How To - Facelift Chome Climate Control Module Switches

[Ash187]

I have finally upgraded my climate control by adding the chrome switches from the facelift models to it.

This 'How To' will show how it is done, i would say its a difficulty rating of 2 out of 5 (not difficult, just need to take your time and be patient)

For anyone that is wondering why this mod was needed and why i didnt just swap over the unit directly to the car.... well i tried to test it out and i found that the new unit does power on and pump out air but when the A/C is turned on no air is directed into the cabin due to the air circulation flaps being changed, so its pretty useless in my pre-facelift A3.

So here is what to do...

Firstly get yourself a facelift climate control unit... these can be pricey, i picked one up for £60 on the bay.

Then take out your existing climate control unit from the car. I have a double din unit so i just simply removed the rubber button strip above the climate unit and then just pulled the climate unit out by pushing it down off its top clips and then unplugging the cables behind it.

Now you need to get both units apart. This part is really easy! you just need to have a T9 screwdriver and then get to work removing the screws in the back of the units.

The old unit disassembly:

unscrew 8 screw from the back of the unit (that little see-through plastic part is my custom ambient light under the unit):

next carefully lift the 2 tabs at the top and take the back plastic off...

then unscrew 6 more screws from the back of the electrics board:

now this panel can be taken off to reveal the front panel

The facelift unit disassembly:

Unscrew 6 T9 screws from the back of the unit:

remove the plastic cover and remove another 6 screws from the back of the board:

now you have the front panel of the facelift unit...

now we need to remove the switches from the panel. this is done by carefully moving the the black tabs out of the way and the switch should pop out of the front of the unit:

do the same to the other side and to the old climate unit, you should now have this:

now we need to get rid of the raised plastics on the old climate unit as the new chrome switch will not sit unless these are removed. You can dremel these out but as it was late when i did mine (1.30am) and i didnt want to make too much noise i just used a small set of pliers and got to work cutting them off (thanks Amar for this idea!)

before:

After:

now the chrome rings from the new unit will not fit the old climate unit as the legs are slightly shorter and so need to be swapped over...

Old rings on the left, new rings on the right:

To do this the chrome one needs to have the small tabs carefully pushed inwards to release it (be very careful as these are really weak and can easily break)

the old switches are easy as the front part of the plastic just pull off...

now swap over the chrome rings and reattach the switches, then attach the new chrome switches to the old climate control face. Watch out for the spring and carefully push the chrome rings back into place

Then just put the board and the rear plastics back together with the screws and you are done!

plug it back into the car and admire your new shiny chrome blinging look

Now since I had the facelift panel and the old switches i decided to make use of it so after a little 'modding' on the old switch i ending up with this:

The facelift unit still works perfectly fine now just with the older looking switches on it. Since no modification was actually done to the facelift panel the old switches can come back off and replaced with another chrome switch if anyone wants to do that, or it can be used as it is with the older switches in place. So I am going to sell on the facelift unit as someone out there may need to replace their original facelift unit due to other sorts of damage to the unit or electrical faults with their existing climate unit.

Hope this helps you guys out in the future

DISCLAIMER: I will not be help responsible for any faulty climate control units after attempting this mod. If you do F*** up your unit then thats your own fault

 

[Sandra]

Very informative and well documented Ash. Looks good too. Well done.

 

[J.R.]

Lovely write up once again Ash...... .....I was thinking of just swapping over the unit...But as u know and a lot of people on ASN couldn't get the new unit's too work properly. Mind you thou ....I did hear somebody on ASN got it to work .....can't remember who thou.

I'll definitely be doing this mod ....

Thanks A lot Ash .....

Keep them Mods Coming !!!!!!! :icon_thumright:

 

[Ash187]

so far the only guys i have heard of getting them working by swapping them straight over have been those with 57/08 plate Audis. this is because the flap change was being phased in so some of those cars will take the newer units and just work.

as i explained when i tried it (i knew it wouldnt work but tried it still) the fan motor was ok but the A/C would not work. The light comes on as it should (light on when A/C on... light goes out when A/C off) but no actual cold air comes into the cabin so its a fail.

