OK, I probably stand more chance of finding a warehouse full of tailblazers and unbroken glovebox lids, but it's worth a try...
The slider control for the air conditioning is no longer functioning - it reads open circuit all the time, no matter what position it's in. The control unit is functioning fine, which was my initial thought. Does anyone have a spare ( ) please that they would like to exchange for beer tokens?
Failing that, does anyone know what resistance range it should read, that way I could perhaps go about making a replacement?
i think its 10k slider, i could check at some point when i'm near the car, but its a standard size/resistance. The one currently fitted to my car is not standard but a replacement from Tandy/Radioshack. Either way i think your very likely to find one.
I have one. You can have it gratis, or maybe I should charge a large amount for it since it's so rare and all?
Nah, fuck it, gratis, if you want it, but it may take me a week or so to actually find it, since I know roughley where it is, and will require a forklift to get the other crap out of the way to get to the bix in which it lives.
Tis secondhand though.
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!
Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
I think Radio Spares or Maplins do a 10K slider mate, although the travel I didn't check. I seem to remember checking physical dims and felt relieved there was a ready replacement! Check them out mate as I'd of thought that for what was then a low volume item, PSA would of used a standard item!
1990 BX 16V Platinum Grey
1990 BX TGD White
1960 Morris Minor Clarondon Grey
1971 Triumph 2000 Auto Valencia Blue
The one I put on my car came from Maplins. i bought a log and a linear one, & fitted the one that worked best..........can't remember which one it was though! They are not expensive though. I also fitted a separate toggle swith to switch off the whole system in case the slider wasn't quite right. Works fine now.
you looked at Farnell? If RS dont have it Farnell often do. Alternatively have a look on the USA RS website, its probably in inches on there and you might have more luck. I know a man who can get you components from RS USA in the next few days.
failing that, get a 15k resistor with 45mm travel, line up the zero end with the old zero end and you set, or feck it and put and offset it and just use 5k of the 10k range (should be split range). I know to most this will sound like jibberish, but i suspect you'll understand what i'm blithering on about Mat!
I'm in the realms of 75 to 80% sure that its linear.
Yeah, I had a quick look at Farnell (although I hate their search engine - you put in your criteria, and it comes up with eleventy billion results, so you narrow it down ever so slightly and it comes up with nothing!). Nothing exactly matching though. Thing is, I'm now puzzled as to how the control unit actually works, I assume the temperature sensor is an NTC thermistor (I believe that the typical range is 5-12 kohms). I had thought that it would be a simple voltage divider circuit, whenever the resistance of the slide pot is lower than that of the sensor then the A/C is off.
That (to my mind) works, say for example the resistance of the sensor at ambient is 5k, the slider is set at zero resistance when A/C is off. As soon as the resistance of the pot is higher than that of the sensor, the A/C comes on, decreasing the temperature and increasing the resistance of the sensor till it is higher than the pot, turning the A/C off again.
But, it can't be that way, as mine has failed open circuit, so that if that was the case my A/C would be on all the time. (It does come on if I short out the slide pot).
I just can't understand, if you decrease the resistance of the pot to turn the A/C on (which will increase the resistance of the sensor), how it gets into a 'control' situation. Am I missing a trick here? More importantly, am I making sense?
Yes Mat believe you are on track and not sliding down the wrong path.
I have a slider here which is earmarked for my next conversion project.
Perversely it measures at 28meg , aircon off and 10 meg aircon on max.
This despite the 10K lin on the side of the pot.
I then poured some alcohol into it to clean up the slider and it measured 1 meg off, 12k when moved to a just on position and a few ohms when on full.
This using a digital meter. I will try it with a moving coil meter tomorrow.
The Joy of BX with just one Citroën BX to my name now. Will I sing Bye Bye to my GTI or will it be Till death us do part.
UPDATE :
I have now applied a few spots of silicone fluid onto the slider tracks. It now moves very smoothly from left to right and behaves with a meter attached as a linear pot should do. Which it did not do before. It was effectively open circuit like yours is now.
So you could try cleaning yours up in the same way to resuscitate your failing a/c control.
The Joy of BX with just one Citroën BX to my name now. Will I sing Bye Bye to my GTI or will it be Till death us do part.
Sadly still open circuit after a good spray with contact cleaner - even with the meter on the 20 Meg setting. There is very little resistance to moving the slider, even though I can see the wiper apparently in contact with the (presumably) carbon track.
) please that they would like to exchange for beer tokens?
I'm struggling to find one with the right travel length though.
