[admoss1980]

Evening all,

So... child in child seat has a bit of a strop and has managed to toe-punt the heating controls (the spinning temp dial with the auto/off button in the middle).

Long story short said toe-punt popped it backwards so it was flush with the rest of the dash.  Popping it back out with a pair of tweezers and the circuit board behind it (or rather, the 4 mount points and connections) are snapped.

Stealer reckons its £1300 to repair, of which they say only £70 is labour.

Any ideas for a DIY repair, because that is too pricey

Cheers

[ant76p]

Can you get a second hand one of flea bay and fit it yourself.
could save you a lot of money!

[Dazzler]

I'd try a wreckers yard! 

[Phil №❶]

Move the child seat first. 

[cruiserfied]

Price sounds about right. I would be looking for a used replacement.

[ibrokeit]

Bugger!   

There should be enough i30 FDs at wreckers that you should be able to find one - hopefully easily.

[admoss1980]

Hey yes, been looking on evil bay seen to come in around £300 on their so a tad more preferable

Next question - how do I actually remove this darn thing?

[sundiz]

Sell the kid and buy new control unit with that money?

If the pcb is not totally busted, you might be able to glue the broken bits together and solder the copper traces together. If components or small traces are busted then it is different thing.  Can you remove the pcb and post a picture? Would be easier to say if the pcb is still fixable.

[The Gonz]

Move the child seat first. 

[beerman]

Move the child seat first. 

Definitely do this, if you have a prang the airbag could do the child serious harm.....

[admoss1980]

I've actually got the airbag disabled on that side with the key swith.  Of course one can't actually test this, but I have to take it on trust it works 

Can't move it though, 'cos there are two others in the back and the damn things are so bulky I can't get all three in row, as the door card shows

I've took a couple of photos on the PCB and will upload shortly, unfortunately I still haven't worked out how to remove the trim yet so I can unscrew the unit but I'll get there eventually 

[Phil №❶]

Are you driving FD or GD model 

[admoss1980]

FD I guess - 2010 model

[Phil №❶]

Follow the instructions to remove

There is hidden content here which only members can see. Please Login or Register.

[ibrokeit]

This might also be of help - lots of "pretty" pictures...

HOW TO: FD Body - OEM (2DIN) headunit - Fascia Removal/Refitting

The second video, though for different A/C controls, at about 1:10 shows taking the compartment above the ash-tray and ash-tray out - so that you can put the bottom of the fascia out... which can be really useful as there are three molded clips/receptacles right along the bottom edge (I know I have broken one) - not the ones that are colored white in the photos.

[The Gonz]

If this is PCB damage, I'm loathe to give up without epoxy glue and a soldering iron.

[sundiz]

One way to fix traces is to use conductive paint. They sell it in some autoparts stores and it is often used to fix broken traces in the rear window heating element. It is expensive (around 2000€/litre), but they sell it in really small bottles which makes it affordable. They come almost like the "paint" ladies use for their finger nails. I think I paid once 20ish € for a tiny bottle. But I prefer soldering whenever that is possible to implement. Especially on pcb...

[Phil №❶]

Although you could use the paint, I would not recommend it for this purpose, as it is actually a resistive formulation, designed to heat up when current is applied. It is by nature a poor conductor and not what we would want in this circumstance. Glue for the board and solder or replacement copper wires if necessary would be best.

[ibrokeit]

If this is PCB damage, I'm loathe to give up without epoxy glue and a soldering iron.

And

Although you could use the paint, I would not recommend it for this purpose, as it is actually a resistive formulation, designed to heat up when current is applied. It is by nature a poor conductor and not what we would want in this circumstance. Glue for the board and solder or replacement copper wires if necessary would be best.

Hehe - yup I agree about the epoxy and solder!  Hadn't mentioned it - being many people don't know how to do such.  But if it is the PCB that could very well work.

[beerman]

I've actually got the airbag disabled on that side with the key swith.  Of course one can't actually test this, but I have to take it on trust it works 

Can't move it though, 'cos there are two others in the back and the damn things are so bulky I can't get all three in row, as the door card shows

I've took a couple of photos on the PCB and will upload shortly, unfortunately I still haven't worked out how to remove the trim yet so I can unscrew the unit but I'll get there eventually 

I should read the manual more....I did not know you could do that. If the Airbag is disabled all ok 

[Phil №❶]

Is that legal 

[ibrokeit]

I should read the manual more....I did not know you could do that. If the Airbag is disabled all ok 

and

Is that legal 

IIRC it is an option/feature in some countries - UK being one.   I guess that yes it is legal.

[eye30]

Is that legal 

Think, Only if you use a child seat on the front passenger seat otherwise it should be activated.

[Asterix]

Is that legal 

Sure it is. A lot of cars have had that option for many years. I also think you'll find an indicator somewhere on the dash when the passenger airbag is deactivated.

In the early days with airbags (mid 1990's) we could deactivate the passenger airbag in a VW by disconnecting the plug from the airbag and then plug in a resistor so the control module still thought there was an airbag connected. (only to secure the self-test at startup wouldn't cause an errorcode). The control module would then be set to not fire the pass airbag at impact.

In order to do this a small sign would be attached to the dashboard in front of the passenger seat.

[bumpkin]

In the UK a child seat may be fitted in the front but facing backwards, in the event of an accident where the airbags activate the bag would push a baby towards the rear of the car thereby causing whiplash so switching the bag off is allowed but only in that circumstance.

[admoss1980]

Good morning all.

Many thanks to all of those that have replied to this thread.  I'm pleased to say with a £42 invesment from ebay, and a hour or so of my time the a/c controls are now repaired!  Hopefully I can now get the original PCB repaired properly too

Find herewith some photographs I took along the way.  I did remove the storage box and coin tray, including connectors for the heated seats but didn't really find this much help - I ended up sliding a trim removal tool in leavering up that way (no clips broken )

The original problem:




Trim panel released:


Fascia panel removed, wiring disconnected:


5 screws hold the a/c controls to the fascia unit:


Repaired and everything replaced:


And for good measure for those wondering about the airbags 

Key switch to enable/disable the passenger arir bag:


Dash illumination showing the airbag is disabled:


Regards

[AlanHo]

Great post and congratulations on getting it sorted with minimal expense 

[Phil №❶]

Excellent result 

[ibrokeit]

Nice!  Good photos too!

So I guess you got a whole a/c controls unit?  Was the OEM or 2nd hand/wreckers?   Just curious.

As for the original PCB - yeah probably can... I am guessing it was only held to the rest of the PCB by 5 thin peices of PCB - which look like a number have tracks running on them.

[admoss1980]

Yep, 2nd hand from a someone breaking down a car - got the full unit for £30 with another £12 for next day delivery.

And yes, just those 5 points holding the twiddly knob to the wider PCB, so hopefully can find somewhere to repair it and resolder those tracks.