Electronic problems

[gary w chmielewski]

My 91 airconditioning and heater control has gone bad for the second time. Does anyone know where I can get a replacement unit?

also: My cd player works but I cannot recieve any stations, just static.

If you can give me some information I would appreciate it.

[VetteMed]

Sometimes, removing and disassembling the HVAC control panel, and then cleaning the button contacts with a pencil eraser followed by isopropyl alcohol, will restore proper function.

Your CDM (tuner module under passenger side of dash) may be faulty, resulting in your lack of reception. Or, the antenna cable became unplugged.

[gary w chmielewski]

Thanks, I will try that.

I see you have (2) 91's. Have you ever taken apart the dash? Is it difficult?

I have had my 91 since new. It was made in Aug 90, and I have been having it serviced ever since. Now that it is going to be 22 years old, I thought I should try to fix things myself.

Gary

[VetteMed]

Just one '91 now, sold #1147 back in 2009.

I've taken apart the dash more times than I care to think about. It's not difficult, but you have to be careful, since 20+ year old plastics are brittle and prone to breakage. If you break the bezel around the radio/heater control in a ZR-1, be prepared to bend over. $250+ for a used one.

Basically, you pull back the front edge of the center console inner liner fabric, to expose 2 screws which are removed. Then, one more screw under the forward cup holder. Pull console piece up and aft a bit, to allow removal of wiring for hatch release and lighter plug.

You can leave the shifter knob in place, and just rotate the console piece 90 degrees, to allow removal of the radio/heater bezel. There's 2 screws at the bottom edge, and then one at the upper right. You must remove the center vent (2 phillips screws) to access the upper bezel screw. There's also some clips around the middle of the bezel.

The heater control is held in with a couple of screws.

Andrew

[scottfab]

I'd only use Isopropyl alcohol in a pinch. You should use trichloromonofluoromethane, otherwise known as contact cleaner.
This info comes from a school buddy of mine with a PhD and 26 patents in the field of contact science. (he went chemistry I went electronics)
Isopropyl alcohol can react with impurities in the metal then cause more contact issues down the road.

[gary w chmielewski]

Ok, that sounds easy. I will be careful with the plastic. My car has always been garaged so maybe the sun has not damaged it too bad.

I suspect that I can buy the contact cleaner at a Radio Shack.

Thanks

[John Boothby]

Sometimes, removing and disassembling the HVAC control panel, and then cleaning the button contacts with a pencil eraser followed by isopropyl alcohol, will restore proper function.

Your CDM (tuner module under passenger side of dash) may be faulty, resulting in your lack of reception. Or, the antenna cable became unplugged.

I cleaned my a/c button contacts with "contact cleaner" and a Q-Tip. Works great now. You can get the contact cleaner at your local parts store.

The radio problem sounds like the antenna or antenna cable.