A/C switch problem, getting worse
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Joined: Sep 2010
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It is the switch and nothing else. This is my 4th protege and they all had the same problem. Has nothing to do with A/C charge or resistor. Don't trust me.. Next time make a fist and rap on the side of the console with the side of your fist and watch the light come back on. And have you noticed that sometimes when you hit the gas and it was flickering that the light will come on steady. It switch is faulty and when you hit the gas and it is in the flicker mode the added voltage from the alternator turns the light steady.
I work on F-15 avionics and I have ripped two of them apart on my bench and using power supplies troubleshot and tested them. The contacts become worn and instead of making contact on the entire contact area it only makes partial contact thus not getting the proper voltage causing it to flicker or go out. When you thump the side od the A/C panel you jult the contacts and they will work.
Do yourself and just buy a switch....
I work on F-15 avionics and I have ripped two of them apart on my bench and using power supplies troubleshot and tested them. The contacts become worn and instead of making contact on the entire contact area it only makes partial contact thus not getting the proper voltage causing it to flicker or go out. When you thump the side od the A/C panel you jult the contacts and they will work.
Do yourself and just buy a switch....
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 2
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Another potential fix -- it's simple and free
Sorry to dig up this old thread, but I thought it might be helpful to let others know how I fixed the A/C issue on my 2001 protege today. Plus, it's incredibly simple to do and costs nothing.
To recap, I had been experiencing the same issues like a lot of others who have posted here: the blower works perfectly well at all speeds (1, 2, 3, and 4) but the A/C would only stay on (ie steady green indicator light on the A/C button) on blower speeds 1 and 4. That is to say, on speeds 2 and 3 the green A/C indicator light would generally be off completely, but occasionally it would flicker erratically and would not stay on. I could, however, coax the flickering light to stay on longer if I wiggled the black blower switch around for a while or turned it slightly past numbers, so I figured it had to be an electrical contact problem with the switch. And of course, when the light was off so was the A/C compressor, so I wasn't getting any cold air (if it was just an issue with the light I wouldn't have cared)
Okay, so to fix this issue I did the following:
1) Pull the black switch for the blower speed setting completely out/off. It simply slides out so you don't need to worry about damaging anything.
2) With the switch removed, look for a plastic white hex nut.
3) Tighten the plastic hex nut (ie clockwise). You might need a needle nose pliers but you can try to finger-tighten it first.
4) Push the black switch back on. Remember, it's 'keyed' so it only goes on one way.
5) Test the A/C on settings 2 or 3. You should find it's working normally again.
That's all there was to it, seriously -- now my A/C switch works flawlessly. Like I had said earlier, I had been experiencing this issue for YEARS but was too cheap to have it looked at -- and now I feel really stupid I didn't look at it sooner.
Anyway, that plastic nut had evidently worked its way lose through years of expansion and contraction due to the normal temperature swings over many summers/winters. In my car, it was very loose, enough to let the switch move almost a 1/4" in/out.
So, in my case, I didn't need new resistors or blower switch. Just a loose connection. Hopefully, this will help somebody else out because I'm quite certain most of the proteges with the symptoms discussed in this thread can be fixed by following the steps above. Let me know if anything was unclear or you have any questions.
Also, if this does solve the issue on your car, please post back here to let others know. Thanks!
To recap, I had been experiencing the same issues like a lot of others who have posted here: the blower works perfectly well at all speeds (1, 2, 3, and 4) but the A/C would only stay on (ie steady green indicator light on the A/C button) on blower speeds 1 and 4. That is to say, on speeds 2 and 3 the green A/C indicator light would generally be off completely, but occasionally it would flicker erratically and would not stay on. I could, however, coax the flickering light to stay on longer if I wiggled the black blower switch around for a while or turned it slightly past numbers, so I figured it had to be an electrical contact problem with the switch. And of course, when the light was off so was the A/C compressor, so I wasn't getting any cold air (if it was just an issue with the light I wouldn't have cared)
Okay, so to fix this issue I did the following:
1) Pull the black switch for the blower speed setting completely out/off. It simply slides out so you don't need to worry about damaging anything.
2) With the switch removed, look for a plastic white hex nut.
3) Tighten the plastic hex nut (ie clockwise). You might need a needle nose pliers but you can try to finger-tighten it first.
4) Push the black switch back on. Remember, it's 'keyed' so it only goes on one way.
5) Test the A/C on settings 2 or 3. You should find it's working normally again.
