I also found a "Max Cold Door Actuator" on my 1993 convertible - right in the way of everything and not shown in any of the pictures that still work. The solution is to simply remove the Max Cold actuator and hardware, the door will stay closed by default.
Here is an updated 2014 DCC swap guide, with working pictures, troubleshooting, wiring guide and step-by-step instructions - hopefully this is complete and easy to follow.
FAQ Answers
· Dash Removal is not required.
· If you do not have the JDM DCC sub Harness the swap install is extremely difficult, and this guide will not help you with wiring.
· Full swap kits can be found on eBay - as of Jan 2013 the price is around $175 shipped from Japan with all needed parts.
· Wiring is very easy – 6 wires total were touched for my swap.
· The hard part is converting the Hot / Cold door from manual to motor-powered operation.
· USDM blue relay on dash harness – leave it plugged in.
· JDM relay on JDM DCC sub harness – leave it plugged in.
· The illumination bulbs are four NEO-wedge twist-in base bulbs with a 3mm bulb width. I had to glue them to a pencil to get them out. This is variously called NEO3, T-1, or 3mm. I found them here, the smallest of the three sizes (I have not found good LEDs for this - LEDs are too tall): http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/inst ... EO3,21,241:
Required Parts
· These are not always “official” Nissan names but I will use them consistently in this guide.
o JDM Digital Climate Control Unit – The display and control module.
o JDM DCC Sub Harness – This plugs in between the USDM original climate control plugs and the JDM digital climate control unit. Relay also needed.
o JDM Hot / Cold Mix Door Actuator (motor) - replaces the hot / cold slider on the manual climate control. This is the ONLY JDM actuator / motor that needs to be used for this install. Plugs directly into the JDM DCC sub harness. Access the install area through the stereo / center dash hole, in the back on the bottom near the transmission hump. You also need the entire assembly including the rod, clip and plastic retainer shown.
o Outside / Ambient Air Temp Sensor – goes outside the car. I’ve seen square and round JDM styles – mine was round and came with both sides of the plug and part of a harness. This is the only pair of wires you have to lengthen and run from the engine bay inside the car and attach to the JDM DCC sub harness. AUTO will not work correctly without this.
o In-Cabin Air Temp Sensor & Aspirator Tube – goes inside the car. Will not function 100% correctly without moving airflow provided by attaching the aspirator tube to the air box. Plugs directly into the JDM DCC sub harness. If left unplugged you get no hot / cold door movement.
o Sun Load Sensor – goes on the defroster vent plate. Plugs directly into the JDM DCC sub harness. AUTO will not work correctly without this.
o JDM Blower Motor Speed Sensor – Rectangular metal part with fins, goes behind the glove box, has a plug with 4 thicker blue wires. Replaces USDM module and pugs directly into unmodified USDM dash harness. If grounding out against the metal line behind it you get full fan with no speed control.
o *Not Needed * - JDM Airflow Direction Actuator (motor) – In the US car this is located behind the dash up by the driver’s knee. This controls the airflow – vents, defrost, feet, mixture. You do not touch this at all for this install. The US one works fine – you do not need the JDM one. I received the JDM one with a cut plug in my eBay kit. The JDM DCC sub harness does not have a plug for this – because it is part of the dash harness. Several other plugs received in my package were also discarded.
Step-By-Step Swap Guide
1) Prepare JDM DCC sub harness wiring. The wire colors I am referring to are on the DCC sub harness side of the plugs. Please note that some wires CHANGE COLOR on the other side of plugs!
· RED wire all alone on little plug – connect to 12v constant power. (Stereo harness plug)
· On the JDM DCC sub harness 6-pin plug, connect the BLUE / RED STRIPE wire to 12v positive switched ignition. (Stereo harness plug)
· On the JDM DCC sub harness 6-pin plug, connect the GREEN / WHITE STRIPE wire to 12v positive switched ignition. (Stereo harness plug)
· OR re-pin it into the 16-pin large white plug so it matches up to the US plug side BLUE / ORANGE STRIPE wire.
· The Outside /Ambient Air Temp Sensor wires will be cut (unless you have the entire JDM car harness!). You need to extend the LIGHT GREEN & LIGHT GREEN / YELLOW STRIPE wires on the JDM DCC sub harness 6-pin plug from the dash out to the engine bay. These wires change colors when going through harness plugs at both ends, so be careful.
· On the US harness plug side of the 16-pin plug, you need to CUT the RED / YELLOW STRIPE wire and ground the DCC harness plug side of it. Cut it as far back from the DCC harness plug as possible since you need to stretch it to a ground, but leave room to get in there to insulate and secure the US dash harness end of the wire out of the way to prevent shorts. You are grounding the DCC NOT grounding the US harness.
2) Disconnect the battery cable(s).
3) Remove stereo and brackets, pocket or whatever you have attached, disconnect wires and get as much out of the way as possible.
4) Remove the glove box door, 2 bolts on the bottom edge.
5) Remove 4 screws and push Analog Climate Control Unit into the dash and down
6) Unplug all plugs from unit to dash.
