Well, some time had passed, and the Dual Climate Control Valve (DCCV) went bad (again).  What they experienced was the awful smell of vaporized metal, melted plastic, and hot air out of the a/c vents.  They contacted us, and we advised them to send in the CCM for evaluation and possible repair.

When we opened up the CCM, this was what we saw:

We were appalled at the sight.  It was the sight of something that had burned at over 700 degrees Celsius.  The board was charred through and multiple components had been damaged.  The scariest thing…see the black patch in the photo above?  There used to be a component there.  We lightly touched it with with our high-precision, Swiss-made tweezers.  The component fell apart and became a pile of dust.  It had burned so hot (likely with a blue-colored flame) that it basically just turned to ashes.  The board sustained such heavy damage that repair was not possible.  They were lucky that the fire did not spread and burn down the rest of the car!

Fortunately, we were able to provide a replacement CCM w/ fault-protection upgrade to the customer.  Problem solved.  For real this time.

So, what is the lesson here?  Don’t perform (or let anyone else perform) a jumper wire repair!

Here are the key points to remember:

1.  A jumper wire repair does not correct the factory design flaw, where a DCCV in over-current state creates a hazardous condition for the CCM.

2.  A jumper wire repair allows excessive electrical current directly into sensitive components, potentially causing catastrophic failure to the entire CCM board.

3.  A jumper wire repair is not a repair at all.  It is a quick fix that can have deadly consequences.

4.  A jumper wire repair is dangerous.  Sure, the jumper wire itself may handle the current, but what about the rest of the CCM?

5.  A jumper wire repair is a bad idea.  When a fuse blows in the fuse compartment, do you replace that fuse with a jumper wire?

Let the photo above serve as a reminder to us all.  Don’t gamble your entire car on a jumper wire repair.  Send us your CCM for a repair & upgrade instead!

The thing about highlighting benefits, though, is that it has the side effect of downplaying the long and arduous journey that we may need to take, in order to realize these benefits.  It’s analogous to how 3rd-party observers might  narrowly focus on the results of other people’s “overnight success stories,” then opine about how “lucky they are.”  Chances are, the observers weren’t there on the first day of the journey, nor were the observers there on the 365th and 783rd days of the journey, when the appearance of success may not have been visible.

Alright.  Enough talk about benefits.  Here’s a list of what our repair service includes, sort of like a features list, if you will:

1.  Component-level testing (testing the function of the individual chips, big and small), and replacements (for the small ones) in case bad ones are found.

2.  Proper inspection and cleaning of the damaged areas, so that these areas shall no longer cause further problem later on.

3.  Mechanically-strong solder connections, designed to last a lifetime in the harsh environment of the car.

4.  Soldering at correct and safe temperatures, so the chips and board do not get damaged.

5.  Current overload protection.  You may have heard others say “oh, just solder in a jumper wire.  it’s a simple fix!”  You may be weary of such advice, and rightly so.  The thing with just using a jumper wire, is that it will not prevent the DCCV from drawing too much current.  Too much current means the next “weak link” (whether it is the jumper wire itself, the board, or a component) is going to get overheated or burn.  If the CPU gets damaged, then you might as well use the CCM for target practice.  Using just a jumper wire is like using a band-aid to hide the problem – basically just treating the symptom.  Our current overload protection treats the cause, and makes it impossible for the DCCV to actually draw too much current.  Sure, a bad DCCV will try to, but it won’t succeed!  It is what Jaguar engineers should have designed into the board in the first place.

6.  Warranty on the work performed, plus continued e-mail support even if there are other issues (such as faulty sensors, dying a/c compressor, etc.).

You may find out that what initial starts out as a simple issue, ends up becoming quite an involved journey.  This is why item #6 is such an important “feature.”  It’s not just about having a warranty.  It’s about having someone there to support you along the way, to see you through your journey, and to help you realize the benefits that you are working so hard for.

Happy diagnosing!