That's all there was to it, seriously -- now my A/C switch works flawlessly. Like I had said earlier, I had been experiencing this issue for YEARS but was too cheap to have it looked at -- and now I feel really stupid I didn't look at it sooner.
Anyway, that plastic nut had evidently worked its way lose through years of expansion and contraction due to the normal temperature swings over many summers/winters. In my car, it was very loose, enough to let the switch move almost a 1/4" in/out.
So, in my case, I didn't need new resistors or blower switch. Just a loose connection. Hopefully, this will help somebody else out because I'm quite certain most of the proteges with the symptoms discussed in this thread can be fixed by following the steps above. Let me know if anything was unclear or you have any questions.
Also, if this does solve the issue on your car, please post back here to let others know. Thanks!
Last edited by the.omega.glory; Jun 19, 2011 at 09:23 PM. Reason: clarification
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
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I am facing for few days the A/C switch problem. The a/c is not working properly. When I turn on the a/c switch it becoming hot and the a/c cant make my car cool. The warm air blowing. What should I do? Do u have any good idea.
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Joined: Jul 2011
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I have the AC switch issue referred to in this thread. Have replaced the resistor to no effect. This is clearly an ongoing problem. My two bits:
1) I have the radio out and can access the switch while running. The AC can be coaxed into action by wiggling the wires where they go into the plug. Nothing much else has any effect. The wires get *real* hot.
2) I have had the switch out and tested it with a multimeter. Guess what, it works.
I'm guessing that the high heat and amps flowing have corroded stuff in both switch and plug. I don't have a replacement switch yet, but suspect that it may not solve the problem. I tightened the connection by bending the connectors on the switch a little to make them a tighter fit. That changed nothing. When I twisted the switch 360 degrees to put tension on the wires, *that* helped.
Does anybody know how to find a replacement plug?
Also the switch just sort of sits in an indentation, it's not really attached to anything by very much. This seems surprising to me. Does anybody know a better way of fastening the switch to the car short of super glue? Maybe the nut or whatever attachment mechanism there is has now been busted/lost by the various people reaching around in there.
Cheers,
Jon
1) I have the radio out and can access the switch while running. The AC can be coaxed into action by wiggling the wires where they go into the plug. Nothing much else has any effect. The wires get *real* hot.
2) I have had the switch out and tested it with a multimeter. Guess what, it works.
I'm guessing that the high heat and amps flowing have corroded stuff in both switch and plug. I don't have a replacement switch yet, but suspect that it may not solve the problem. I tightened the connection by bending the connectors on the switch a little to make them a tighter fit. That changed nothing. When I twisted the switch 360 degrees to put tension on the wires, *that* helped.
Does anybody know how to find a replacement plug?
Also the switch just sort of sits in an indentation, it's not really attached to anything by very much. This seems surprising to me. Does anybody know a better way of fastening the switch to the car short of super glue? Maybe the nut or whatever attachment mechanism there is has now been busted/lost by the various people reaching around in there.
Cheers,
Jon
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 2,389
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From: Midwest
When the refrigerant is too low the compressor won't kick in. That's a built in protection for the compressor. So check the charge first. If I remember correctly the light doesn't come on either.
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2012
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Loose nut: the.omega.glory's solution works.
The.omega.glory's solution worked for me- the plastic nut was loose. When I tried tightening it, unfortunately it cracked (or maybe it was already cracked and when I tried tightening it I could then see the crack). Anyways, I went to O'Reilly autoparts and got a M10 1.00 nut to replace it and everything works great! I was just about to go to Mazda to pick up a new switch, but with the dash removed I reconnected the switch (now only attached to the plug and dangling) and the problem had stopped. So I figured it wasn't the switch, it was the nut.
Also, the following link has a bunch of pictures showing how to remove the center part of the dash to get at this nut:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showt...-Defrost-modes
Also, the following link has a bunch of pictures showing how to remove the center part of the dash to get at this nut:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showt...-Defrost-modes
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Joined: Apr 2012
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I have a 2006 mazda 6 2.3 As I was driving normal I had the a/c switch to number 2 and all of a sudden it jsut stoppped working. It works on number 3 and 4 only but for some reason the compressor shut of when in those two settings. When I switch it to number 1 or 2 I can hear the compressor turn on but no air comes out like if the blower does not work. I know it could be the resister but I belive in that car the resister come along with the blower motor. Can some one help? any idea or oppinion? Thank you