Heating/AC knob Issues

CONFUSEDNCOLDINPGH

MEMBER
2005 MITSUBISHI LANCER
AUTOMATIC
99,000 MILES

Hey guys, my car broke down and my friend let me borrow her car listed above. Being winter here and super cold I turned the heater knob
the other day and not only did it break off (lol) but the gadget part underneath the knob itself keeps winding back to AC.

We tried using needle nose pliers to "force" the gadget back to heat, but slowly it keeps winding back to AC. It has been in the twenties here in the morning
so I would really love to have heat!

Besides fixing the knob (my friend does not really care about the car and I do not want to put money into it) is there anyway I can make and keep the gadget underneath from turning back to AC? Usually I would ask my dad this stuff but he has Parkinson's and is in the VA Hospital doing really bad.

Any help would be appreciated.

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,709 POSTS

Hi and thanks for using 2CarPros. Com.

The blend air door is mechanically actuated by a cable between the "broken knob" and a blend air door under the dash.

If you only want heat and are not interested in repairing the problem, look under the dash on the driver's side (toward center). You will see a lever that has a cable attached to it. Based on the positioning of that cable, you will get heat or AC. Remove the cable, move the lever until you get heat coming into the car and use something to hold the lever in that position so you continue to get heat. By doing this, however, you will not be able to adjust temperature.

I attached a picture for you to see what the lever looks like. You will not be removing the lever, just adjusting it.

Let me know if this helps or if you have other questions. Also, if you decide to repair the broken components, let me know and I will provide the directions.

Take care,
Joe

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