Hi, I have a problem I am struggling with. Nobody seems to know how to remove the cable with the green collar on that is shown in the pictures above. The Haynes manual is no use at all, it just says remove the cables. Any help how to get it off would be greatly appreciated. I can pull it back so far, but as I pull it, there seems to be some kind of hidden spring holding it in. I cannot find anywhere that I might be able to squeze to unclip it, and if I turn it, the air direction knob turns with it.
Cheers.
Phil.
If it's any use to you, heres a photo of what the inside of the socket looks like.
There doesn't appear to be any tabs or clips for holding the cable in.-

If it's any use to you, heres a photo of what the inside of the socket looks like.
There doesn't appear to be any tabs or clips for holding the cable in.-
Thanks for the pic.
I have a complete heater control panel with me on my desk, it has red illumination, and I want to swap it for my current green illuminated one. the odd shaped insides match the green collar that sits inside it, and enables the green collar to turn with the knob. I have looked long and hard at the one on my desk and the one fitted to my car at the moment that has the cable attached, but I just dont know what is holding it in that is springy enough for me to pull the green collar back for a limited distance The further I pull back, the harder the unseen "springy thing" tries to pull it back in, and I don't want to break anything, as cable replacement my be an expensive main dealer job. The only clue is that when the direction control knob is set to the screen and feet position, a slot appears in the black part that the green part goes into, this can be seen whilst looking directly into the oblong hole on the back, directly behind the centre of the air direction knob. Hope this makes sense. Not knowing how to do this when it is probably easy is driving me nuts.
Phil.
I know exactly what you mean.
The one i'd taking photos of is a blue converted unit i've been trying to find time to fit myself.
Look at this photo, when the dial is aligned as you say (notch lining up) look to the other circled bit.
It seems when the notch aligns then there is a clear hole through to the area where the base of the cable would clip in.
Maybe an access port to push a clip?

I'm going to make the asumption that the notches being aligned is a visual reference mark for when trying to remove the unit in the confined area of the car while the cables are attached (not a lot of free play to pull the unit right out to see what you're doing?)
Further to this post, looking on eBay, someone is selling a heater control with the cable in place but disconnected from the other end instead.
Maybe it's easier to remove the other end and then swap the cable over on a steady surface away from the car?

Further to this post, looking on eBay, someone is selling a heater control with the cable in place but disconnected from the other end instead.
Maybe it's easier to remove the other end and then swap the cable over on a steady surface away from the car?
I see what you mean about the visual reference, here is a pic of mine.

I had not spotted the one on ebay. That is very interesting, I thought it might be very difficult to remove the cable at the other end, but if it is easy, I would certainly do that to get the parts "on the table" for closer inspection, and I could also replace the cable, as it still works, but I have put a large crack in the green collar whilst trying to remove it! (oops). The main problem then is how do you remove the other end? The last thing I want to do is try it, and end up with a broken/disconected part that won't go back together, and then taking it to Ford and paying through the nose to get it fixed. Surely there is someone on the forum who has actually done this.
cheers.
Phil.
TBH, it's probably the same removal procedure for the other end.
If you've already broken your existing cable maybe it would be beneficial to get a replacement one then you can study the ends for reference purposes before going further?
TBH, it's probably the same removal procedure for the other end.
If you've already broken your existing cable maybe it would be beneficial to get a replacement one then you can study the ends for reference purposes before going further?
That may be my next move, but I have not yet worked up enough courage to find the price from Ford.
Is the one for sale on ebay fixed price, or auction, as that may be cheaper than a cable on it's own?
I have now found the one on Ebay, and it's £50
Thats a bit too rich ror me, I paid £15 for mine off Ebay plus postage, and I don't need 3 heater conrtol panels!
We might have a bidding war if one comes up on fleabay. :rolleyes:
But seriously, I rang my local Ford dealer, and typically, they said there were 2 different cables listed for my car, one at around £11 and one at around £24
I know which one I hope it is.
We might have a bidding war if one comes up on fleabay. :rolleyes:
But seriously, I rang my local Ford dealer, and typically, they said there were 2 different cables listed for my car, one at around £11 and one at around £24
I know which one I hope it is.
I bet i know which one it will end up being though. ;)
I won't be looking to change my heater controls over for the next few weeks, due to an upcoming trip to Australia.
If anyone wants to chip in with information about how to remove the cable with the green collar whilst I am away, please do so
Cheers.
Phil..
Went to my local stealers today to order a spare control cable so a/ i can experiment before touching the car, and b/ knowing me, i'll bust the original one in frustration when attempting to remove it so a spare will be handy.
They quoted £24 and it's at least 5 days delay for order as apparently the parts supplier for Ford is on strike at the moment.
You did guess right about it being the dearer one!
I look foreward to your conclusions, so when I gat back from holiday in April, I will hopefully know how to get the bugger apart without more damage than I have already done.
Cheers.
Phil.
Right, update on the cable conundrum.
Picked up a spare cable from my local stealer and did a test fit on my upgraded heater control, I can confirm that there are no clips or notches on the end of the cable that goes into the control other than the cog type splines and a flat area that lines up with the shape of the hole.

