roadan Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 Hello, The HVAC system comes two ways for 03. The cheap way has two manual controls, up and down adjustment. The other way is the electronic comfort control with the round adjustable knobs. Can the cheap one be changed out for the digital system. If so are there additional rewuirments and what might they be please? Chris [email protected] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rausche Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 I would imagine it would be pretty easy. Once again, use the search button. It's your best friend right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04CHASE Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 like mentioned abve try the search , but it isnt an easy swap there is alot involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimp ss Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 tried it in my truck and it aint gonna work without changing the harness out the plugs on the truck are different one of them is the same so if you plug in the digital ones they will light up but they wont do anything because the main plug is different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoke03 Posted July 3, 2007 Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 yeah i asked a local bodyman/ rebuilder who does alot of ss's and says its a real pain. The whole dash has to come out and theres all kinds of sensors that have to be changed wth the digital controls, not to mention the wiring harnesses...it was enough to discourage me from doing it...ill just turn the knobs...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0ntecarloss Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 I posted this in another forum but thought this would be a good place. Not sure why this topic is in the how-to section since it really isn't a how-to (YET) but hopefully this will give people a little more info since nobody has really stated why its difficult only that they heard it was. This is just me rambling on here trying to get all my info and thoughts together so bare with me I have searched the net for info on this and have yet to see any useful info other than 'it cant be done' and 'you should get a new truck that came with it' kind of posts....Oh yea I forgot the classic 'auto controls are stupid why would you want to do that' I'm curious for those that have looked into this what it is that is so complicated about the swap? From my research thus far everything points to it being a little tedious but doable swap. I subscribed to alldatadiy for my '03 1500HD which shows all the diagrams/connectors/pinouts for both manual and electronic controls and here is what I have found...(note that I have not physically looked at anything yet) The electronic controller has two connectors - one is the same as the manual controller connector so that will plug right in. However, the manual control has wires which go to the old school style resistor packs to control the fan speed. These are not used by the electronic controller. The electronic controller uses a single wire (non-existing in the plug for the manual controller) that will control the speed of the fan via PWM. This is the reason the fan won't work when you plug it in. So for the swap you need to add a new wire to connector and get a blower control module ($81 gmpartsdirect) From memory, all the hardware is the same - actuators, blower motor, etc... Just need the blower control module... The other new connector on the electronic unit is for the sensors. This guy has inputs for the ambient outside temp sensor, in-car temp sensor, 4 duct temp sensors, and the sunload sensors (pass and driver). You should already have the ambient sensor and sunload sensor. The connector for the sunload sensor may not have pins for the driver/pass sunload (only the light sensor for the headlights.) The 5 remaining temp sensors are all the same part although the housings may be different, haven't figured that out yet. They are $3.98 a piece from gmpartsdirect so my thoughts are its just the sensor not the housing, I dunno... So adding these to the vehicle and running the wiring is the tedious part, but so is tearing your interior apart to do car stereos and people somehow manage to do that all the time... For those concerned about the BCM, there is only one wire coming from it that tells the unit to turn on and the manual controls have this same wire.... So now we've covered what this unit needs in order to operate correctly. The other issue I have seen people try to scare others off with is the wiring harness. Stating that it costs like $700 from GM. Well I don't know about that but its easy enough to make one.... The info from alldatadiy shows connectors and pinouts for each sensor and control unit. The blower control module connector, temp sensors, and sunload sensor can be purchased from www.mouser.com for somewhere between $.50 to $1 a piece, you will need the appropriate pins and such to go with it but still not terribly expensive. The remaining connector for the dash control unit (this is the guy all the sensors are connected to) I have not yet located, but I spent about 5 minutes last night so who knows. I should also note that rockauto.com has quite a few pigtail connectors for things like the temp sensor and such if you're lazy and have some extra cash (they are a little on the pricey side.) So that's where I am at. I'm sure I left some things out but I still haven't seen anything that says this is impossible, difficult or even expensive. I still gotta take things out and have a look in my vehicle. Curious about how those duct sensors are gonna go in, as in am I gonna have to drill into the duct work or what. Need to get me a used electronic control unit and blower control module first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugobossvp Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 I inquired about this as well a while back and got the same answer from the dealer, "Forge about it." I would imagine the hardest/most expensive component of this swap would be the control unit itself. Unless you could find a used one out of a junker somewhere, I wouldnt think there would be a lot of used ones around. A new control unit has to cost a nice chunk of change. Definitely keep us informed with this though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0ntecarloss Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 I would imagine the hardest/most expensive component of this swap would be the control unit itself. Unless you could find a used one out of a junker somewhere, I wouldnt think there would be a lot