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Subject Topic: Thermal control amplifier (ac issue) (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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busasteve
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Posted: May 02 2011 at 5:05pm | IP Logged  

  2001 extended cab, I4, 139,000 mi, auto.

Ac blows cold when it wants and is intermittent?  I found this post and bought the tca as described and 30 minutes later the problem was fixed.  Thanks for the pics taken and for someone determining this problem.

A few years ago I took this to a regular ac technician and they could not find the issue and did not charge me (Very reputable business practice).  They recommended taking it to the dealer to troubleshoot further.  I took it to Nissan and 850.00 later, a charge of freon, evac, tca, and ac control unit (fan and temp controls buttons) and it worked for a few years but it acted up again.

It seems to fail after we have cooler weather in Florida for a while and you don't use the system for a while and then it starts working intermittently.

 

 



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graveknight
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Posted: May 03 2011 at 1:43am | IP Logged  

man this sucks i have been havin probably the same problem. i had my truck for a while never had any problems sudenly around 75000 miles the air was working some times after i played with the controls it would come on untill finally stop working. at the time it was almost fall so i decided to endure the climate since it was strting to get cool. but when spring arrived i tryed to use the a/c again. and all it blew was hot air. took it to the shop they told me the fanclutch was dead and the coil was dirty so the replace the fanclutch and clean the coils seem to work but 3 days and 435 dollars later whent back to blowing ot air when they llok at the truck they said i had a hose leaking. The hose got fixed 275 dollars and 3 weeks later the truck started to cycle thru for hot to cold u will be driving almost freezing ur hide off and suddenly it would stop u can smell the humidity when the a/c cuts off took truck back anfd they told me they can smell the humidity and heard it cylce thru but after i left they could not duplicate the issue and they could not find any thing else wrong with it to just drive it and keep a log of when it did it. If any one has any ideas as to what could it be or point me on the right direction, i got to get this fix soon i live in texas and the heat here is no joke, any takes on this
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Boatbuilder306
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Posted: May 03 2011 at 7:20pm | IP Logged  

Hello Gravenight. Did you try the thermo control amplifier? Just a
thought. By the way, if anyone has a dead TCA they can send me, let
me know and I'll send you my contact info and prepaid postage
envelope. I'm assembling evidence...
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drchia
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Posted: May 07 2011 at 6:09pm | IP Logged  

I had to take the few minutes to register for these forums to thank the
op. I have a 96 Altima and was pulling my hair out trying to figure out
why my AC was acting up. Like everyone else, it was the TCA. $40
and 30 minutes later, good as new! I also had to replace the blower
resistor while I was working in the area as the 1-3 settings on my
blower stopped working. Thanks again op!
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captcrunch5
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Posted: May 10 2011 at 8:37am | IP Logged  

 Hi! Everyone   Well if you're reading this, you're probabaly having a/c problems. I owe a huge debt of thanks! to all who have posted before!!!!! I seldom participate in forums and absolutely had to express my appreciation. As i live in Florida, the approaching summer heat had me worried-----have had intermittent ac for about 6 months and no spare funds to shoot in the dark with repair shops and dealers. It was the Thermal Control Amplifier! After reading through forums, I believed that there was something to the TCA. Sometimes my AC would work just fine, but there was no rhyme or reason. Typically, it wouldn't work when I needed it the most. Anyway.....I employed the info from previous posts on how to replace. Very Accurate. I am NOT mechanically inclined and was able to do it. Just know that you will have potentially saved hundreds/thousands of dollars by replacing this $50 part. Oh.....get this. When I went to my Nissan dealer, I walked up to the parts guy and held the bad TCA. He returned immediately from stockroom without looking up part on computer or anything! Wow.... I guess they sell a few of those! Thanks again all!

 

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safetyfirst
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Posted: May 11 2011 at 8:16am | IP Logged  

frontierguy wrote:
s37shamus wrote:

2005 Nissan Frontier Nismo,  34000 miles.

 

Does anyone know if the TCA problem is something that could be going on with my 2005. 

When my fan is on 1 it runs cold but the blower does not blow.  When I turn the fan to 2,3, or 4 the blower turns on but the AC shuts off and does not blow cold.  The AC light turns off when the blower starts.  Has anyone had or heard of this problem?  It is not intermitent, it is like this always.  Any sugestions would be greatly appriciated.


You need a blower motor resister, located at the bottom of the blower housing near the blower motor.

