keen to do this mod.

I'm definately keen. I was just looking at eBay earlier tonight and thinkng I'd love to change over mine to the climate control.

The control unit itself is easy enought to get (there are quite a few on eBay) its the rest of the parts that seem to be tricky.

A guide would be great

[defa]

i saw a statesman wiring loom on ebay for 150. a complete in cabin loom. me and a mate wrecked a vq but the cabin loom was buggered from an engine fire. i was going to try and pull the loom apart and get the climate control bit out of it but it is too much f**king around. i reckon i could do it with a better wiring loom.