I am wanting to convert from normal air con to climate control, what is required to do the conversion and how difficult a job is it to tackle?

Thanks in advance guys!

Timtam...I reckon you're in for a mountain of work. I'm not sure and the more technical guys here will correct me if I am wrong but I think the wiring loom would be different in the TJ standard air-con system than that in the later models with climate control. Then you'd have to get a different centre console insert out of a later model or a Verada.

So essentially a mountain of work for not much gain, imho. The standard air-con in the TJs was/is brilliant. Sadly it wasn't bi-level and fed to the back seats as in Commodores or Falcons but the front air was just great. Quick, easily adjusted and a saviour on hot days.

I know that the advance TJs came standard with climate control but executive didnt, dont know if they had a different wiring loom or if it was just different components. Honestly I find my aircon ggood at best, i dont think it gets cold enough so maybe the dryer needs replacing and should look at the condenser too.

So essentially a mountain of work for not much gain, imho. The standard air-con in the TJs was/is brilliant. Sadly it wasn't bi-level and fed to the back seats as in Commodores or Falcons but the front air was just great. Quick, easily adjusted and a saviour on hot days.

If you point the vents upwards the people in the back get cooled quite well. There should be no difference in performace between normal air-con and climate control. I'm sure its all the same hardware, just the control system is different. I find the climate control to be fiddley. When ever it is put on automatic it always has the aircon running even on a really cold day, you then have to hit the aircon button twice to turn it off. Then on a hot day when you start it up after sitting in the sun and the interior is hot it will run the fan on full speed recirculating the air not realizing that the air-con is off. It should at least let fresh air in to start with as that is cooler than the hot air inside. The other annoying thing is that it doesn't wait for the compressor to kick in and cool the evaporator before ramping up the fan speed.

On the other hand if left in auto mode it works really well in winter. It starts with the air going to the windscreen to demist it then directs the air to the floor before ramping the fan up when the coolant is warm. Also it takes just one button to turn the air-con on and direct the airflow to the windscreen for quick demisting, push it again and everything goes back the way it was. On long trips it is good as the temperature is kept constant with no need to adjust it.

Thats some really good info jimbo!

tj series 2 had air into the rear when climate control was fitted

tj series 2 had air into the rear when climate control was fitted

Mine is a TJ Series 2 but I presume because it's a LE Exec it didn't have climate control standard whereas the Advance did.

tj series 2 had air into the rear when climate control was fitted

I got a TJ Series II Advance and it has no rear outlets

It's not the hardest job, just time consuming. Dash out, replace wiring loom, few motors and solenoid, all back together.

If your going to do it, I'd say do your heater core and replace your dash with a black one. There is 3 different colour schemes, black on black, black on dark grey Black on light grey.

as Wiggles said, its a full rewire with oem loom and dash out job, 0 rings for heater core(replace the lot) as well as black out dash for the same loom


the heater 0 rings will **** up again soon , so keep an eye on them


i haVe a KJ Verada as a donor , but im not doin Climate Control personally

Just cruise/blackout and electric Windows

Unless you can't live without the digital screen just get your standard system re-gassed.

Replacement of the receiver dryer should be done at this time also. (that's the aluminum canister below the front of your battery box, looks like a coke can)

The standard system in well maintained order will cool and demist exceptionally well.

It's not the hardest job, just time consuming. Dash out, replace wiring loom, few motors and solenoid, all back together.

If your going to do it, I'd say do your heater core and replace your dash with a black one. There is 3 different colour schemes, black on black, black on dark grey Black on light grey.

So do I need to go with a wiring loom from a verada? Definitely should replace heater core if I decide to do it.

Yeah I've wanted to replace my dash with a black one for a while, where can I track one down?

Replacement of the receiver dryer should be done at this time also. (that's the aluminum canister below the front of your battery box, looks like a coke can)

The standard system in well maintained order will cool and demist exceptionally well.

Is it expensive to get the dryer replaced as well as doing the regass? I know with some cars that there is so much labour involved that people dont bother replacing them.

So do I need to go with a wiring loom from a verada?

Wiggles answered this part perfectly:


It's not the hardest job, just time consuming. Dash out, replace wiring loom, few motors and solenoid, all back together.

You need the main dash loom from a car that had climate control, not necessarily a Verada (but probably the easiest to find). The easiest way to do this would be to have access to a donor car with all this stuff in it, and transfer the pieces as needed — the motors and solenoid replace the mechanical wires from the standard HVAC system.

As stated, doing preventative maintenance or even replacing the heater core is an excellent idea while the dash is out, as you do not want to do pull it all out again just to fix that.




Yeah I've wanted to replace my dash with a black one for a while, where can I track one down?


There is 3 different colour schemes, black on black, black on dark grey Black on light grey.

Don't forget there is also a fourth: black on tan, although I think I know why you omitted it Sean. The black-on-xxx refers to the colour of the lower kick panels, door cards, etc. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that black dashes came on the higher-spec Magnas and most Veradas (third gens of course); I think the earlier model Ei Veradas missed out.

