A thou$and thank$, folks -- especially to Wizzer and dfluitt. Your heater control tips just saved me a bundle, maybe as much as $1000. The manual control on my '02 Highlander had been acting weird for a while (only heating when full-on, etc). And I was just about to hand it over to a dealer that I don't really know or trust. Then some little angel whispered that it might be something simple and worth looking on-line for a DIY solution.
That soon led me to you good people and a possible answer. I've never been good at car repairs beyond oil and filter changes. But Wizzer's simple description and dfluitt's pictures gave me the confidence to at least pull the control knob for a look. Sure enough, the retainer nut was loose just like you both said. A couple of quick twists to tighten it and I was good to go. All of the heat/AC/fresh air functions work like they're supposed to again. Apparently none of my contact wires had broken loose yet.
I joined up here today just to say a big "THANK YOU !!!" to all of you helpful DIYers out there who share your hard-earned knowledge with the rest of us tool-challenged types. Keep up the good work. I'll check back again for more helpful hints.
What a life savor this forum is! 2 days after I go my '03 Highlander i had the same problem and thanks to the insight this forum has to offer, i fixed it by tightening the nut behind the control nob. Thanks So So much!!!
I just got back from the dealer myself and quite disappointed with the replace heater control unit solution at a cost of $1200 CAD. I have a Highlander 01 and will try this solution this afternoon as I am having identical symptoms with my heater. In today's wasteful age, do we have to replace everything - can we even try to fix it before we replace it as a solution.
Thanks a whole lot to all who have contributed to the repair steps for this problem. My repair shop estimated about $750 for the repair. (They didn't know that the switch was okay....only the wires had broken from the solder joint.....so it might have been cheaper when they got into the panel. But I doubt it.)
For those other novices attempting this repair: (1) the top 2 (of the 8 screws mentioned) are a bit hard to find since the are recessed. (2) The key for removing and re-installing the 8 screws is having a Philips screwdriver of the proper length and proper head. I used a stubby screwdriver on all but the 2 recessed screws. Those take a 3 or 4" screwdriver. (3) when re-installing the 8 screws, I put a sheet of plastic between the control unit and dashboard so that it would catch the screws if they fell while I attempted to put them back in. (They did fall, but they didn't go somewhere unreachable in the dash. (4) finally, I also took my panel to a repair person. I went to Radio Shack and bought an electronics soldering iron (for $10) and attempted to re-solder 3 pig tails to the panel and switch. I gave up. I know nothing about soldering on circuit boards. Fortunately, I have a friend who has worked in the circuit board industry. He fixed the board in about 30 minutes....for a couple of bottles of wine (I re-gifted from a Christmas stash of wine I had). SO, I (with the help of my buddy) saved about $750 by doing this myself. I wouldn't have attempted it if it were not the excellent instructions and pictures on this site. THANKS!!!
I have a 2003 Highlander and the heat quit wokring. I read this site and pulled the heater control unit and sure enough had broken wires behind the temperature control knob exactly like was explained above. I soldered the wires and I now have heat, however heat is all I have. I cannot get any cool air thru the vent and nothing with the A/C. It just blows hot air or nothing at all. Does anyone know what could now be causing this????
I believe I have the same issue.. I hope! I have a 2004 highlander w/automatic climate control. This morning the temp control display was stuck on 65` and adjusting the either way did not work. The temp knob seemed to be very loose. When I pulled the knob off the locknut was very loose. I tightened but still did not help. The fan knob was loose as well.
Should I be able to apply the same methods that wizzer used to correct his heat/control/knob problem for my 2004 highlander w/automatic climate control? Again thanks for everyone's input.
Hey, where's everyone finding small enough wire to replace the ribbon with? I assume you used solid strand? What gauge wire did you use?
Local radio shack doesn't have anything small enough. So tomorrow, I may need to drive down to the city to get it, just depends on who would have wires this small.
Edit: Had to go to a RC Hobby store in order to find wires small enough to fit through the holes.
__________________
"Think Outside the Box!"
'05 4x4 DC LB SR5 Tow Pkg BFG All-Terrain T/A KO, Leer Tonneau, Westin Platinum Nerf Bars, Fog and Map Light Mods, Orig. Owner 12/3/04
I was able to run with wizzer's original instructions and fix the damaged/frayed temp sw/potentiometer. I didn't feel I had the necessary soldering skills to solder the wires myself so I had a local tv repair shop do it for me. If I had time I would love to put out a power point explaining in detail the steps to complete this task. However I did keep a photo journal and here it is: http://www.graftons.net/toyotaHLImages/web/
My vehicle is a 2004 HL Limited with Automatic Climate Control.
