Should I do a jumper wire repair? You will want to see this…

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Recently, we received a Climate Control Module (CCM) from a customer that attempted to perform their own repair.  They found what appeared to be burnt traces on the CCM circuit board, then soldered on jumper wires to bypass the burnt traces.  They re-installed the CCM into the car and the air conditioning blew cold again. Great, problem solved, right?

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!