Technical Clima system gone berserk

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Technical Clima system gone berserk

2bakedbeans

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Croma diesel LHD MkII, just had it's annual service at 135,000miles and then departed Italy to come to UK. Enroute discovered the Clima system was not getting warm. In fact only cold. Tried all settings, no change.
Stopped car later and set off, this time blowing hot air! Tried all settings, no change and had to switch it off completely.
The rest of the 2000+km journey was done wearing gloves!

It's going to a dealer garage next week but just wondered if anyone else had experienced the same problem? I might add the condenser matrix was replaced last year due to a tiny leak which meant the A/C regass was lost within 2 weeks.
Many thanks, Ray
 
It is difficult to say what is going on but modern cabin heater/aircon/climate units with electric motor drives, as oppose to more older traditional lever and cable drives, to control the multitude of "flaps" often get drive motor/mechanism failures and/or erratic operation that leave the air diversion flaps in the wrong position.

What is an additional clue is that modern climate control units do not have an engine hot water regulator valve into the heater matrix. Instead the heater matrix is permanently supplied with hot water thus meaning hot air is always available and is modulated/mixed with cool air via a flap.

The Croma has this "total flap control" environment so I think you are looking at a flap control issue (as in motor, sticking flap,etc) or a sensor or climate control unit ECU issue.

Fingers crossed the fix is simple and cheap.
 
Thanks for reply s130, apologies for long delay in responding.
Well after getting car to Hereford, contacted FIAT local dealership which had changed changed from Hartwells to Ponthir Hereford garages who also do Suzuki. Very helpful front of service staff who booked it in for a diagnostic check. The check was done and 5 faults came up (what I don't know) but they said it meant two days in the shop as the entire dashboard would have to come out. Aghast, as the cost would £1,147 :cry:
Well it could not be left without any form of working ventilation, so booked it in.
A while later we went to collect the car. Unfortunately, when put back together, another fault was thrown up not seen before. Something to do with a mixer motor. Worried at the cost mounting up, the said there would not be any further charge even for the part which as there were none in the UK, they would source from Italy but it would take 3 weeks. :cry:
Finally we were told all was well and it could be collected. Paid the money :cry:
and left. Just outside the garage I noticed the odometer was flashing madly. Turned around to take it back. A 20 min wait and it was corrected. Something to do with a Proximity Alignment issue!!! Anyway it was OK.
Could not get a chance to try out the A/C system until later.
We discovered that the drivers side was blowing cold and was controllable but the passenger side was hot and uncontrollable.
Unfortunately we did not have any time left to take it back as we were due to return the car to Italy (it's a left hooker).
Again we have not had the opportunity or time to take it to our local Bosch service place (Fiat garage closed down a while back) for discussion with them.
But it has been annoying and expensive.
It will be very difficult I suspect to get any redress from Hereford even though a shedload of money was paid for an unsatisfactory outcome. As one the guys said, "we've never seen a Croma before" :eek:
 
What a poor outcome.

Its only 2 months.

Contact the garahe.

But also may your bank..or credit card provider aware.

Services paid for should include a warranty. Being over £1000 may help.

There is a specialist near Southampton who should be capable of a proper repair.

Charlie
 
Most of these systems have a facility to reset the flaps to a zero position, so that the control unit knows where they all are. The Fiat software system can do this, as I think can the system a lot of us use here, MultiECUscan. (Do a search and read a few threads.) The dealer will have used this to do the proxi-alignment.

It is possible that not all flaps are reset, or another motor or flap could be broken. (The 500/Panda has a habit of breaking its control flaps where they meet the motors, but an enterprising garage has found a fix - another thread here somewhere.)

Not surprising that a recent Fiat franchisee has not seen a Croma, they were not plentiful when new.

Most of the car is based on the similar age Vectra, so a local Opel dealer may have some experience, and may be able to help or advise with physical repairs. It would need dedicated Fiat software to do the reset though.
 
I didn't find anywhere the procedure of reseting the climate control unit on Croma...
 
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