Just want to know if after replacing the blower motor resistor took care of the problem since I have the same problem with my 06 Frontier

Thanks

 

Shamus

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ronm69
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Posted: May 23 2011 at 3:19am | IP Logged  

ronm69 wrote:
Boatbuilder306 wrote:
There is all sorts of info on the net about this Nissan THERMO CONTROL AMP OR AMPLIFIER (TCA) problem - Xterras and Frontiers, and probably Altimas and everything else. Everyone apparently has it, and if you haven't, you will. Many forums refer to this as a THERMAL control amp, so the information on the net is spread out all over the place. Strangely enough, all the Nissan mechanics want to flush your A/C system, recharge the freon, check your compressor, run die through the system and do all sorts of diagnostics to the tune of $500-$1000, and THEN they'll replace this $40 part after all else fails. The part no. is 27675-9Z000. It is located on AND inside the black evaporator box immediately behind the glove compartment. Remove several screws and the glove box comes off completely. Lay on the floor board and look up. Then remove three silver screws holding the evaporator box together. You can pry it apart gently and then TRY to reach the RED plug-like thingy sticking out of the LEFT SIDE of the radiator-like thingy inside the evaporator box. If you aren't careful, the box WILL crack. No big deal. There are several screws reportedly holding the back of the evaporator box together, but nobody seems to have been able to actually remove them, except for (as one forum poster remarked) a small child who worked for Cirque d'Soleil. Use small hands or long needlenose pliers to pull the RED plug-like sensor out and try to remember what it looked like sticking in -- turns out you can stick the replacement part anywhere in the same general vicinity -- if you get it back in the same spot it is entirely a fluke. This red thing connects to a white connector thing (which is mounted on the OUTSIDE of the evaporator box and PLAINLY visible even without removing the glove box) by some wires that fold over a small slot in the seam between the top and bottom halves of the box. The white connector is TRICKY -- it slides DOWN over a little notch/detente in the back, and if you haven't cracked the box trying to remove the red TCA inside, you'll probably crack it trying to slide this connector down. HOLD onto the box with your left hand and use pliers or something to firmly grasp the white connector and slide it down -- the prongs on the side of the connector do not hold this connector on -- ignore those. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to get to this point, and another 5 minutes to stick in the new part, add some glue to the crack you just made in the box, then about 5 more minutes to screw everything back together. My guess is that if you have an intermittent A/C problem with your Nissan vehicle (any model), it's this TCA part. I've thought of starting a web site selling nothing but these TCAs along with drawings of the repair process. Why Nissan hasn't recalled these vehicles and repaired the problem at no charge is really inexcusable.


I have a 2000 Frontier Crew Cab that I bought new, and this A/C issue is the first major problem I have encountered.  I followed your directions exactly and it took right at a half hour.  Fortunately I didn't spend any money on wasted efforts, but I did get two different diagnosis from a Nissan mechanic and an independent mechanic and neither mentioned the TCA.  As soon as I plugged in the new part, I had ice cold air blowing immediately.  Thanks for the great site.


Update: It has been almost 2 years since I replaced the TCA in my 2000 Frontier Crew Cab and it is still blowing ice cold air.  Take the advice here and spend the $40 or so for the part and a little bit of your time and see if it works.  Worse case you are out $40.
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Boatbuilder306
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Posted: May 23 2011 at 8:13am | IP Logged  

Boatbuilder306 wrote:
There is all sorts of info on the net about this Nissan THERMO CONTROL AMP OR AMPLIFIER (TCA) problem - Xterras and Frontiers, and probably Altimas and everything else. Everyone apparently has it, and if you haven't, you will. Many forums refer to this as a THERMAL control amp, so the information on the net is spread out all over the place. Strangely enough, all the Nissan mechanics want to flush your A/C system, recharge the freon, check your compressor, run die through the system and do all sorts of diagnostics to the tune of $500-$1000, and THEN they'll replace this $40 part after all else fails. The part no. is 27675-9Z000. It is located on AND inside the black evaporator box immediately behind the glove compartment. Remove several screws and the glove box comes off completely. Lay on the floor board and look up. Then remove three silver screws holding the evaporator box together. You can pry it apart gently and then TRY to reach the RED plug-like thingy sticking out of the LEFT SIDE of the radiator-like thingy inside the evaporator box. If you aren't careful, the box WILL crack. No big deal. There are several screws reportedly holding the back of the evaporator box together, but nobody seems to have been able to actually remove them, except for (as one forum poster remarked) a small child who worked for Cirque d'Soleil. Use small hands or long needlenose pliers to pull the RED plug-like sensor out and try to remember what it looked like sticking in -- turns out you can stick the replacement part anywhere in the same general vicinity -- if you get it back in the same spot it is entirely a fluke. This red thing connects to a white connector thing (which is mounted on the OUTSIDE of the evaporator box and PLAINLY visible even without removing the glove box) by some wires that fold over a small slot in the seam between the top and bottom halves of the box. The white connector is TRICKY -- it slides DOWN over a little notch/detente in the back, and if you haven't cracked the box trying to remove the red TCA inside, you'll probably crack it trying to slide this connector down. HOLD onto the box with your left hand and use pliers or something to firmly grasp the white connector and slide it down -- the prongs on the side of the connector do not hold this connector on -- ignore those. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to get to this point, and another 5 minutes to stick in the new part, add some glue to the crack you just made in the box, then about 5 more minutes to screw everything back together. My guess is that if you have an intermittent A/C problem with your Nissan vehicle (any model), it's this TCA part. I've thought of starting a web site selling nothing but these TCAs along with drawings of the repair process. Why Nissan hasn't recalled these vehicles and repaired the problem at no charge is really inexcusable.

UPDATE 5/23/11: It has been three years since I replaced this TCA and still blowing ice cold air. No problems at all.

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