1986 HVAC Control Panel Question

[86McLarenCapri]

Is there a difference between hatchback and convertible HVAC control panels?

I have a McLaren roadster that started life as a hatch back. They cut the top off and added the the parts for the convertible conversion. That would have removed the rear defrost. However, on my car, it looks like it still has the rear window defrost spot on the control panel. It looks like the paint was removed very unprofessionally. The knob and control were also removed. It doesn't look professional, at all, and it has broken tabs on the back.

I haven't found anything in my ASC research that mentions that panel.

It makes sense that it still had the defrost, but I would think that ASC would have done a much more professional job of converting the panel.

This is a pic (not of my car) that shows the defrost stuff. Do the convertible or non-defrost optioned Mustang or Capris get this panel??

[wraithracing]

I am not an ASC expert by any stretch, but this would be a normal Fox HVAC without rear defrost panel.



Your vehicle might have originally been equipped with the rear defrost or maybe a PO swapped out the control head.

[KevinK]

ASC cars did not come with rear defrost. Rear defrost was not a standard feature yet on all Ford cars but our expert says it was standard on the Capri. With that said, Someone replaced the panel. Yet another detail on the ASC conversion. There are maybe 6 different versions of the red lighted ones.

Ac, no defrost
Ac, defrost
No ac, no defrost
No ac, defrost?
Dealer ac, no defrost
Dealer ac, defrost

On another note, I was considering using the defrost switch and timer to activate the Recaro heated seats as they do not have a timer for power on. Seems simple enough.

Edit: Most Asc cars were ordered using a special order code D32 I believe. This did not include rear defrost. However, a few cars were pulled from the regular production and converted. The special order cars had a different vin from the regular production and started with 1MH. The regular production cars were 1ME. I think these were mostly 1985 cars. You can check the Marti Report to see if you car came with it.

[homer302]

You may never know. I imagine back in those days, the car could well have been shipped over for the conversion and the McLaren guys were like @#$% Ford, we said no defrost! And then they just went on doing the conversion. Not like they could send it back. They could have obviously ordered a correct control as pictured above but who knows? Maybe your OEM one broke at some point and was replaced by the previous owner too. If the car originally HAD rear defrost, pull that cover loose and you should see a rather large gauge (diameter) yellow wire sitting back there. The defrost wire is much larger then all the other wires. I doubt McLaren would have gone to the trouble to remove the wire from the harness if it was already there.

Ha. the very first picture that came up in a search seems to very clearly show the slot where the lever was on this car as well. Maybe they came this way?

[FoxChassis]

Rear window defroster was standard in the Capri in the 1985 and 1986 model years.

EDIT: OK so I checked the database entries...

Every 1985 ascMcLaren buck tag, build sheet, and Marti report that I have seen, including convertible and Coupe, has defrost.

Every 1986 ascMcLaren buck tag and build sheet that I have seen, including convertible, Coupe, and Eurocoupe, has defrost. However, every 1986 ascMcLaren Marti report that I have seen does not have defrost.

1MH = incomplete Mercury vehicle manufactured in USA

1MH was in 1984 (less than 50) and 1985 (over 200) only.

Most ascMcLaren Capri convertibles are 1MH but some are 1ME.

Every ascMcLaren Capri that I have seen a DSO for has been a special order. Not just 1MH. All VINs. All convertibles. All Coupes. All Eurocoupes.

[86McLarenCapri]

I can totally see Homer's vision! Mine looks just like the picture he found.

There is definitely something odd about my car, the tags on the radiator support say coupe, so I'm thinking that maybe it was to be a coupe build but it was switched to a roadster before the build?



Also, there is a connector next to the driver seat that doesn't go to anything. Would that be the defrost wiring?

[4-barrel Mike]

The defrost wiring in rear of the ASCs was used to power the tonneau pull-down.

Mike

[86McLarenCapri]

That's interesting. So, if that is the case, then it would make sense that the HVAC control panel would have the defrost section. That is, unless the defrost wiring cam standard on the wiring harness?

Also, on the pic of the wiring I posted earlier, there is a blue wire that is not connected. I'm wondering what that is, too.

[homer302]

Rear defrost wire is 1 yellow very thick gauge wire as noted above.

[Mustang Marty]

The extra connector next to the seat is for the heated seat and controls on the Recaros. The seats were on the lower end of Recaro's offerings and heating pad in the seats would short out and take out the black box that operates seats and the tonneau cover pulldown... The black box was usually placed in the dash behind the HVAC controls. The defrost wire was one of the wires connected to it.


On a side note... If your pull down doesn't work, there is a second black box in the trunk connected to the pull down motor harness. If the trunk black box doesn't have power on the yellow defrost wire, the black box in the dash may be fried or missing. Both of the boxes are the same part and from what I understand they contained a couple of relays and an early 80's era circuit board.