A/C vacuum switch

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mopowers

mopowers

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I'm in the process of re-doing my a/c heater box with new door foams, seals and whatnot. I've also modified the A/C portion of the blower box to eliminate the A/C while still providing a functional heater and defroster. My question relates to the switch that directs the vacuum source to the various vacuum actuators. It seems as though these would be prone to leaking.

Do these A/C heater control switches ever develop a vacuum leak? If so, has anyone ever installed a small ball valve on the vacuum supply side to prevent these leaks while not in use? I was thinking about putting a small ball valve behind the dash to cut off vacuum from the switch when not in use so if I ever wanted to run the heater/defroster, I could just open the valve to provide a vacuum supply. Or even maybe use a 12v solenoid valve instead of a manual ball valve

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For that push button controller, The whole thing flies apart more often than developing a little leak.
 
That's good to know. Thanks. Why do they typically come apart? I have a couple broken ones I was taking apart. They seem pretty antiquated for sure. How reliable are they if they're in good working order?
 
Every mechanical/type writer like push button assembly has a history of being trouble makers. Even more recent examples like the climate controller in 90 Ford Tempo failed.
The button movement in radios work better but are a different design.
Its were the button being pushed must also bring the previously pushed button from in to out. Operator pushes this thing apart in attempt force its movement when it hangs up.
A new reproduction may or may not be dependable long term. I wouldn't waste a minute on a used one for a daily driver and especially not behind a-body rallye panel due to the difficult R&R there.
The push button shifter disappeared first, same reason.
 
mopowers said:
How did it work? Do you happen to have a part number? I'd hate to think about the headache I'd get by asking someone at autozone to find it for me.
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It was part of a resto and hasn't been tested yet but seemed to 'function' and felt fine out of the box. Better than the old one. I'm not seeing it in a search in Autozone right right now but at the time I just used the Chrysler number stamped on the part. 2-3 numbers superseded to that one.
 
70Duster440 said:
It was part of a resto and hasn't been tested yet but seemed to 'function' and felt fine out of the box. Better than the old one. I'm not seeing it in a search in Autozone right right now but at the time I just used the Chrysler number stamped on the part. 2-3 numbers superseded to that one.
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Thanks for the info. Any idea how long ago it was? I can't anything to pop up with autozone or rockauto.
 
The main failures are high current (running blower "high" position) tends to melt the plastic from over-heating, and the plastic vacuum nipples cracking. There is a post showing how to rebuild one. New ones used to be $100, but I see one for $55 w/ shipping on ebay now, so grab while you can. My 65 Newport non-AC uses a 4-button one that is NA, so cry for me, but I reworked a 5-button one to work long ago.
 
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