 

[BlueSpark]

Nice one Ash, Very detailed write-up once again.

 

[Baffles]

Ditto - great write up. Might be giving you a shout in the future for that as well, lol.

You gonna update the buttons (ESP etc) above? Have noticed that the MY11 facelift added another blingy chrome strip compared to the first facelift.

 

[Ash187]

Ditto - great write up. Might be giving you a shout in the future for that as well, lol.

You gonna update the buttons (ESP etc) above? Have noticed that the MY11 facelift added another blingy chrome strip compared to the first facelift.

I am not sure about the buttons, i kind of like the way they are now but i may consider it if the buttons come to me cheap. Its not on the list as a 'to-do' mod so i'll see how it goes.

 

[*Müllërz]

great thread and wript up ash :thumbsup:

I am not sure about the buttons, i kind of like the way they are now but i may consider it if the buttons come to me cheap. Its not on the list as a 'to-do' mod so i'll see how it goes.

Why not use the buttons from the climate you got the other buttons from?

 

[Ash187]

the climate control buttons cannot be easily separated, if you have a look at the above pictures you can see that the buttons are held onto the front fascia with what looks like rivets/glue.
i did not fancy taking them apart

also i read that someone had tried using the front panel fascia from the new climate units and put that on his old climate electrics but the buttons dont press correctly some of the lights dont line up either.

 

[*Müllërz]

Thats a shame about the buttons


Going to just wrap my switches along the sides brushed alu

 

[warrenlord]

Surely you can just buy the switches ? Without the hole unit form Audi ?

 

[*Müllërz]

I believe ash has already found out you have to get the whole unit

 

[mikex709]

Sweet write up Ash. Bookmarked for future reference

 

[NHN]

I did hear somebody on ASN got it to work

If it was on a pre mid 07 car, then its technically & physically impossible, some people have fitted & realised sometime later the flaps dont work properly, hence swapped it back.

 

[daniel.ireland]

Everything fine but still looks old.

The oder way is swap all front panel. Then everything works correct because that is still Your old climate control. Any electronik handyman can do this.

 

[NHN]

What are you talking about?

 

[KOZI]

He says that you can swap the whole front panel from facelift climate control to your old prefacelift climate control unit.

If you look into his car thread you will notice that he has a new facelift control panel in his car.

 

[Ash187]

you could swap the face panels over but it still wont be perfect, the lights on the buttons dont all light up because they dont align properly and also there was an issue with the auto button... believe me it was the first thing i tried before taking the chrome knob off.
Its been tried by others too and it doesnt work properly, anyone that says it does is not admitting that something isnt right with it

 

[KOZI]

you could swap the face panels over but it still wont be perfect, the lights on the buttons dont all light up because they dont align properly and also there was an issue with the auto button... believe me it was the first thing i tried before taking the chrome knob off.
Its been tried by others too and it doesnt work properly, anyone that says it does is not admitting that something isnt right with it

Sorry Ash but i can not agree with you on this one.

Like Daniel's mention you need a handyman electrician (plenty of those in Poland) to do it. You wouldn't be able to do it yourself. I will try to explain it as clear as i can.

Description is based on what has already been done by our colleagues from Polish AudiA3 forum. It's not my DIY. It was done and it was proven working fine.
Ok so form the top.
To do a front panel swap we will need
a) front facelift panel
b) facelift panel display
c) motherboard from old prefacelift climate control unit.
d) rear wall from old prefacelift climate control unit.

There is few problems we encounter while doing the front panel swap

No.1 Different size display
No.2 There is a small resistor that is blocking/touching a new facelift panel.
No.3 Some buttons are getting stuck / don't fit in properly with new front panel.
No.4 different distribution of certain LEDs.


Solutions.

No.1 Display.

Display is build from three elements.
- White plastic block
- Small piece of glass that goes on top of that white plastic block
- Small Metal cage that holds those two elements in place.

