I have read and found nothing specific on how to actually removed the push button climate control until on my 85 300D. My defroster vents blow all the time and I pulled the bottom dash cover on the drivers side and checked the vacuum pod for the defroster and it holds vacuum. The two vacuum lines going to that pod do not have vacuum on them no matter what button I push. I would like the flap to close so I get full air through vents when AC is on.

How do I removed the climate control unit or test it now?

Thanks

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85 300D Turbo

It is very easy. The wood trim surrounding the CCU pops off. Put something blunt like a slotted screwdriver under the lower right or left corner of the wood, just above the radio. The wood is glued to a metal plate. In all likelyhood, your wood has separated somewhat from the metal, so be careful you are not just pulling at the wood. The trim should pop off easily. You will then see a couple of screws that secure the CCU in. Remove those screws and you can pull out the CCU. There will be a couple of cables to disattach if I remember correctly. There is a string of lights and also the cable that hooks up the electronics.

I took mine completely apart and cleaned up everything; replaced the bulbs as well. It looks great now but does not really work any better. If you are expecting to see vacuum lines that you can repair, you will be dissappointed. It is basically a circuit board and some relays. Some people have had success at repairing cracked traces on the circuit board, but mine looked perfect and there was nothing that I felt I could fix. I think the key is to be good with electronics and have the right testing equipment. You can purchase a replacement CCU for a few hundred $s.

Good luck.

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The FSM is really helpful when debugging the ACC. Do you have access to it?

To remove, you need to pry the zebrano panel off. Then there are screws holding a retaining plastic piece in, and the ACC comes right out.

Be careful, you will need to GENTLY remove the lightbulbs from their places, as well as the two main ire harnesses from either side.

I do not think you need to also remove the radio to get the ACC out, when I pulled mine the whole dash was coming off. Maybe someone else can verfiy this for me?

This early parts of this article may be hepful in showing the underdash: http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W123Evaporator

dd

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

You cannot test the CCU after you remove it unless you've got a test stand.

So, the required check is to see if there is voltage at the switchover valve that controls the vacuum to the defroster pod. If the switchover valve gets voltage then the problem is the switchover valve itself. If the switchover valve never sees voltage, under any operating mode, the problem is the CCU.

IMHO, CCU removal is not as easy as previous posters have said, especially the first time, without risk of damage. The CCU is held in the console by two Phillips flat-head machine screws in the top corners and two fingers that hook onto the console at the bottom. The other screws that you can see in the CCU do not need to be removed.

Once the screws are out, you can use a flat-bladed screwdriver in one of the slots that you see cut into the plastic front of the CCU to simultaneously lift and pull out at the top of the CCU. You can do one side at a time. The cables attached to the CCU are stiff so be firm but gentle. The top of the CCU needs to come out enough to provide clearance so that you can lift up to disengage the fingers at the bottom.

Once out a few inches, you will see a daisy chain of lamps; the lamp sockets clip into plastic holders in the CCU. They snap out one at a time and the entire daisy chain can be put aside. The electrical cables left and right now must be unplugged, carefully prying with a small screwdriver if necessary. Once the cables are off, the CCU is loose.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I got the climate control out which was not too hard thanks to the tips. I traced the vacuum line on the defroster pod to the first solenoid valve on the left. I measured the coil on the solenoid and it measure like 500K ohms and the one next to it that was good was 30 ohms. It looks like the coil in the valve is bad. It put a zip tie on the pod linkage for the defroster so it stays closed all the time and if I need it in the winter I will just pull the zip tie off. I added some 134a and the vents are all blowing good now and the center vent gets down to 43F while driving today so I am not going to gamble and add anymore since the low side pressure is reading about 30 psi. Wish I would have added some early this summer but will see if it leaks out. It lasted 2 years last time before the AC cooling started to die.

Next thing is to try and get the solenoid off the starter in places since mine is the the one with the solenoid on the bottom. Those 3 screw are getting stripped already.

Thanks for the help.

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85 300D Turbo