GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

ok, there is no performance improvement. have you guys noticed, when the windshield vents are selected, the recirculatory switch is turned off. i thought this was because the knob had control of the recirculatory valve. it doesn't. behind the radio bezel. there is a large cable below the a/c button / recirculatory switch. when you rotate te knob to windshield, the cable extends and forces a switch behind to open.if you just disconnect the cable fromk the bezel, you control the AC system completely. you can keep the recirculatory closed even with the windshield vents on.i came across this today when i was checking the wires behind the radio. one of my speaker wires had come undone.anybody know why the car was made like this?

why would you need the car to suck in and blow in the same spot????...as the recirc draws air from the windshield vent...

it's designed like that to keep the coils from freezing over. By recirculating the warm, moist cabin air over the already freezing coils (in the winter weather) it'll create a sheet of ice on it until it eventually clogs up the system.

The inside of your windows "fog" up due to moisture in the air. When you recirc the air in the cabin, you are "reusing" the air which you exhale (which is moist). Naturally, to clear the fog from the windows inside the cabin, you need to dry the air, and this is why recirculation is disabled in this mode. Incidentally, this is also why the a/c comes on in defrost; a/c dries the air in the cabin.

I know this is an old topic, but I need to ressurect it for a minute.....Let me get this straight. I understood in the past what the recirc button did, and I understood the safty cable behind it.... however if I understand right, I can unhook that and it won't hurt the car at all, as long as I am smart enough to turn off the "recirc" when using defrost?I guess I just see that spot as a perfect spot for some kinf of switch... I mean, like some neons, or a control for a woofer inthe back.... or even just wiring something up for the foglamps.... who knows, but it would open up some options if I knew it wouldn't hurt anything..... What do some other people think? I like opinions!!!!!

Quote, originally posted by Vibr8tr »Let me get this straight. I understood in the past what the recirc button did, and I understood the safty cable behind it.... however if I understand right, I can unhook that and it won't hurt the car at all, as long as I am smart enough to turn off the "recirc" when using defrost?I guess I just see that spot as a perfect spot for some kinf of switch... I mean, like some neons, or a control for a woofer inthe back.... or even just wiring something up for the foglamps.... who knows, but it would open up some options if I knew it wouldn't hurt anything..... I'm confused...The idea is that there's a cable that goes between the HVAC controls below the radio and the recirc button next to the radio. When you turn the vent knob to the windshield vents, the cable pushes out the recirc button and keeps it from being enabled.Pulling that cable out means that you can enable the Recirc system at any time, even when the vent is on the defrost position. If you removed the switch itself, you wouldn't be able to turn on the recirculation at all.

Kind of.... You can remove the cable that goes to the "automatic shutoff" that is behind the unused button. All that does is make it so if you ave the "recirc" on, it won't automatically shut off when you turn on the defrost. Basically it's like taking off a safety feature. At least that's how I saw it when I opened it up myself. I don't know if I explained that good or not, I am horible at explinations, so if any one can help me get out what I am trying to say.... I guess my only question is what is to stop me from removing that saftey feture so I have complete control of the recirc, instread of the Vibe deciding it for me.... (what does a Vibe know anyway?)

Wait, I get what you are saying, I am not talking about removing the "recirc" button or control, just the little bit under it that the cable goes into, so that I can use the unused button under it....