There are two likely causes for a sudden shift from cold A/C to hot A/C, immediately after the DCCV is replaced:

1. Faulty new DCCV. Although rare, this can and does happen. Our customers have seen this happen first-hand, even on brand new factory OEM Bosch units. If you’re a shop that services Jaguars often, it may be best to keep a spare (newish) DCCV around, just to have as a backup or to use for comparison purposes. A new DCCV should draw approximately 0.7A when hooked up to a 12V battery when bench-tested (and also have audible, mechanical clicks when power is applied).

2. The CCM had already been damaged by the old DCCV. Sometimes, symptoms don’t manifest (appear) immediately. The CCM may have been limping along for a while. The old DCCV may have been stuck partially open (or is it partially closed?), helping to mask symptoms. It’s like not realizing that you hurt your back from yesterday’s box-moving until you woke up with back pain this morning. It’s like not feeling sick until a couple days after you sat next to someone who was exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

3. This third cause isn’t really a cause. We have heard of pristine-looking DCCV connectors (the one on the engine harness side) having poor connections. We have even heard of wires that got chewed through by rats. It’s just a reminder that the S-Type’s climate control system is no simple animal, and that anything can happen. And to better equip yourself to handle “anything,” we recommend that you: eliminate the simple or known problems first, be methodical in your problem-solving approach, use critical thinking to help think outside the box, and keep an open mind.

Step 1 – Check your coolant levels
Pop open the hood. Take a look at the coolant expansion tank. Open the pressure cap carefully (warning: hot coolant is under pressure and can burn you!), or wait for things to cool down first. Check the coolant level inside. Check the cleanliness of the coolant. These expansion tanks are prone to crack after years of service. Check for leaks around the tank. Check for leaks around the hoses and radiator. If all looks good, move on to the next step.

Step 2 – Bleed your cooling system
Over time, pockets of air (“bubbles”) may form inside your cooling system. After coolant is drained and refilled, the system must be bled properly to eliminate these air pockets. Having excess amounts of air pockets reduces the cooling system’s ability to keep the engine cool. It may also impair your climate control’s heating function. The bleeding procedure varies between the different years and engine options. Here is the procedure for a 2000 S-Type with 3.0L V6 engine:
- Install the expansion tank cap.
- Leave heater air bleed open.
- Start the engine and set the heater to 29 C / 90 F [both driver and passenger controls].
- Close heater air bleed when a steady stream of coolant flows during engine idle.
- Allow the engine to idle for 5 minutes, adding coolant the expansion tank to maintain the COLD FILL MAX level.
- Open the heater air bleed to release any trapped air, close the heater air bleed.
- Increase the engine speed to 1500 rpm for between three and five minutes or until the heater is blowing hot air.
- Return to idle and verify that heater is blowing hot air.
- Turn off engine and allow to cool.
- Top off coolant to COLD FILL MAX.
If bleeding the system didn’t eliminate the symptom of “no hot air,” then move on to Step 3.

Step 3 – Check your DCCV (heater valve)
Whether you have a 5-port (1999-2002) or 3-port (2003-2008) heater valve, it is prone to corrosion and leakage. If you have a 5-port valve, and it looks clean from the outside, then there is a good chance it is blocked off internally. The best way to check this is to remove the heater valve, then try to force air or water through the ports manually. You can even try blowing through it with your mouth (after cleaning it of course). When no 12V power is applied, the valve should remain fully open. You can blow through a good heater valve with almost no resistance. If it is stuck closed, then it will be very difficult or impossible to blow through. In most cases, replacing the heater valve with a new one will solve your problem. If you need a 5-port DCCV for your 1999-(early 2002) S-Type, you can purchase a new one here. After you replace the heater valve, make sure to go back to Step 2 and bleed your cooling system.

Here’s a true story:
We had a customer (let’s call him “John”), who first sent his climate control module (CCM) to another repair house (let’s call them “XYZ Re-manufacturing”). John sent the unit to XYZ, had it repaired, then got the unit back and re-installed the unit (this marked round 1). It turned out great. John got his cold a/c back, and XYZ added John to their satisfied customer list. Months went by without a hitch. Then, all of a sudden, John realized that his a/c had started to blow hot air only. He brought his car back to his trusted mechanic, who performed all the proper diagnostics. They found that the dual climate control valve (DCCV) was functioning correctly. There was also continuity between the DCCV and CCM, so they determined that the CCM was malfunctioning. John sent the CCM back to XYZ for a re-check. XYZ dug deeper, re-worked their repair a bit differently, and sent the unit back to John (this marked round 2). Once again, John got his cold a/c back. Yet, only weeks went by before the hot air returned. So John and the mechanic sent the unit back to XYZ for another go. After this round (this marked round 3), the same thing happened: Hot air after a few weeks. XYZ decided that there was nothing more they could do, and refunded John’s money.

