GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I have a 2006 Vibe. Recently I removed the radio to replace the lights and found a control cable flopping loose behind the dash.


The cable connects to the rotary switch which determines where the ventilation system air is discharged, i.e. in my face, on my feet, on the windshield etc.
The other end of the cable appears to connect to the back side of the third button below the two AC buttons. The tabs are broken which would hold the cable in place into the backside of the third button.




Does anyone know what this cable does? Everything seems to be working.
Dave p

I saw that in mine too, but didn't disconnect it. I assume it's just a place holder that they were too lazy to get rid of. I think in some models that spot is for the traction control feature on/off button.

Its a mechanical link that ties the air direction rotary switch to the recirc control. When connected, if you are in recirc mode and switch the air direction to defrost or half defrost the cable will trip the recirc button to turn recirc off. The idea is that defrost works better with fresh air than recirculated air.

Thanks joatman
I would never have figured that out on my own.
dave p

The whole cable came out on me. Can someone PLEASE tell (or show) me where this end goes?

Welcome to GneVibe! What were you doing in there to notice it was disconnected?

jcjstern wrote:The whole cable came out on me. Can someone PLEASE tell (or show) me where this end goes?

It has to go on the back of the HVAC controls, probably behind the one that controls where the air comes out (vent/floor/defrost)

I'd take a picture of it on mine, but it's back in behind, and even if I just pull the radio to see back there, I might not be able to get a good picture. I'll look the next time I have the radio out, but hopefully some one else will post a pic before I can get around to it. It is something you can leave off with little to no effect, especially now that the weather should be getting warmer

I leave mine disconnected all the time. I almost never use recirc, and can remember to turn it off it I happened to have used recirc and later need a quicker defrost, don't need the car to do that automatically. I disconnected mine on the back of the recirc switch though.

Thanks much for your quick reply! Since leaving out doesn't affect the function of things, I'm good with that. Thanks again, I was seriously about to loose it!

Okay, so I'm all done worrying about the stupid cable and, BAM...I see it!

Never occurred to me to look here

joatmon wrote:It has to go on the back of the HVAC controls

. Yep, joatmon's right! I've included a picture incase anyone else encounters the same issue.

joatmon wrote:Welcome to GneVibe! What were you doing in there to notice it was disconnected?

Thanks! One of the bulbs behind the HVAC control panel went out. It drove me crazy, so I finally pulled everything to replace it. Seems it can never be a simple 1-2-3, so I'm glad you all are here. This has been the only place I've been able to consistently find answers to what I'm looking for!

Satisfying that when you ran into a problem that convinced you to finally stop being a lurker and join up that we were able to help

jcjstern wrote: I've included a picture incase anyone else encounters the same issue.

any idea what the part is called? there are 2 tabs that broke off that keep the cable into place when i was updating to an aftermarket radio. hoping it isn't expensive to replace

weasle05 wrote:any idea what the part is called? there are 2 tabs that broke off that keep the cable into place when i was updating to an aftermarket radio. hoping it isn't expensive to replace

The tabs on mine are broken too, I'd love to fix that.