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Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

So I need some help guys - the information here and coolcats is pretty poor on the rotary hvac conversion. I got the entire thing working fine except the cable. The cable on these things exits to the drivers side and it's just way too tight when attempting to use a modified mount with the stock cable. I tried to see how to pull the cable out of a '90 Taurus but gave up after not being able to find the blend door side and the instructions on Autozone's site are useless.

SO...first off, what if the longest blend door cable that I can get that'll work with the hvac controls in the stock location? The bends of the cable also seem much nicer if the panel is kept there since the cable exits downward from the blend box. I see mention of a Mustang cable being longer but no specifics. I'm hoping a dealer can order the parts as I had absolutely no luck removing it from the Taurus.

Second, there is mention of the cable exiting the rotary to the passenger side. The unit I have, and verified HERE, exits the drivers side. This requires that the cable be circled back to the passenger side, and then again circled facing the drivers side in order to attach to the blend door. There aren't any different climate control units that exit the passenger side, right?

So yeah - help me get a cable attached properly! Mine works so-so when dangling there but not so much when placed near its resting spot in the dash.



So do the below instructions make any sense to anyone? This is how the Chilton's manual says to remove the cable from the Taurus. Where the hell is it going after step 3?! Remove a cable before you ever pull anything but the instrument panel cover off? Nothing is  visble from under the dash that moves with the .

REMOVAL & INSTALLATION
  1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
  2. Remove the instrument cluster opening finish panel.
  3. Rotate the temperature control  to the "COOL'' position.
  4. Disconnect the temperature control  cable housing end retainer from the heater case bracket using Heater Control Cable Disconnect tool T83P-18532-AH, or equivalent.
  5. Disconnect the cable wire from the temperature door crank arm, using the proper tool.
  6. Remove the retaining screws that secure the control assembly to the instrument panel. Pull the control assembly away from the instrument panel.
  7. Disconnect the cable housing end retainer from the control assembly and the cable wire from the temperature control lever arm.
  8. Remove the cable assembly from the vehicle through the control assembly opening in the instrument panel, being careful not to hook or damage the wiring or other cables.
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #1 –
I can get a '95 Mustang cable from the dealer but no one carries the Taurus cables and I  have no idea how to remove them from those vehicles. Will the '95 work fine? I take it they are slightly longer than ours, but shorter than the Taurus cables?
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #2 –
How about this - does anyone know where I can get the same strength of bare cable or a vehicle that has as really long one? I could just use the sleeves from two Tbird cables (keeping the ends that have the clips) and have an incredibly long one that can be routed out of the way using some much larger cirspoogeference curves. I need some solution as my dash is still torn apart right now.
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #3 –
Do you think you could fabricate it with a bicycle brake cable or an accelerator cable?

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #4 –
Those are typically multi-strand I think - a solid core is ideal. I thought about the bicycle one (mainly the sleeves) but an accel pedal cable might work if I can find one. I will be comparing my cable to a Mustang one tomorrow as it's worth the $40 if the thing just works, otherwise I will have to make something.
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #5 –
You've got me scratching my head on not being able to get the Taurus cable out. 

As I recall, it's the key to making the swap work.  Attempting to find a substitute may be like trying to reinvent the wheel. 

It sounds like you have the control panel out of the car.  The cable  should (yeah I know, should...) be able to be traced to the source on the door.  I recall it's removal was a PITA and I had to take a part a bit more of the dash than expected, but it cost me about an hour and a bunch of scratches (and a few choice words). 

Hope you have better luck with it.  I found the install to be straight foward and I've been pleased with the result.

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #6 –
I wanted to use the Taurus cable but I found no practical way to retreive the cable without tearing out the entire dash of the Taurus.

Instead I made my original 1984 Tbird cable work. I attached the control panel end of the cable by setting that end with the clip attached completely to the inside of where the cable comes into the clip mount of the rotary panel. Then I took a piece of rubber hose, slit it longways and attached it to the cable on the outside of where the cable mounts to the rotary panel. I secured it with a small hose clamp around the hose right up against the outside of the rotary panel where the cable enters. It works perfectly. Note that you will not have a full range of motion with the  simply because the blend door itself does not have that much range in motion. You have to adjust the clip on the blend door lever so that the even mix hot and cold aligns with the straight up position of the . The range is 9 o'clock cold and 3 o'clock hot.

About the cable itself, it attaches to the LH side of the rotary panel then does a loop to the right side then loops back to the left. Keeping a modest radius in the bends keeps the cable from binding.

SN-95 Mustang cables 1994 and up have this strange dual pulley cable system that will not attach to the heater box blend door lever.

I wish I took pictures of all this to help you guys.

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #7 –
Yeah, you're right about the 94+ being completely different. Do the early 90's Mustangs have the proper clip on both ends? I have a diagram from Ford that I can't make out whether it's like our stock cables or like the Taurus one - it looks more Taurus-like. I believe the cables are as easy to pull from the Mustangs as our cars so if this is the case, I may just try going that route - Mustangs are everywhere.
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #8 –
I think I understand the Chilton manual instructions for removing the cable from the Taurus - does anyone have any specific information on exactly where the blend door bracket is located on the Taurus? I either need to try pulling one from one of them (I'll go to a yard that has a Taurus/Sable that isn't so nasty inside as the one by my house) or look for an early 90's Mustang (much easier to remove but shorter). Third option is to use my cable by modifying it a little more but I'm thinking that the friction that it has is a bit more than it should, even when pulled out of the glove box and being straight shot. The stock slider controls weren't exactly easy to move either. I've used the sliders in an Econoline van and it was easier to move than my car's.

