Gen 2 Auto-AC Upgrade

This is a mod I had done in my 2008 SR5 and had previously posted WAY back on other sites. Most of those sites don't have much going on any more (or don't even exist), so I figure I'll post it here for people to use. I wasn't the first person that had done this mod, but I believe I was the first to figure out ALL of the parts needed to keep the system from resetting every time the truck was turned off.

This is also back when I swapped the 2010 JBL head-unit into my 2008 truck to get BT streaming audio and USB audio input.
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So, when I bought my truck, one of the things I learned really quickly was that I really missed the auto climate control that my wife had in her car. I also learned that the Limited trim had these controls, and that it was possible to make the swap with a little bit of leg work and a little bit of luck finding the right parts. And so my quest to do this started…



I’ll start this write-up off with the preface that this is based on the installation in MY truck, which is a 2008 SR5 TRD Double Cab that had the JBL sound system. What does JBL have to do with anything? Well, it means that, at least in 2008, they simply used the main wiring harnesses for a Limited truck when building mine into an SR5 (or more appropriately, they started with a Limited truck and instead installed the seats, controls, and other plug-in parts from an SR5). Either way, it means that I did not have to run any additional wiring (with one exception) or splice anything in to get this mod to work.


If you find that you do not have all of the wiring, then you’ll want to head over to TundraSolutions.com and check out this thread (which I’ve borrowed a few photos from), as the OP here did have to add wiring and includes the information in his write-up. It is the initial source of my inspiration to complete this mod myself. I will say, however, that when you are done with that post, you’ll want to come back here and read this one as well (or read this one first) because there are a few IMPORTANT things to note that are needed to do this mod and not have to deal with the system resetting temperature back to either 78 degrees or something like that every time the truck is shut off for a few hours.

Now we’ll move onto the details. There are several parts you’ll need to source – either buying brand new (expensive) or “harvesting” out of a salvage truck (car-part.com is your starting point to find these parts). I’ll detail the specific parts in a bit, but first know that if you go about the “harvesting” route, make sure to call the salvage yards directly and ask them to send you detailed photos of the parts, including part numbers and several views of the panels, before you buy. There are a few reasons for this:

1 – Many salvage yards can’t figure out (or don’t care) the difference between a Double Cab and a CrewMax. Hell, some of them can’t even figure out the difference between an SR5 and a Limited. As a Tundra owner, this is an important fact, because you have different ducting and dampers (and servos) in the two configurations. If you install a Double Cab controller (and amplifier) in a CrewMax truck, your rear vents won’t work correctly. Going the other way (CMX controller and amp in a DCB) likely won’t be an issue (I’ve read people have done it this way), but best practice is to match things up. This means you’ll want to see either the truck it came out of, or see ACTUAL part numbers on the back of the unit (and a photo to confirm that it is in fact an AUTO controller).

2 – Many salvage yards pay someone minimum wage to pull a standard set of parts from hundreds of vehicles and don’t know the nuances of how to delicately and surgically remove those parts from fancy new trucks. Muscle and crowbars may be fine for removing the alternator from an ’85 ford, but when dealing with plastic-bezelled electronics in a $40,000+ truck, those tactics tend to leave marks. One of the most common problems I encountered was the fan speed control knob “ring” missing or broken. You can’t go buy a new knob for this controller – you can only buy a whole new circuit board (~$500)…making the whole part worthless except for the front bezel and rear panel.

3 – Verify condition and color (and find out if you’re going to need to save your plug blanks or not). There are ways to get around a scratched up panel, or one that is the wrong color, so long as you’re willing to spend a little $$ to buy a new one direct from Toyota. But you may also be able to use this as bargaining power to get a lower price. Just remember that broken knobs means you’re SOL.

Ok, on to the parts required.

The two most critical parts (and most expensive) are the Auto AC Controller and the AC Amplifier. These two parts go together and have to be matched up. If you’ve got manual AC controls, then your amplifier is also a manual AC amp. Plug in the auto AC controller and you’ll get either a blank panel or some error codes. Nothing will work. On top of them being matched (Auto controller and amp), they also need to be matched for the cab configuration (DCB auto controller to DCB auto amp for example). I’ve heard some people have success matching a CMAX amp with a DCB controller in a double cab truck (but NOT the other way), but I don’t have firsthand experience to know. I’m also not 100% certain if the Platinum controller and amp have anything special going on related to the memory functions in those rigs, or not. The best bet would be to find a controller through the salvage yard searches, and then specifically ask that salvage yard to also sell you the amp (temperature control computer) from the exact same truck. That’s what I did, and it worked great.