Due to the fact that the displays have different thickness's these have to be swapped. Old display is thicker then the new one so it makes that space between the motherboard and new facelift panel too big. That's why some of the buttons wouldn't work properly.

Replacing:

The display is attached to the motherboard via a metal plaque. Prefacelift motherboard has a slightly different cuts/holes and so in order to put the new display you need to gently widen the holes on the MB. It also helps when you reduce plaque length gently, so they fit easier into the slots on MB.

Now the white plastic block has two tabs that goes into the motherboard. One of those two is too thick. You can widen the hole in the MB or cut the tab on plastic block.

No.2 Resistor

One of the resistors on the board is too close to the temperature control knob and it touch the front panel. It's pretty much blocking the front panel from proper fit onto motherboard so You have to cut-out gently plastic that's on top of that resistor so the new panel fits in properly.

No.3 Blocking buttons.

If you compare two motherboards you will notice that there is different arragment of LED's on both panels.
There are two types of led's. Ones are to backlight the buttons, the other ones are to indicate when the button is pressed.
Leds that are responsible for indication of pressed button have those special light canals at the back of the facelift panel where they go in. Different LEDs arrangment means that they won't fit into those 'light canals' and that is why the buttons are not working/ getting stuck/ blocked.

In order to solve this problem you have to cut off some of the walls of these 'light canals'.

no.4 Different LED on AUTO button.


Problem with AUTO button is that the old panel had the LED on the left, but the new one have it in the middle of AUTO button.
The solution for that is to unsolder the old led and resolder LEDs on the appropriate place. (sorry don't know the proper tchnical word for that, anyway you have to use a solder)


There is also a problem with window heating buttons (front/back) those have to resolder as well.


Now there is an issue that was unresolved by the guy that did this DIY ( he had an idea to go around it tho )
Personly i don't find it a huge problem.

AC button is working invers. Which mean that the LED lights up as the AC is disabled. Goes out
when you turn the AC ON.

Newer facelift unit is working oposit but i don't care.


Hope that explain everything.
It took me an hour to translate it.

You'r welcome.

 

[Ash187]

well thats good news to know that it has been done, but like i said still not perfect. your last sentence was that there is still an issue after all of that work.
it sounds like a very good and time consuming install but for the amount of effort and for it still not to be perfect i still like my setup

 

[KOZI]

I did say that the only problem that was left unsolved was 'AC button working invers'. It's the LED that works like in the old climate control unit. It's not a big deal.

It's nothing like yours set up, Yours is an old panel with two new facelift buttons.

The one that I described It's an old unit with complete front facelift panel.

 

[JPK]

Could I use a facelift double din front panel with a pre facelift single din climate? Therefore avoiding a purchase of an additional pre facelift (double din) unit or trimming my existing climate. That's if I can find someone to do what Kozi is suggesting.

 

[amar06fbr]

AUDI A3 S3 RS3 CLIMATE CONTROL DOUBLE DIN CONVERSION | eBay

 

[daniel.ireland]

Could I use a facelift double din front panel with a pre facelift single din climate? Therefore avoiding a purchase of an additional pre facelift (double din) unit or trimming my existing climate. That's if I can find someone to do what Kozi is suggesting.

No, that's 2 diferent shapes, must be 2din.

 

[Ash187]

AUDI A3 S3 RS3 CLIMATE CONTROL DOUBLE DIN CONVERSION | eBay

:sign_plug:

 

[JamesS4cab]

Just wanted to say a massive thanks to Ash for this really good post. I used these instructions at the weekend and it worked perfectly. Thanks matey!!

 

[JRock247]

Just completed this myself, so easy and the write up written by Ash187 was e great help.

When I completed this today, I did notice something that you missed out in the write up, most likely because you did not have heated seats. I have 'heated seats' in my car and the PCB removal is slightly different, I will explain.

When dismantling the old heater unit, if you have heated seats, you will need to remove the little plastic plug/lug thingy to allow you to completely remove the PCB from the surround.

