94 HVAC buttons don't work - Sometimes?

[GuyzVette]

This is kind of strange, I hope someone can point me in the right direction. Sometimes, and only sometimes, when I start it up, the "auto" and "off" buttons don't work. Most of the other buttons seem to be able to be pushed. Pushing harder? Nothing.

Then, the next time I get in the car, the buttons work just fine.

Do I have a short? Is there some reason these buttons would not be able to be used?

[vee93]

Been there-had that same problem. Could be one or more of the following:
*short in a wire
*kink in a wire
*HVAC unit itself is going out
*HVAC buttons are worn (like when the buttons on a remote control don't work anymore.)
*could be a fuse
--My friend Allen pulled the unit on his '92 and showed me the biggest d*mn cockroach I've ever seen that had somehow wriggled itself into the unit and croaked, oozing bug goo over everything. Allen surmised that when his unit was on the fritz, as he punched the buttons in frustration, he smooshed the bug back there and made himself a nice, icky problem.

[GuyzVette]

Talk about having a "bug" in the system....

Yeah, not a fuse, unless it's a loose one. It's only ever the buttons on the far left, the ones on the far right are fine, usually. But it really sucks, because you can't turn off the A/C sometimes. And like I said, when I start it up the next time, the buttons work just fine, with a slight push and they function correctly. It's really strange. I guess I'll pull it apart and tinker. Oh, and look for insects.

[Notorious]

I took my control unit completely apart quite sometime ago and cleaned everything. Never a problem since. Note the location of all buttons before removing them.