348 climate control modification

I know the 348 climate control unit acts differently in different cars and in mine the blower almost always comes on full speed when I start the car and remains on full for anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes before responding to the actual climate control setting (fan off) which drives me crazy because most of my driving trips in the cool Northeast mean I only want to lower the windows and enjoy the engine sound. I’ve tried all the fixes from reseating the control module boards to cleaning grounds and eventually I will get around to checking the boards for broken or cracked etches but in the mean time I installed a remote control relay between the climate control module in the passenger cabin and the aqua colored climate control relay located on the blower box assembly in the trunk area. The 12V 15 amp remote control relay was $20 and comes with 2 small FOBs and works great, when I start the car all power to the climate control module with the exception of the clock is dead (no blower on full no climate control digital lights only the clock display is lit) and when I push the FOB “on” button the unit is fully activated until I either hit the”off” button or shut off the car. This modification does not affect any other lights or functions in the car and the clock continues to keep time and stays lighted no matter what state the FOB is in. The remote control relay box is also very small and fits easily in the blower assembly area under the trunk carpeting. Before I shut the car off I make sure the climate control module is set for “outside air position” and “cool temp” so when I start the car and get moving I get a cool stream of outside air flowing thru the dash vents without activating the climate control unit (no fan). The climate control module’s memory is not affected by using the remote control relay so the last settings you choose while the unit is powered up is retained. The ability to remotely do a power reset may also be of use when dealing with other squirrely climate control behavior but time will tell if this is a side benefit. Not sure if there is any need or interest in this band aid but if there is I can post a photo showing the 1 green wire (low amperage input signal wire) that needs to be cut and attached to the remote control relay box in order to add this function.

 

I contacted Racambi last month and was informed they do not provide that service any longer I believe it was Daniel that responded but he did not offer any further information regarding who he had been working with? Does anyone else have repair contact information?

 

I have attached a photo of the relay wire location but I did not take photos of the actual process which is simply: separate plastic connector halves and push the green wire / metal contact (shown with red arrow) out of the plastic connector housing (remove it from right side half shown in photo) by depressing the spring lock on the metal contact and pushing it out of the plastic connector. Cut the green wire 1 inch from the back of the metal contact and attach it to the remote control relay input wire (which will be marked as "input") and attach the other end of the green wire (still attached to harness) to the remote relay wire marked ("output"). Now reinsert the metal contact back into the same location of the plastic connector that you removed it from earlier and plug the 2 plastic connector halves back together (your done). Note there are 2 green wires in the plastic connector and the relay wire you want to disconnect is next to the outer most green wire in the plastic connector. Once you have removed this wire and before you cut it in half reconnect the plastic connector halves and turn the ignition on to confirm that the blower motor is not working so you are sure that you have the correct wire for this modification. The 12 volt 15 amp remote control relay can be bought on E Bay for $20.
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