Not wanting to give up, John decided to send his CCM to us for a second opinion. We performed a complete inspection, and found that XYZ had done an OK job at the repair. Not quite as robust as ours, and missing the fault-protection upgrade (a JaguarClimateControl.com exclusive), but still workable. We saw no visible or obvious reason why the unit should not work. In fact, the unit functioned properly during our bench test in the lab. With John’s approval, we removed XYZ’s repair, and implemented our repair with fault-protection. Bench testing thereafter showed no faults. We packed and shipped the unit back to John (round 4, anyone?). His mechanic re-installed it and things ended up pretty much the same: a/c blew cold air at first, then got stuck on hot air only. Once we were notified of the continuing problem, we rebuilt a spare unit and sent it out to John. That took care of the problem for good.

We chalked it up to a faulty microcontroller (the biggest chip on the board, a.k.a. “the brains”) in John’s original CCM.  What made things worse was the intermittent nature of the problem. A computer chip “gone haywire” can not only cause very unpredictable symptoms, but can also make diagnosis very difficult.  Due to the chip’s propriety internal design, there was simply no repair possible. The only thing that could be done was replace the entire climate control board.

When are CCMs non-repairable?
We have seen climate control units in all kinds of conditions. Burn damage, water damage, impact damage, etc…we’ve seen it all (OK, maybe not “all” – but still quite a lot). In most cases, we can repair the unit. In some cases, a unit is beyond repair due to excessive physical damage, or due to a faulty microcontroller.

What happens if I get stuck with a non-repairable CCM?
We know that feeling. In fact, we have built up quite a collection of non-repairable CCMs for ourselves. We stock a good number of repairable non-navigation CCMs. So, if you have a non-nav CCM and you are stuck in this situation, then we can most likely work something out with you.

On the other hand, if you have a nav-equipped RCCM, then it gets tougher. Faulty microcontrollers have killed off a lot all of our RCCM inventory. This means that if a standard repair doesn’t do the trick, you may ultimately need to purchase a new RCCM from the dealership. This doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen (we estimate roughly 15-20% of RCCMs show evidence of faulty microcontroller behavior).

When we receive a customer’s unit that exhibits no signs of burn damage, it immediately raises a red flag. Beyond that, we have improved our in-lab bench-testing routine to help us detect this particular microcontroller fault. If we can confirm presence of microcontroller fault, we will notify you and perhaps discuss what other options still remain.

Some damage is visible to the naked eye. Some damage is invisible. If you see damage, then chances are, we can fix it for you. If you don’t see damage, then only our inspection can tell you whether or not your unit has damage.

Remember, we live and breath this stuff. We see both the micro-details, as well as the big picture. We know the S-Type, and we know electronics. If you really think about it, JaguarClimateControl.com contains the best of both worlds. No one else can help you the way we can.

Anyway, enough small-talk. We know what you’re here for…

You want to see with your own eyes if your CCM has been damaged. Perhaps you smelled something burning all of a sudden, then your A/C went from super cold to super hot. Hey, why not take a look inside before sending something out that might turn out to be perfectly fine and undamaged? Or perhaps you are planning to make your own repairs (we’ve seen so many botched “repairs” that it’s not even funny…don’t say we didn’t warn you!).

Well, here they are — instructional how-to videos that show you the exact steps to take the CCM apart, and put it all back together.

* Due to limited supply of microphones (it’s removable, at the top of the CCM, and has wires sticking out the back of it leading to a gray connector), some of our core exchange customers may be required to transfer the mic from their original CCM’s housing to the rebuilt & upgraded CCM’s housing. These videos shows you exactly how to do just that as well.

Watch the online videos now!

