Pull the wiring out of the way and you'll see the arrow/notch that only aligns when all 3 are correct. Remove the centre one to adjust the other two into place, then refit.

D4nny8oy said:

Pull the wiring out of the way and you'll see the arrow/notch that only aligns when all 3 are correct. Remove the centre one to adjust the other two into place, then refit.

Click to expand...

Thanks very much for that, it help a lot. Unfortunately I think mine is well broken. I managed to get it to work to change between windscreen defrost and feet. Which is pretty much all I need here in Ireland.

I had to leave the right gear all the way to the right, not making contact. And I think that spring was something my dealer had put in place to create pressure between them...


Is is possible to replace that part(s)? What needs to be replaced?

Cheers!

That's certainly different! Can't understand why they'd bodge it like that unless they'd broken something doing it themselves.

You should be able to get the individual gears separately, but that's not the point- am I right in remembering you've only just bought the car? I'd seriously consider showing them what you've found and leaving it upto the Sales department to pay for the repairs.

My heater unit is also showing signs of this problem. It is stuck at window and feet, it wont go further.

So i think that i also need te realign my unit. But i dont know how it was told several times... but still i dont undestand it

Since you've already been there and done that... you could explain my how it needs to be realign.

While keeping in mind that im a guy with 2 left hands

Lunatico said:

Thanks very much for that, it help a lot. Unfortunately I think mine is well broken. I managed to get it to work to change between windscreen defrost and feet. Which is pretty much all I need here in Ireland.

I had to leave the right gear all the way to the right, not making contact. And I think that spring was something my dealer had put in place to create pressure between them...

Is is possible to replace that part(s)? What needs to be replaced?

Cheers!

Click to expand...

wkrisn said:

My heater unit is also showing signs of this problem. It is stuck at window and feet, it wont go further.

So i think that i also need te realign my unit. But i dont know how it was told several times... but still i dont undestand it

Since you've already been there and done that... you could explain my how it needs to be realign.

While keeping in mind that im a guy with 2 left hands

Click to expand...

Well remove the glove compartment and you'll have easy access to the gears. I'm not too sure how to perfectly realign them because I wasn't able to realign mine because mine are broke... but for what I could understand each one have an arrow and a notch, that's what you need to align, so remove the middle one and position the rest... hope it helps.

Lunatico said:

Well remove the glove compartment and you'll have easy access to the gears. I'm not too sure how to perfectly realign them because I wasn't able to realign mine because mine are broke... but for what I could understand each one have an arrow and a notch, that's what you need to align, so remove the middle one and position the rest... hope it helps.

Click to expand...

that is why i have 2 left hands... i thought that i needs to be re aligned behind the button of the unit.

I was thinking, since i have a left steering car, is the unit still behind the glove compartment. Because when i looked at the control panel, i saw the cable going left heading to the steering side ???

Perhaps i could try to unscrew the glove part and then see what i can find. It isnt that difficult to unscrew the compartment, is it?

What i also questioned is, on what position (feet, window ??) the button needs to be to align it.

wkrisn said:

that is why i have 2 left hands... i thought that i needs to be re aligned behind the button of the unit.

I was thinking, since i have a left steering car, is the unit still behind the glove compartment. Because when i looked at the control panel, i saw the cable going left heading to the steering side ???

Perhaps i could try to unscrew the glove part and then see what i can find. It isnt that difficult to unscrew the compartment, is it?

What i also questioned is, on what position (feet, window ??) the button needs to be to align it.

Click to expand...

ah left steering wheel! well assuming the gears are still on the left then maybe you can elbow your life bellow the steering wheel? yes it is easy to remove the glove compartment: open, empty, on the bottom right there is a plastic pin, wedge it to the right with a screw driver.

D4nny8oy said:

Pull the wiring out of the way and you'll see the arrow/notch that only aligns when all 3 are correct. Remove the centre one to adjust the other two into place, then refit.

Click to expand...

Replying to a very old post, as my heater controls seem to require realignment. My question is how does one release the centre one - without knowing the technique I a reluctant to force it in case I break something.

AndyRKett

Andrew56 said:

Replying to a very old post, as my heater controls seem to require realignment. My question is how does one release the centre one - without knowing the technique I a reluctant to force it in case I break something.

Click to expand...

Lunatico posted a pic that seems to say the central gear is held in place with a screw..

This will have been covered a few times over the years I suspect..

Fortunately that is one Grande issue I have yet to encounter..

Having enough grief with the illumination

varesecrazy said:

Lunatico posted a pic that seems to say the central gear is held in place with a screw..

This will have been covered a few times over the years I suspect..

Fortunately that is one Grande issue I have yet to encounter..

Having enough grief with the illumination

Click to expand...

Many thanks for your reply. Definately not a staightforward screw in my case. I will post a picture tomorrow.

I saw the photos Lunatico posted, but they do not seem to correspond to what I am seeing on my vehicle. Perhaps his car had been constructed slightly differently(?), or had been altered by a previous owner. I know mine has not been changed as I bought it from new.

Searching does bring up a few references to realigning after the cogs have jumped - but as far as I can see no reference to a means of moving the central gear outwards to facilitate this realignment.

In hindsight..
That screw looks 'wrong'..

As if somebody had stripped it down and used a woodscrew as a retaining 'axle'

Thank you for your comments Varesecrazy.

For what it is worth I attach picture of the cogs on my vehicle - not easy to illuminate and take a photograph in confined space. As you can see very different from Lunatico's picture, which as you say looks "wrong". Perhaps someone damaged the parts on his vehicle by an incorrect removal method - which is why I am reluctant to force anything!

Problem solved! There is a thin piece of metal next to the shaft which needs to be pushed with a very small screwdriver to release the gear wheel. Obvious when you have done it, but not so easy to see in a small space with poor lighting at an awkward angle. The direction control now works correctly and smoothly.

I note there is more than one picture of this area on the forum, and the layout is not the same as mine - so if anyone is looking at these posts for future reference they should bear in mind some design changes may have been made during the production runs. For the record my vehicle is a 56 reg 1.2 Dynamic.

The help given on this forum is always appreciated.

Hi, I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone in this very old thread.

I had this same problem on my 55reg Grande Punto, so a few years ago I bought a new heater control panel and attempted to replace it. I managed eventually (I can just about manage to fit a car radio so I realised I had to remove all that part to get at the heater control panel) but I was gutted when I realised it wasn't the knobs that were broken at all, so I put it all back together and resigned myself to a life of airy feet and squeegees. I assumed the "other end of the cable from the knob" was far too inaccessible for someone of my ability, and didn't feel it a big enough issue to pay a garage to do it.

Obviously it's summer again so I was yearning for aircon, and idly did a google search. I don't know why I haven't come across this thread before but I'm so glad I did today. THANK YOU GUYS I had no idea it was so easy to access "the other end of the cable". And thank you so much for posting photos they are so helpful to someone like me who really wants to fix something herself and is normally quite handy but who has no idea what she is doing when it comes to cars.

Now I know what to look for and hopefully I can fix it after all! If I do, I'll be sure to post pics to help some other unfortunate who stumbles across this thread in 3 years time.

Andrew56 said:

Thank you for your comments Varesecrazy.

For what it is worth I attach picture of the cogs on my vehicle - not easy to illuminate and take a photograph in confined space. As you can see very different from Lunatico's picture, which as you say looks "wrong". Perhaps someone damaged the parts on his vehicle by an incorrect removal method - which is why I am reluctant to force anything!

Click to expand...

Hi, are the cogs on the picture in the right position? please let me know as i have the same problem