I bought a 05 toyota highlander last week (02/14/09) and I am noticing the same intermittent heater quiting problem. I don't have the soldering skills and tools needed to fix this on my own. I live in Colonia, NJ, 07067. Does anyone have a suggestion for a shop or an individual who would fix this issue for a reasonable price? NJ members may have a good idea or any board member want to help me out with fixing this. Any help is appreciated.
I bought a 05 toyota highlander last week (02/14/09) and I am noticing the same intermittent heater quiting problem. I don't have the soldering skills and tools needed to fix this on my own. I live in Colonia, NJ, 07067. Does anyone have a suggestion for a shop or an individual who would fix this issue for a reasonable price? NJ members may have a good idea or any board member want to help me out with fixing this. Any help is appreciated.
Just do what toodie did, find a TV repair shop and ask them if they'll do it. Call around and if they say yes, then take the unit apart and take the board with you.
Or do what I did...I'd done a little bit of soldering before but was very inexperienced. Used some online tutorials (googled it) and watched them first. Bought the missing supplies (ribbon to suck up the old solder and newer solder that has the flux in it), and voila! If you're never done it before, then practice on some wire a couple of times to get yourself more comfortable with what you're doing. Then fix the heater. Soldering is very easy to learn and do.
__________________
"Think Outside the Box!"
'05 4x4 DC LB SR5 Tow Pkg BFG All-Terrain T/A KO, Leer Tonneau, Westin Platinum Nerf Bars, Fog and Map Light Mods, Orig. Owner 12/3/04
Wow, I am SO happy I found this forum! I fixed the same problem on my '05 Highlander and it works perfectly now. There was an extra hurdle on my car that no one has mentioned. After removing the 8 small screws from the black plastic cover, I lifted it and found it was attached to the main unit with a very thin mylar ribbon cable only 1/2 inch wide. It went into a very small white plastic connector. Fortunately, I have seen this type of connector while working on laptop computers and knew how to deal with it. You must hold the cover up very gently so you don't put too much strain on the cable. They break easily! There is a tiny lip on both ends of the connector. Use a small flat tip screwdriver to gently lift the connector away from the PCB about 1/8th of an inch. Do one end, then the other. The ribbon cable will slip right out. You can go ahead and fix the potentiometer (rotary resistor) after the cover is out of the way. The three pins were very close together and this is not apparent in the pictures. I have a lot of multicolored IDE cables left over from PC work and just cut three strands to replace the original wire. I have to say, without my years of soldering experience, I don't think I could have kept the three wires separate. This is not the place to learn to solder!
When putting the rear cover back on, I used needle nose pliers to insert the ribbon cable down into the connector. If the lock is still in the raised position, it slides in very easily. It is very tricky to hold it in squarely while pushing each end of the tiny plastic lock down, though. It took a few attempts before I felt like it was seated all the way down because you're holding the cover up to give enough space to get the needle nose pliers in there and the tight folds of the cable act like a spring pulling it up.
Taking the car for a drive was very rewarding. The controls instantly adjusted from hot to cold. I did have to reset all the radio stations, of course. I figure if I saved $900 on this job, I can afford a new carburetor for my hot rod! Talk about win win!
Thank you all, SO MUCH!
Paul
Last edited by rallysnake; 02-26-2009 at 12:27 AM.
^ Hey Paul, just to clarify some things. The ribbon does not need to be removed from the white end. Only the black end clip needs to be removed. Thus no need for the needle nose pliers. The black clip removes by sliding in a tiny flat head screwdriver down the ends of the clip (there are slots) and apply a little outward pressure. That way the ribbon stays with the board attached to the backing.
Also, I disagree on the soldering experience needed (although I am handy with fixing things). I've soldered once before and didn't do it right (knowing now after watching the how-to's online). After watching those how-to's it was very easy. As far as keeping the solder separate...by doing one wire at a time and bending them in opposite directions, the solder ran down the wire and into the respective hole. I was surprised that it doesn't travel to the other wires. So, no effort was involved in keeping the solder from getting on the other wires, it just stays on its own wire naturally.
__________________
"Think Outside the Box!"
'05 4x4 DC LB SR5 Tow Pkg BFG All-Terrain T/A KO, Leer Tonneau, Westin Platinum Nerf Bars, Fog and Map Light Mods, Orig. Owner 12/3/04
shah_tj, don't be scared , its not that hard , check out this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLfXXRfRIzY, its where I learned how to hone my soldering skills and what I used to fix my highlander.
I attemped this fix. But the problem is still happening.
The nut on the climate controls were loose. I took it apart, and the wires were still in tact.
I decided to replace the 3 wires anyways, with wire from an old computer power supply unit.
I put it back together, but the driver side is still blowing only warm air.
Sometimes it will blow cold, but for the most part its only warm.
The passenger side is ice cold. Anything else that could be causing this?
Re: Heater quit... sort of
, its not that hard , check out this link 
Linear Mode