So, there are several part numbers depending on the year of manufacture (and thus color of the bezel on the controller), cab configuration, and trim level (Limited or Platinum). I’ll give a listing here for all of them – I’ve highlighted in BOLD the ones I uses specifically in my truck. In all cases, the prefix of the part numbers is the same as the first one I list.

Double Cab Limited AC Controller – 84010-0CB80 (Black), -0C870 (Black?), -0CC50 (Graphite)
Double Cab Limited AC Amplifier – 88650-0C060, -0C190, -0C270, -0C130
CrewMax Limited AC Controller - 84010-0CC00 (Black?), -0C890 (Black?), -0CC70 (Graphite)
CrewMax Limited AC Amplifier - 88650-0C070, -0C200, -0C280, -0C140
CrewMax Platinum AC Controller - 84010-0CD10 (Woodgrain)
CrewMax Platinum AC Controller - 88650-0C290, -0C210

Brand new, the Controllers are around $910 and the amps are around $376. You can see why salvage yard is the way to go (I paid about $300 for the set).

Now on to the common parts needed regardless of which cab you have. Prices are approximate - but shop around. Camelback Toyota online actually has some really good prices and reasonable shipping compared to most places I looked (they beat the below prices with shipping when I bought my parts).

Thermistor - 88625-47021 (~$22)
Air Hose - 88669-0C030 (~$11)
Aspirator - 88897-12210 (~$19)
Cool Air Bypass Servo* - 87106-0C100 (see note) (~$120)
Limited Servo Wiring Harness* - 82210-0C020 (see note) (~$18)

Parts marked with an asterisk (*) are parts that are NOT listed in other write-ups, but are necessary to keep the system from resetting the temperature when the truck has been turned off for any length of time.

Finally, there are two additional parts which I have installed that you may or may not need:
Solar Sensor/Photo Cell - 89121-50020 (~$125)
Limited AC Control Panel Face (GRAPHITE) - 84013-0C670 (~$142)

The Solar Sensor is a part that I’m not 100% sure if it is needed or not. I had previously installed it when doing my Auto-on head lights, and I know most other people have NOT installed it with the Auto-AC install. That said, I know that my Auto-AC does not reset, and everyone else that has done the Auto-AC has it resetting on them. So you decide. You may be able to find this sensor from a salvage yard in any number of other Toyota makes/models (back-search the part number on ToyoDIY.com). And as for the new control panel face – I was upgrading my stereo to a 2010+ JBL head unit that is Graphite, so I opted to also replace the controller face to match. That, and the controller I bought had a big scratch in it, so I was able to talk the salvage yard down on price enough to offset the new face cost, which helped.

Probably the hardest part of this whole mod is swapping the servo wiring harness out, because it snakes around the outside of the evaporator housing to hit each of the servos in series. In order to get to it, you’ll need to pull out the old AC controller, and drop the glove box, front passenger lower and upper dash, driver’s lower dash, and the floor heat ducts for both front driver and passenger. It is also helpful to pull the radio head unit, though not entirely required. Also pay close attention to the colors of the plugs on the old servo wiring harness and which one connects to which servo, as you’ll need to match the same colors to the same servos on the new harness (there’s pretty much only one way they’ll go anyway).

Passenger side:
Remove side dash panel

Drop the glove box (like you would to replace the cabin air filter)


Remove lower passenger wire gutter cover


Remove lower passenger pillar junction cover


Remove 10mm (head) screw at lower right corner of lower dash


There are three additional hex head/Phillips screws (I used a screw driver) holding the lower dash – one in each of the other three corners. Then it is also clipped into the upper dash as well.


You can start to see the blower housing, passenger floor air duct, AC amp, and some of the servos now


There are more hex-head/Phillips screws holding the upper dash into place. I believe there are a couple hiding in the back of the upper glove box that you need to remember to get as well.


And now we can see the spot we need to get to on this side! In this photo, I’ve already got the new AC amp installed (has the orange “60” on it) and the new servo installed (upper one in the photo). I’ve also got the new harness in place as well.


Close-up of the new servo. Note that the servo does not come with screws, so you’ll need to get your hands on some of your own beforehand. Also note that this servo isn’t actually controlling anything (the evaporator housing on a non-Limited truck doesn’t actually have the damper or linkage in place for this servo) – but it has to be in the series for the amp to think that everything is kosher.