This is a pic of the plastic plug/lug that needs to be removed (x1 each side) before you can completely remove the PCB. (Please note, this is only if you HAVE heated seats)



To remove it, grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers or tweezers or something similar. Grab the plastic plug and pull and twist at the same time, be careful as it is very small and fairly fragile. It does come out easily but just be careful.



Once this has been removed, you can now completely separate the PCB from the plastic housing. To re-assemble, follow the above in reverse.

Hope that is clear enough guys, please drop me a message if you have any questions or it is unclear what do to. (never written up instructions before, so please be kind)

 

[chiroone]

I like to retrofit the facelifted climate control module in my Audi A3 Sportback. I have read at this forum that the new heater system was introduced in 2007, and therefore in some 2007 models it's 'plug-and-play' to retrofit the facelifted module. I'm not sure if my A3 got the new heater system, can someone at this forum help me?

My VIN-number start with:WAUZZZ8P57A...and I got this information with VIN-decoder
Manufacturer: Audi AG
Manufacturer address: Felix ****el Strasse, 74148 Neckarsulm, Germany
Vihicle Atributes: A3 (2003-...)
Check digit: Succeed (5)
Model year: 2007
Plant code: Germany
Sequential number: ....

 

[tdi-man]

I need this doing on mine if I get the bits any body fancy doing it for me

 

[Lewbo]

It's a very simple job mate, I have done it a few times. Where you based, if you come to me I can supply and fit it for you

 

[tdi-man]

inboxed

It's a very simple job mate, I have done it a few times. Where you based, if you come to me I can supply and fit it for you

 

[Jackx1]

I've just bought mine off eBay! £30 quid bargain! Not confident enough to fit them myself so if anyone can do it pm me please!!!

 

[tdi-man]

you just bought the one I was going to get for£25 delivered ;(

I've just bought mine off eBay! £30 quid bargain! Not confident enough to fit them myself so if anyone can do it pm me please!!!

 

[Jackx1]

you just bought the one I was going to get for£25 delivered ;(

Sorry buddy! Amazing price tho! I'll hopefully break even when I sell the old one too!

 

[excelon53]

Just thought I'd let you know that your DIY is still going strong! The only thing I found was that I had to swap the springs from the new unit to my old unit to get the switches to operate smoothly and come back to center. But it's damn near perfect now! Thank you!

 

[Aaron.whiteway]

Hi Guys, - Hoping to draw on the collective strength of your expert knowledge. I have a 2009 5 door Audi A3 sportback (TDIe engine) we recently purchased. I will be upgrading several components. My question that is relevant to this thread, can I swap out the basic heater controls to the climate control panel with LCD... I have read several forums which didn't help some say the whole dash needs dismantling others say after 2007 (08 onwards) it can be a straight unit swap with coding... Any feedback appreciated - if anyone knows of the part codes 8P.... thats also appreciated for the ebay searching. There is a second motive for doing this, I will be looking to replace the cloth seats with full leather heated, so I will look for the panels with heated seats button (a second question - will I have to run a new wiring loom to the front seats or will the existing loom support the upgrade? should I have the panel and the seats ...)

Thanks

Aaron

 

[Ash187]

Hi Mate, It can't be don't by swapping over... they are 2 totally different types of units... you have a manual heater knob where the other is a automatic electronic climate control.
One person did 'upgrade' this several years ago but it did need the whole dash to come out and most of the heater components were changed iirc.

 

[Aaron.whiteway]

I have decided to gamble on this and bought a 8P0820043BN unit, I will clarify after I try fitting and coding if the cars 2008+ can upgrade from this basic unit. I spoke with an audi heated seats company how they would go about this modification and they were pretty confident I could plug and play an upgrade on the newer car. They too were certain that 2007 cars and earlier would need the dash dismantling... So lets cross some fingers!

 

[MrHSingh]

Mate, how did you get on with this? I Have bought a set of heated leathers for my SE and am trying to figure out how to get the heated seat controls fitted possibly without the climate control system if that possible (Im told the climate control wont be compatible if it wasn't present in the first place)

Ash, any advice for me on this?

 

[Ash187]

I am wiring in a heated seat to a non climate control unit end of this week so I will let you know how that goes