I thought some might be interested in some repair work I have just completed
on the AC system in my 67 Convertible, with standard (non-ATC) air
conditioning. I have the complete dashboard out of the car, and am going
through every switch and control device, rebuilding or replacing as
necessary to bring the car back to as new operation of everything. I decided
to search for replacement new controls for both the fan 4-speed switch
("Low", "Medium", "High" and "WOW!") and the push button vacuum routing
switch that controls the mode of the system ("OFF", "MAX AC", "AC", "HEAT"
and "DEF").
The reason I decided to replace these controls is that the push button
assembly had developed some vacuum seepage, making the response of the air
control flaps very sluggish, plus the push buttons were hard to push unless
one pulled the previously depressed button out before making another
selection. The blower switch had become very touchy on the "WOW" setting -
one had to very carefully position the switch lever to make it stay on that
setting - it tended to slip off to the "HIGH" setting, hardly a serious
problem, but an irritation to the perfectionist (does anyone hear my call?).
I took the switch apart to diagnose the problem, and decided it was caused
by warpage of the phenolic substrate in which the terminals are staked. I
made the repair, but I didn't feel it was a permanent cure, as the board can
just warp further. It is such a royal pain in the posterior to get that
switch out of the dash that I decided I wanted to replace it with a new one
of better design.
I tried to find these controls on eBay, PartsVoice etc., without success.
Then I tried NAPA, - same story. I took the "buyer's guide" from NAPA and
began comparing shapes and functions, and found substitutes that others may
be interested in making a note of, in case you ever have the need.
For the push button control, Mopar number 2587 564, you can directly
substitute a Mopar number 3431 020K, which was used on 69 - up non ATC cars
from lesser Mopars, for instance my 69 Newport. The only difference is the
presence of an extra electrical terminal on the blower feed lugs on the
right rear of the switch. This switch has three terminals, while the
original only had two. To use it, just ignore the extra terminal, which is
the one toward the center of the control unit. NAPA stocks this control
under their number ECH-HC-205. AutoZone also stocks it, but you have to ask
for a 1969 Chrysler Newport switch. As I recall, their number is WF259, but
double check that as it is from memory.
For the blower speed control, Mopar number 2587 321, you can substitute a
Mopar number 4261 306, which was in use at least up to 1980 in the Dodge
trucks. The NAPA number for this is ECH-HC-202. You cannot use it
directly, you have to change the wire connections to the back of the
switch. Directions to do this are as follows:
1. Note the 4 #16 wires to the back of the old switch. They are Brown,
Light Green, Dark Green and Tan (on some cars the light green wire looks
white, according to my color consultant (I'm color blind, so I take her word
for it).
2. Note that the pattern of the connection lugs on the back of the new
switch is in the shape of the letter "A", with one terminal at the right
bottom of the "A" - this one gets the brown wire. The center bar of the "A"
gets the dark green wire. The apex of the "A" gets the light green wire.
The left bottom of the "A" gets the tan wire. Clip each of these wires off
the old switch, strip back 1/4 inch of insulation, and crimp on a new spade
lug female to each wire. Then solder the crimp so that it won't work loose,
overheat, and ruin the new switch. Then, using heat shrink tubing, put an
insulating sleeve over each crimp lug, so that they cannot contact each
other when installed on the switch, as the terminals are VERY close
together. Do all this work with the wires unplugged from the switch, to
avoid overheating it.
3. Now, you have to remove the electrical operating doo-dads from the new
switch and install them on the old switch, as the handles and mounting
bracket are different. Carefully unbend the 3 bent over tabs holding the
back of each switch to its housing, and transfer all the contents of the new
switch to the old one. You will have to slightly extend the notch for one
end tab to make it fit the old switch housing, but you can do this with a
nail file (if your wife isn't looking). Be sure to transfer the inner
slider and spring assembly also, as they are slightly different and the old
one won't work on the new terminal board. Install the new parts in the old
housing, carefully bend the holding tabs back down, and Bob's your uncle!
Plug in the wires as described above and you have a complete new control
system for the AC and Heater/Defroster system. How sweet it is!
Any questions or difficulty, feel free to ask me.
Dick Benjamin
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