Photos of the cable and both ends showing clips/lack of clips-





No resistance whatsoever when fitting and removing the cable-

If your cable won't pull out all i can suggest now is that it's jammed and needs wiggling and fettling on a flat surface.
I can also confirm that the part is called cable assembly - heater, is finis number 1329658 and costs £20.42 plus VAT.
Thanks very much for the info and comprehensive pics.
So if you were to fit this cable, what would hold it in, and stop it coming away from the back of the air direction control?
Mine is going to remain hidden inside my dash untill I return from my holiday, but when I last tried to remove the cable, I could pull it away, but there was something pulling it back, the further I pulled it away, the stronger the resistance became. and if I let go, it would ping straight back in on its own. Because I could not see what was pulling it back in, I was not brave enough to pull it so far back that I could see the end.
I have no explanation for this, and it's very strange.
Was the unit unscrewed from the dash?
It could well be just the springiness of the cable resisting bending and causing the cable to push back in.
If it was still attached, try removing the unit and see if the cable then comes out more easily.
It would certainly seem that the only thing holding the cable into the socket is the springiness of the cable itself and the angle it sits at through the dash.
Was the unit unscrewed from the dash?
It could well be just the springiness of the cable resisting bending and causing the cable to push back in.
If it was still attached, try removing the unit and see if the cable then comes out more easily.
It would certainly seem that the only thing holding the cable into the socket is the springiness of the cable itself and the angle it sits at through the dash.
I undid the screws holding the unit in, but it did not want to move easily, at that point, I tried to remove the cable, but encountered the problems mentioned. Due to the short length of
the cable, I think it would have to be removed before you could move the unit much. Your explanation of the cable pushing it back in, rather than it being pulled back in, makes a lot
of sense. I now feel rather stupid if this is the case, as if I had been brave enough to keep pulling the green connector back, it seems it would have popped out without any problem or damage! :oops: I imagined that there would be an inner and outer part to the cable, and it was an inner part that was holding it in.
Hopefully the job will be easier now.
If I get a couple of days to myself this week I'll swap my parts over and then we'll know for sure once and for all.
Ok, so I wasn't going to tackle this job till after my holiday, but now I have the info you very kindly supplied, I was itching to try it. I had a couple of hours free this morning, plus the sun came out, so I thought lets give it a go!
I now have a plaster on my thumb, and 3 little bits of black plastic that have come from places i cannot find, but the job is now done :D
Once I had removed the radio, I pulled the green collar back as far as it would go, but it was hitting the bulkhead, and needed pushing/wriggling to get it all the way out, and as you said, it is just being pushed in by pressure from the cable at the other end. Then I disconnected the temperature control cable, this was much easier having a spare unit in my hand, as you can then see where to push with a short screwdriver or similar to disconnect the clip that holds the white plastic cable guide. It was then easy to pull the end of the cable off, and the smaller wiring connector came off easily. Unfortunately the bigger electrical connector did not want to come out, and this turned out to be the hardest part. In the end I broke a bit off the connector on the end of the wiring loom, and lost some skin off my thumb, but it still would not come out. In the end I used brute force and a screwdriver as a lever to get it off. Reasembly was a doddle after that, and the electrical connector is so tight a fit that the missing/broken clip does not seem to matter, anyway it's all sorted now.
Any questions? please fell free to ask.
Cheers.
Phil.
Good drills sir.
A mod isn't a mod unless some swearing and blood is involved.
Just looked at my Haynes and they do say to cut the tabs on the electrical connector.
I think the Haynes manual is refering to replacing the fan speed control within the unit, if you look on the back, there about a dozen tabs that if you cut them, you could then remove the fan speed control switch, but I may be wrong.
Finally fitted my blue converted dials, bit fiddly but straightforward.
The green cable does indeed just pull out, no clips or catches.
The middle cable is a bit harder, you need to rotate the dial around to the right so as to remove tension on the cable then pop off the black ring at the end of the cable from it's pin.
There is a tensioner block which pushes into the back of the dial unit which needs levering off, just pry with a blade screwdriver and it pops out.
The tricky bit is that the unit is quite snug in the dash recess and needs manoeuvring out of position, there is a small black lug that sits in a lip under the unit, I put a screwdriver between the dial unit and the lip and with a bit of levering they moved apart.
You then have to twist and turn the unit so as to move it back so you have enough room to wiggle the unit out of the dash.
Be aware that there are two small metal clips that sit over the screw mounting points, you need these as they're what the screws grip into, without them the screws won't bite and everything will be a bit wobbly.;)
You now have access to two cable connectors, one at the top for dial illumination and the large block underneath for the fan speed control which unclips quite easily.
Unfortunately I omitted to take photos while doing the job but it becomes obvious as you get into it.
Results-

BTW, also changed the rear demister button at the same time.
One thing that's a bit of a pain is that the aircon and recirculation active lights don't seem to work, annoying but maybe I need to have another look at the pins in the connector at some point, too much time has passed to complain to the seller on eBay, ah well.