If you’re really going to tackle the disassembly of the CCM or RCCM, do yourself a favor and don’t try to remove the housing’s Torx T6 screws using a Dremel tool and flat-headed screwdriver. Go get yourself a Torx T6 screwdriver (how much could it be, maybe $3?) and do it the right way!

Every CCM and RCCM has four (4) Torx T6 screws holding the housing and board together. The RCCM housing opens up easily once these screws are removed. The CCM, on the other hand, requires a very intricate process in order prevent damage to the mounting tabs. We’ll be posting up CCM and RCCM disassembly videos very soon, so stay tuned!
* Update 8/7/2011 – How-to videos are now online. Check them out here!

We’re even nice enough to show you an example picture, to give you an idea what it might look like:

But, and a big BUT:  If you’re thinking, “Oh, that looks simple enough to fix…I can fix that myself!” or you’re shopping around and looking to go with the “lowest bidder,” then do so only after you understand what our offering to you really entails:

1. Awesomeness – What you see in the picture above is merely an example of visible damage. What about non-visible damage? We perform component-level testing and stock the correct replacement components. We hold ourselves to the highest standards to ensure the cleanest job possible in every unit we service. No cold solder joints. No cheap jumper wire tricks. No sticky mess. No problems!

2. Vehicle-specific Knowledge – All the diagnosis information shown on this website came from our hands-on experience working with the actual car. We’ve created vehicle-specific test procedures for your S-Type!

3. Upgrade w/ Fault-Protection – We incorporate a proprietary fault-protection upgrade in every unit we service. This adds protection against short circuit at the Dual Climate Control Valve (DCCV). Much needed but missing from the factory!

4. Limited Lifetime Warranty – We offer a Lifetime Warranty that covers damage caused by a faulty DCCV in the future.

Whether or not you become our customer, we want to make sure that you are informed and educated to make the best decision possible. So, arm yourself with this knowledge, and make that decision!

Update 2/25/2012: Navigation-equipped RCCMs are no longer available due to lack of repairable units. Click here to find out more about non-repairable units.

Ever wonder why your car windshield tends to fog up very easily when it’s cold and/or raining outside?  Without getting into a nerdy discussion about condensation, adsorption (yes, that’s with a “d”), triple point, saturation limit, or psychrometrics…whew (I majored in Electrical Engineering, but I reluctantly had to go through nearly enough Physics courses to get a minor in Physics…talk about spending too much time in school!)…anyway, getting back on topic…here’s the gist of what you ought to know:

1. When it’s cold outside and warm inside, condensation occurs, which causes tiny water droplets to form on the surface of the glass on the inside of the car.
2.  The higher the relative humidity level, the more condensation occurs. This is why your windows fog up more when it’s cold and raining more than when it’s cold and not raining.
3. When the surface of the glass on the inside the car is dirty from dust, streaks, smudges, etc., there is more surface area for the tiny water droplets to adhere to. This makes the fogging effect even worse. So, make sure you keep your windows clean on the inside too!
4. As long as A/C is ON when the defogger is ON, whether you set A/C temperature to cold or hot doesn’t really matter all that much. There are pluses and minuses either way, so feel free to set it to a temperature you’re comfortable with. I could explain more, but that could take a while.

The critical component to proper defogging function is A/C. In order to defog, the relative humidity must be reduced by removing water vapor from the in-cabin air. To do that, the A/C must be ON (hint: the A/C evaporator helps with this). Some vehicle defogger systems automatically set A/C to ON, while more primitive systems might require the user to manually set the A/C to ON. In any case, short of opening all your windows while driving in pouring rain, the only way you’re going to defog that glass is to have a working A/C system.

So, the final answer to the “Do I still need A/C” question is:  YES. All-year round. 365 days/year.

Today, we are announcing availability of the Dual Climate Control Valve (DCCV) (a.k.a. “Heater Valve”) for sale with either our Standard Repair Service or our Core Exchange Program.

Visit the Contact Us page now to find out more!

p.s. Now that we have increased the total number of service package combinations from 1, up to 4, we’ve decided to publish the Pricing Structure on the website in order to minimize confusion. See it at the Contact Us page.