How easily should the blend door itself move by hand, without the cable? I can move it well enough with the little bracket but I have no idea if it should be much smoother (take almost no effort) or if it takes a little wrist muscle. Any way to improve that in the exterior (spray wd40 into a crack or something) or is it pull-dash only?
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #9 –
Pull the cable and lubricate it outside the car, straighten it out, and actuate the inner cable while spraying with WD40 or similar.  I'll see about meeting up later this week to get this taken care of. Currently though I am a bit busy.
1983 Tbird with '03 Split Port V6 motor swap done! Headers, dual exhaust, 500CFM Edelbrock, 3G upgrade, Electric fan. 3.73 Gears and an FRPP Limited Slip. Five lug complete! 5-Speed conversion complete! Standalone Fuel Injection in progress...

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #10 –
Why doesn't anyone state that the 87-89 Mustang cables work?  They appear to have the proper mounts on both sides and I don't see why it'd be any shorter then the tbird's cable. Other than potential length, the thing should slip right in. I will be trying to check one out in the next couple days.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/87-93-Ford-Mustang-OEM-A-C-Heater-Control-Cable-HVAC-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem51844e9b5fQQitemZ350112095071QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Seek;334288
Why doesn't anyone state that the 87-89 Mustang cables work?  They appear to have the proper mounts on both sides and I don't see why it'd be any shorter then the tbird's cable. Other than potential length, the thing should slip right in. I will be trying to check one out in the next couple days.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/87-93-Ford-Mustang-OEM-A-C-Heater-Control-Cable-HVAC-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem51844e9b5fQQitemZ350112095071QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories





That eBay picture looks right. I have no idea if the Mustang before 1994 ever switched to electric control for the blend door or not, but I suspect they stayed cable operated. I never thought to look in a 87-93 Fox Mustang for a cable but now that I think of it I never see any of those Mustangs in yards.

Since I swapped to a SN-95 Mustang dash, I could not use a Taurus rotary panel because it was too tall for the centerstack trimplate to fit over it. I had to take an SN-95 rotary panel and switch the rotary gear for the Taurus design to the back of my SN-95 panel so it would operate my original Tbird cable correctly. However, it looks evident that any 87-93 Mustang or early 90's Taurus cable will work. Easier to buy these cables new than to struggle getting one out of a salvage Taurus. However it is easier to get the cables out of the Fox Mustangs since the blend box lever is the same location as the Tbird. I think all the Fox bodied heater boxes are the same with the center air vent ducts that attached to it separately being the only thing different depending on which design dash was used.

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #12 –
I looked for a new Taurus cable but they can't be had anywhere. No one can get the Fox Mustang cables either. I will be picking up a cable this afternoon from an '87 - for $5, why not. The Mustang ones also appear to exit the back of the controls on the drivers side so it may also be more of a direct fit to our cars (longer than our passenger side exit) than anything else, although I'd still like to have a longer Taurus one.

I'll let you guys know how well it works when I go to install it this evening. I assume all will be fine and I can put my dash back together again.
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #13 –
Okay guys, I'm not sure how you all mange to use the stock cable but the (87) Mustang one is MUCH longer and has plenty of slack for wide curves. I got the unit it pretty well but need to modify it a bit to get it to fit about 1/8" lower so that the writing on the top is completely visible. I have it located in the stock location since I will be installing an LCD screen in the top two spots.

The cable also moves quite smooth, although the bend at the end of obvious when working the cable back and forth to oil it up. My stock cable I couldn't get this smooth. My modification of the stock cable was cutting off the coil on the end, removing the black clip on the end, inserting a proper connector to clip it into place on the new controls, and using epoxy to attach the sleeve to the new connector. It worked alright with the unit out of the dash but the cable is just way too short.

With the new cable and rotary controls, I get very near the end of cold and hot on the , not 9 to 3 like Watchdevil. I would say 7:30 to 4:30. It does take awhile to get the adjustment right at the blend door though. I haven't touched the rear defroster yet. So glad that it's finally in though!

Picture of cables!


Also, my blower works on high again. I assume the old switch burned out with age and an old blower so since I installed a new one a couple years ago and put some dielectric grease on the plug connections, it should last awhile. You can see how my stock one was burnt and I had to use vise grips to chip away the old switch connector since it melted together.
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Rotary HVAC - Doesn't work!

Reply #14 –
Quote from: Seek;334444

With the new cable and rotary controls, I get very near the end of cold and hot on the , not 9 to 3 like Watchdevil. I would say 7:30 to 4:30. It does take awhile to get the adjustment right at the blend door though. I haven't touched the rear defroster yet. So glad that it's finally in though!





At some point I may just harvest a Mustang cable just so it is not so much "rigged" at the attachment to the rotary panel. I may be a little off with the range of my  rotation. I am thinking it is indeed more like 7:30 and 4:30. The travel is limited to how much the blend door lever moves.

Also, my original cable seems to be as long as the one pictured on top. I know for sure mine is not short like the bottom one. The end that clips into the rotary panel is different of course because it has the one for the old slider unit. I also cut the loop off the end of my cable and just bent it so that it goes into the hole of the slide mechanism which is driven by the gear on the end of the rotary  shaft.

Anyway I am glad you got this working well!