of used ones around. A new control unit has to cost a nice chunk of change. Actually, currently at www.rockauto.com the control unit can be purchased new for ~$130. Or $100 from GMpartsdirect. ACDELCO Part # 1572956 GM Part # 10367042 ACDelco's website shows this fitting 2003 and 2004 years.... Cheaper of course if you can get one through car-part.com or something but still not too bad. The blower control module is the other pricey part. ~$50 from rockauto.com ACDELCO Part #15-80567 Hopin to snag some parts soon and start playing : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PladdPezzPunk Posted October 4, 2007 Report Share Posted October 4, 2007 Good news and bad news, It CAN be done, but only if you've got about $2500 exta floatin' around. like said above, you'll be changing the harness', head unit, heater controls, box and a few other misc things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0ntecarloss Posted October 5, 2007 Report Share Posted October 5, 2007 (edited) Good news and bad news, It CAN be done, but only if you've got about $2500 exta floatin' around. like said above, you'll be changing the harness', head unit, heater controls, box and a few other misc things. Do you have any info to back that up? I don't get where that number comes from. Hopefully it didn't come from a dealer cause they typically don't care nor have a clue. This is clearly shown by the trouble people go through just to get the BCM flashed for their steering wheel controls to work. If it isn't a direct part replacement for repair work then they don't know what to do. Divide it by 10 and you have something that makes a bit more sense to me. The harness can be made easily - the connectors are pretty standard delphi connectors that can be purchased for on average $2-$3 a piece from mouser.com The control unit, blower module, and sensors are the only other difference I can see and those add up to under $300 ***IF*** you buy them brand new. Was just hoping the initial post would initiate a little more information flow. I guess I'll need to lead the way. Edited October 5, 2007 by m0ntecarloss (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0ntecarloss Posted October 5, 2007 Report Share Posted October 5, 2007 Do you have any info to back that up? I don't get where that number comes from. Divide it by 10 and you have something that makes a bit more sense to me. The harness can be made easily - the connectors are pretty standard delphi connectors that can be purchased for on average $2-$3 a piece from mouser.com The control unit, blower module, and sensors are the only other difference I can see and those add up to under $300 ***IF*** you buy them brand new. Was just hoping the initial post would initiate a little more information flow. I guess I'll need to lead the way. And the harness doesn't need to be swapped. There is no plug 'change' The one in there now STAYS, you just need to add a new wire to it, tie off the old ones, and add the NEW connector that all the sensors attach to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddle Posted October 5, 2007 Report Share Posted October 5, 2007 Have You looked into programming? I know alot of new controll modules must be programmed to the vehicle, using GM Tech 2? still wouldn't be to hard to pull off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0ntecarloss Posted October 5, 2007 Report Share Posted October 5, 2007 (edited) Have You looked into programming? I know alot of new controll modules must be programmed to the vehicle, using GM Tech 2? still wouldn't be to hard to pull off. Yea good question bro. keep em coming! Originally I figured the BCM would need to be programmed for the CJ2 code for things to work, as typically needs to be done for the DIC swap. However, looking at the diagrams and reading the description of how everything works, all the BCM is responsible for is telling the unit to turn on. This is one wire from the BCM. The sweet part is the same thing happens regardless of whether it is the manual unit or the automatic unit. The wire already exists so no change required. There have been several posts where people have plugged in the electronic unit and it powers up - which supports this idea... I will post more when I have the parts to play with, but I think there is a lot of misinformation spread on this that has scared a lot of people. Most of the posts I have seen are from people that 'heard' from people that 'heard' from their dealer that its impossible... What keeps me optimistic is from an engineering and production standpoint it is much more cost effective to keep the majority of the operation the same. As in same actuators and stuff. From what I am seeing this is exactly the case. Add some sensors, blower module and connectors and you're good to go. How many fog light swap posts have you seen where the wiring harness already existed in the truck that didn't come with them? Of course, if the documents I am reading from alldatadiy are wrong then I have no idea. Didn't want to buy helms so I could save money for the parts hehe. Sorry for being slightly smartass about the whole thing but sometimes people post on forums just to get their post count up, not to spread good useful information. Actually, most of what I have seen on this topic is just that. I wrote the novel earlier in the hopes that it would encourage more people to open their minds and use their brain a bit ; ) Course thems a lot of words for folks that don't read so good, hehe just kidding Edited October 5, 2007 by m0ntecarloss (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverado6.0 Posted October 6, 2007 Report Share Posted October 6, 2007 I changed the whole harness in an 03 avy and it was a bitch! It had the didgital HVAC and ther was sensors in the hearter tubes, everything. I just dont see were it would be worth switching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0ntecarloss Posted October 6, 2007 Report Share Posted October 6, 2007 I changed the whole harness in an 03 avy and it was a bitch! It had the didgital HVAC and ther was sensors in the hearter tubes, everything. I just dont see were it would be worth switching. So do you have any more info? As in what was difficult? I imagine removing the old harness and swapping in the new one would indeed be a pain, however if you read my posts you'll see this is not required. How did you mount the sensors in your box? Or are you stating you swapped the entire HVAC assembly? If that's the case then of course it was difficult, but also completely unnecessary..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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