Now on to the driver’s side…

Pull the driver’s side floor wire gutter cover


And the driver’s pillar junction cover. There is a 10mm (head) screw here to remove as well.


And another 10mm (head) screw on the other lower corner


Drop the lower cover down. You can disconnect all the plugs if you like and pull it out of the truck – but I’m not going to sit here and explain how to get the hood release out of that lower housing (it takes some thinking to do it).


Here’s one of the two servos on the driver’s side that you’ll be routing the wire harness to:


Next, you’ll move on to pulling the old AC controller out. I didn’t take any photos of this, but if you google how to remove the radio from a Tundra, you’ll get plenty of detailed instructions on how to get this part done (you have to remove the AC controller to be able to remove the stereo).

Get the old servo wiring harness fished out of the dash, and then get the new servo installed and the new harness snaked through the dash and plugged in. Swap out the AC amp while you’re down there on the passenger floor. You’re done with the hardest part!

Next, we move on to the thermistor/aspirator installation. For this, you’re going to be hacking a little bit…take a deep breath.

We’re going to need to cut part of this framework out behind the lower console (where the cigarette lighter is) to route the air tube for the thermistor. This can be done with a utility knife, sawzall, dremel, small hand saw, or one of those fancy multimaster tools. It doesn’t have to be real pretty, it just has to work – it will be hidden when we’re done. I used a razor knife to keep shavings to a minimum.

Before (cut along the red lines)



After:


Now we can see the handy spot where they molded the housing to accept the aspirator (they just didn’t cut the hole out for it). We’re going to cut out that hole!

Take a 7/8” drill bit of choice and CAREFULLY drill out the center of that opening.


Now we’re going to plug the air hose into the aspirator and snap it into place


Another view


Route the hose out toward the driver’s side through a gap you’ll find behind the tow/haul button location


Then connect the thermistor to the other end. The plug for the wiring on it goes UP.


Next, clip the thermistor into the spot in the back of the lower dash panel where it goes (there are some slots in front of the spot for air to flow past the thermistor).




Finally, reverse the process to put everything back together. Be sure to carefully plug back in all of your switches and buttons, and tuck all of your wiring out of the way. When you go to put the AC controller back, make sure you install the new one!

Finally, start up the truck and revel in your new climate controls…


And here are a few final thoughts…in case you’ve not used the auto controls before:

1 - Putting the truck in “Auto” will switch the A/C light on automatically as well. If it is really hot out compared to your set temperature, it will also automatically switch to “recirc” air instead of outside air. You can turn off A/C after that, and “Auto” will stay on, but I’m not sure how exactly it can cool in that mode. I usually leave it on default. If you touch any of the settings except temperature (such as fan speed, or mode), then “Auto” will shut off.

2 – When you first start up and go in the morning, the fan will not start right away, especially if the outside air is colder than your desired interior temperature. THIS IS NORMAL. It usually take a mile or so for mine to kick on (I get in and drive right away…I don’t ever wait to warm things up) – it is waiting for heater to actually register that heat is available before it starts blowing.

3 – Hitting the defrost disables all auto function and will blow immediately and on high until things start to warm up and temperature starts to stabilize.

4 – The “rear” defrost (in a Double Cab, you get mirror heat and windshield wiper “deicer” only with this button) does not affect it using auto mode, since these are simply wired heating elements in the mirrors and in the lower section of the windshield.

5 – Dual turns on as soon as the passenger touches their temperature control knob (it will stay in Auto too). Disabling back to “sync” is as easy as hitting the button.

That’s it – hope this helps inspire someone else to enjoy this mod!

 

Awesome write up. I'm going to this in a couple of months. I got the controller from a tundra and the AC amp from a Toyota Sequoia, so I don't know if it's going to work but I'll try it.

 

I thought about doing this but after reading the post, I’m changing my mind haha.

 

I have a 2007 Limited so while the topic isnt pertinent to me, you had me at bluetooth audio. Can you post a link to the write up that you did to install the later radio please?

 

https://www.featuredphoenixautomoti...2007-2013?variant=31930396639335&currency=USD

 

I don't think I've ever actually posted that write up. Unless you are dead-set on wanting the stock radio look, you're honestly better off with an aftermarket radio and a basic adapter harness. You'll get more function (like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) and probably better sound too.

 

I have a stock stereo (Non JBL) with Bluetooth I am willing to part with.
how does $50 plus shipping sound to you?

 

Too cool upgrade