Black on dark grey was the scheme for Magnas: Ralliart, VR-X, and Sports for instance, as well as some others.
Black on light grey and black on tan were from Veradas, depending on the interior colour scheme chosen
Black on black, if I am not mistaken, came out with the KW GTVi

Otherwise, the black dashboards themselves are all the same, although there are black dashes that exist without a passenger airbag hole (from a KE Xi maybe?). Also, the upper section of the door cards are designed to match the dashboard colour, so you may want to look into those too.

Is it expensive to get the dryer replaced as well as doing the regass? I know with some cars that there is so much labour involved that people dont bother replacing them.

Usually the receiver dryer is replaced as a matter of course when you get your AC regassed/serviced.

The Magna/Verada ones are very cheap and also easy to access. It is basically just an aluminum canister filled with desiccant.

When you book your car in to get the work done, ask the bloke if the price includes a new receiver dryer.

The tan that your thinking of was just a tan dash, not black with tan.

The models that came with the single airbag where the series 1 sports and VRX TJ's, TH Sports, KF-KJ Veradas

The man with the answers! Although, I am a little confused...


The tan that your thinking of was just a tan dash, not black with tan.

Am I mixing something up here, but what about this quick example (KH Xi)?
http://liveimages.carsales.com.au/carsales/car/private/cp5157704942955254788.jpg

Or this? The slightly creamier beige colour (KL Ei here)
http://liveimages.carsales.com.au/carsales/car/dealer/cd4625949153735949222.jpg

I'm just keen on learning :)



The models that came with the single airbag where the series 1 sports and VRX TJ's, TH Sports, KF-KJ Veradas
Mine is a S1 TJ VR-X, but it has dual doggie bags. Was that an extra option or something?


Apologies to timtam for thread-jacking a bit here :)

Apologies to timtam for thread-jacking a bit here :)

All good mate. Gonna head to Jollys U Pull It tomorrow to get the dash loom out of a KJ Verada Series 1.

your probably better off getting the loom out of a TJII advance, and grab the brackets and fascia while you're at it as it will have a single din radio and pocket which is different to the non climate ones.

and if you've gone through the effort of removing the dash grab the heater box as well with the climate modules.

your probably better off getting the loom out of a TJII advance, and grab the brackets and fascia while you're at it as it will have a single din radio and pocket which is different to the non climate ones.

and if you've gone through the effort of removing the dash grab the heater box as well with the climate modules.

I will head to Jollys in Dandenong tomorrow at around 10.30, might run into you (not literally! Haha) so maybe if you have time you could help me out? :happy:

the forecast for tomorrow is 41° but I did spend today outside at imlachs lol

Wow thats gonna be a scorcher! Better take sunscreen (and tools of course :happy:)

under the seats there is ducting

So I'm going to head to Imlachs when I arrive back in Melbourne (14th of Jan) and I want to know specifically what i need to grab for the conversion. So if somebody could do a list of everything that is required that would be fantastic :happy: :thumbsup:

i like the tl controls better. if you get the tl console it has vents into the rear seats and a higher armrest

i like the tl controls better. if you get the tl console it has vents into the rear seats and a higher armrest
That involves a lot more work though :happy:

make sure the Climate Control LCD display works. My TJ had a fuzzy display that only worked clearly when you pressed your finger on the LCD screen...

make sure you only get lcd from the same model ..early ones were different

make sure you only get lcd from the same model ..early ones were different

Will make sure it's only from a tj series 2 advance (dash loom and climate control)

So I'm going to head to Imlachs when I arrive back in Melbourne (14th of Jan) and I want to know specifically what i need to grab for the conversion. So if somebody could do a list of everything that is required that would be fantastic :happy: :thumbsup:

Anyone? Mal?

There are a few write ups on it tim, use Google to do a search of the forums

There are a few write ups on it tim, use Google to do a search of the forums

Sweet thanks sean. Apologies for being so ignorant haha :happy:

Found the exact same question (on another forum) also found the items needed to do the conversion.

Anyone else looking to do the conversion just pm me for the link :facejump:

This link will probably be deleted due to it being from another forum, but will post it anyway. Admin feel free to remove it not allowed.

TJ Sports, this may refresh your memory a bit! :facejump:
http://www.modifiedmitsubishi.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=616

This link will probably be deleted due to it being from another forum, but will post it anyway. Admin feel free to remove it not allowed.

TJ Sports, this may refresh your memory a bit! :facejump:
http://www.modifiedmitsubishi.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=616

hmmm its been a while, can't even remember why I asked! lol

I might even have some parts lying around..............

hmmm its been a while, can't even remember why I asked! lol

I might even have some parts lying around..............

Yeah it was a while ago. Hmm might have to buy a new heater core and some vinyl paint (to paint the dash black).