7) Flip analog unit over, pull small cable retaining clip off with pliers and remove hot / cold mix door cable from unit, remove unit from dash.
8) If you have the Max Cold Door actuator and relay, remove 2 small bolts, unplug actuator, and remove it from the dash. Leave the relay plugged in.
9) Remove the Philips head screw attaching the Max Cold door shaft to the little ‘track’ guide part and remove the track / guide section, leaving only the door shaft.
10) Remove one small 10mm bolt that attaches the small bottom plastic air box piece that directs air toward the pass footwell. Remove this air deflector / duct as it is in the way.
11) Now you can clearly see the hot / cold mix door shaft and manual cable connection. (My pics were all blurry - many thanks to original photographer for this one)
12) Remove 8mm bolt holding the cable to the air box. You can get to it straight on from the radio hole with your left arm, holding it steady with your right arm reaching in from the pass foot well – like hugging the dash. It’s a tight fit. You can try to bend the plastic down to get a ratcheting box wrench on there, but I broke the plastic lip off a bit so be careful.
13) Remove the Philips head screw holding cable clip end to door shaft. Again, get to it straight on from the radio hole with your left arm, holding it from rotating with your right arm reaching in from the pass foot well. Now everything old is out!
14) Set the JDM actuator and the US cable side by side. The Philips screw is on the other side, so you need to flip the clip over.
15) Remove the rod from the yellow plastic pivot retainer on the JDM Hot / Cold air Mix Door actuator.
16) Remove the yellow retainer from the metal attachment clip, flip the clip over and reinstall the yellow retainer on the opposite side from where it was.
17) Snap the rod back into the yellow retainer; make sure it matches the picture. This is the correct configuration.
18) Remove the rod again, and install the modified metal clip with the yellow pivot retainer in the car onto the Hot / Cold Mix Door shaft using the Philips head screw removed from the US cable clip. Hold up the actuator to see how the rod will attach to the yellow retainer.
19) Test fit the actuator and measure and cut some simple brackets. I used the original location screw in the middle (#2), and made 2 bracket pieces as shown. This allows it to completely clear the Max Cold Air Door shaft – it sits right over it. Do not install the actuator or hook up the rod yet.
20) Now it is time to test the operation of the electronics, sensors, Hot / Cold Mix Door actuator and fan speed control. I hooked the power wires up to a spare stereo harness plug, temporarily attached the Outside Air Temp Sensor wires, plugged everything in, and moved out to the car.
21) Connect the modified JDM DCC sub harness to your car using the two big white plugs.
22) Plug in the Control Unit to the two black plugs.
23) Leave everything else plugged in out of the way.
24) Turn the car on and make sure the Control Unit powers on and the display lights up.
25) Run Diagnostics. I copied this info below from one of the online guides - thanks to the original source!
To run a self-diagnostic for the DCC:
Turn engine on. Within 10 second of starting engine, press and hold ‘OFF’
button on the ACC for 5-10 seconds until all segments on the display light up.
Test 1- Display Test. Look for any missing segments or icons
Press Up arrow to get to Test 2.
Test 2 – Check Input signals from each sensor. Wait a couple seconds and it’ll display
error codes: 20=all ok, 21=ambient, 22=in-vehicle, 24=intake, 25=sunload
(test in sunlight to prevent this error), 26=PBR.
Press Up arrow to get to Test 3 or Down arrow to get to Test 1
Test 3 – Check Mode Door Motor. This test takes a little longer. 30=all modes ok, 31=vent, 32=B/L, 33=B/L, 34=Foot/Def 1, 35=Foot/Def 2, 36=Def.
Press Up arrow to get to Test 4 or Down arrow to get to Test 2
Test 4 – Actuators Test Pattern. Toggle modes 41-46 by pressing the defrost button on ACC.
Press Up arrow to get to Test 5 or Down arrow to get to Test 3
Test 5 – Temperature Readings. Press defrost button to toggle through sensors (ambient, in-vehicle, intake; in that order).
If the temp reads -22, then that sensor is not working. The temperature can also be adjusted to compensate for differences between temp setting and the temp felt by driver. It can be adjusted 6 degrees up or down.
While in Test 5, press the fan switch and then the temp adjustment can be made using the Up/Down arrows.
Hit the Auto button or turn car off to exit self-diagnostic.
Troubleshooting
Problem: No movement of Hot / Cold Mix Door when raising and lowering temp settings on the control unit.
Check: Make sure the In-Cabin Air Temp sensor is plugged in. If this sensor is not plugged in, only diagnostic mode will cause actuator movement.
Problem: Fan runs on full no matter what settings selected.
Check: The JDM Fan Control Module may be touching and grounding out against a copper A/C metal line inside the cold air box. Remove JDM Fan Control Module, look inside air box and gently bend the line in a bit OR grind down the fins so it does not touch.
Good luck!
PS I had no luck in trying to increase the brightness of the DCC illumination when running lights are turned on. It's more than just hooking up or cutting a single wire.
