Climate / AC fault

Climate panel in my 987.2 Cayman has seeming developed a fault. Most of the buttons are unresponsive. The fan can be raised and lowered between zero and half speed, temp is stuck on half way. None of the other buttons work except the front screen buttons when depressed causes the fan to go to half speed from whatever setting it is on and the heat setting goes to full (it's a standard non auto climate panel with the temp bar rather than the temp in degrees). Can't find many references online, but this guy seems to have had exactly the same problem in what I think was a 997.2 : https://www.justanswer.com/porsche/9bs98-997-porsche-carrera-2009-climate-controls-stopped.html This seems to be somewhat similar, but not exactly the same: https://********.com/forums/997-forum/1064816-my-climatronic-isn-t-working.html Using my Foxwell OBD for Porsche unit I have pulled the following fault codes: U0424 A/C regulation 8010 Fresh Air Fan motor (lower limit value exceeded) C182 Climatronic CAN signal error Anyway, it seems like it's a bust climate control panel, anyone have experience of similar? Finally, can't work out if a replacement panel will need coding? The ******** thread seems to imply the owner just swapped out the panel without coding...

This also seems like a similar fault: Climate Control(s) not working 2010 987.2 here. Noticed that the climate controls stopped working. There was a weird smell coming out of the vent. None of the buttons work except for the fan speed and the windshield defroster (can see the orange light). Last time I was able to use the temperature control on "auto"... www.planet-9.com

I now have exactly the same problem ( 987.2 ). All of a sudden (between two trips, on the same day), the buttons on the Climatronic stopped working. Only the fan speed can still be regulated from zero to mid-range and the defrosting of the windscreen (then the air conditioning also switches on) can be actived. Even the seat heating is dead. My PIWIS 2 did not throw up any particular errors. Even the teach-in or reset was possible without any problems (do you really have to roll slowly in neutral and have high engine temps for this?!). The fuses are all in order. You can read about this problem in various forums, but unfortunately nowhere is there a solution. For example: https://www.justanswer.com/porsche/9bs98-997-porsche-carrera-2009-climate-controls-stopped.html Is there any news or solutions on this in the meantime?

Based on teardowns I've seen (where people replace the buttons because they look worn) I see that the actual "mechanism" behind the buttons is like those on a remote control - rubber membrane with conductive points that pushes onto a circuit board to make "contact" which is then read by the controller to make changes. In my experience, as with remote controls, these get dirty and end up not conducting properly, so the controller never sees the button press. Sometimes, cleaning the pads and the contact area will get them to work again. While in there, checking to make sure the traces are all intact is another thing to check. If that doesn't work, my next test would be do check to see if I can actuate the signals via a jumper wire on the proper pins/traces. Bottom line, you need to get inside to find out. Alternatively, I'm guessing a replacement part could fix the problem as well, assuming this is the problem.

I think this is where some diagnostics might save some work. What you want to do is isolate the problem. You could do that using a diagnostics tool that can activate devices on the car. The Foxwell NT530 could activate the fan, and I believe it can change the interior louver positions in the HVAC box (can your PIWIS do this?) If the fan checks out and the louvers are working - then I think it's time to look at the control unit, but I suspect the problem might be deeper than a defective key/button on the unit since multiple issues are occurring. I think you're looking at a complete replacement HVAC module, and it has to be one matched to your car's configuration (AUTO on the HVAC control, heated seats.) Luckily your configuration is fairly common so finding a used one shouldn't be terribly difficult.

Thank you for your responses in the meantime. I had completely cleared the error memory a few days ago and then drove the car over a few days to "collect errors". From what it looks like to me, the fan motor has caused an error. I don't think that individual keys no longer work (the error pattern is very similar to those described elsewhere on the Internet). I'm just wondering: is the fan motor failure a result of a control unit defect or is it the cause of the control unit malfunction? Can you read more from the screenshots than I can? What would your next steps look like?

I just developed the same problem yesterday on my 2010 Boxster S . Temperature is locked at 61F, defrost button works, fan speed can be changed from off to slow to mid speed, but not higher. AC is locked off when defrost is not on. None of the other buttons work - including seat heating or ventilation, recirc, auto, nothing. It was working on monday when I last drove in the rain. My icarsoft por v2.0 shows a few errors including "lost communication with HVAC control unit" and "lost communication with gateway A" and "outside air/recirculation flap motor" and "fresh air fan motor" Anyone make progress on this?

Yes. I bought a used unit from a dismantling yard - made sure it had exactly the same buttons / features, there are multiple versions. Swapped it in and all back to functioning normally. No need to code the replacement unit etc. It just worked.

Thanks for closing out the question and thread. That's what makes a forum such a valuable tool - the answers are here and searchable (unlike Facebook where everything is transient and subject to FB's display algorithms. )

I ended up selling my Boxster before the climate control issue was fully resolved. In parallel, I had ordered a new climate control module, which I no longer need. As most of you probably know, the replacement is a proven fix for the issue, and from what I’ve seen the current price is well over 1500 USD. I’m offering mine for significantly less. Brand new, never installed. If you’re interested, please send me a PM.