Hello. The a/c button on my 1998 Grand Cherokee Laredo has recently stopped working. It no longer stays in when pressed. Or has anyone even had this problem? I am considering buying a new switch and replacing the switch itself. Has anyone tried this? If I am unsucessful with this, I will most likely turn to ebay to purchase new a new a/c control. My primary question is: will the Limited (digital) control work on the Laredo vehicle? They are both about the same price, and if the limited will work, that is what I will go for. Otherwise, I guess I will just have to stick to the Laredo version.
My guess is that your guess is wrong. I say this because the LH car manual and automatic ("digital") temperature controls of the same MY time frame are interchangeable without regard for the (body control) computer.
Having said that, on the LH cars, it is not a simple matter of swapping just the manual for the automatic (ATC) control - the blower motor electronic speed control must also be swapped in in place of the passive blower motor resistor pak, along with either replacement or modification of the instrument panel wiring harness. I know this because I am considering doing the conversion on my '99 Concorde, and the detailed how-to is on the internet (for the '98-'04 LH cars).
I'm assuming in the above comments that the system architecture, if not the actual individual ATC and blower motor modules, are the same between the platforms. The smarts and interfaces to control the cabin temperature in the LH car (and I'm assuming the Cherokee also) resides
100% in the ATC module and blower motor speed control, and does not touch the body control computer.
The conclusion you are implying, i.e., that the conversion is more complicated than the OP probably wants to get involved with (involves more than the mere swapping of temp. control modules), is likely correct, though the precise reason is incorrect (if my assumption of system design similarity is correct).
I wouldn't have posted the above because it is speculation, but felt the need to do so because of your post which I think was even more speculative (if I'm wrong about that, i.e., if your statement is based on personal knowledge, access to schematics, etc. of the '98 Cherokee electrical system variations, apologies will be issued forthwith). :)
Perhaps someone who really knows for sure will post.
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
Thanks a lot. I will just assume that it is more complex than I want to deal with (unless someone else has a suggestion.) I was just assuming that it was a simple matter of plugging the wires into the new one. I would definitely consider converting to the digital controls if there was a detailed how-to available for my jeep, however, I have not found anything of the sort. Anyway, thanks for your suggestions.
- register and post a question in the right forum (Cherokee Technical Forum) - maybe title your post "ATC conversion how-to". The details may already be posted on the site, or someone will be able to point you to some other site with the answer or give you some idea what's involved specific to the Jeep. Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
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