Looking for clarification on air conditioning components

[will5023]

I've got a really dumb question that is probably obvious but here goes. I'm trying to figure out what's going on with my air conditioning in my 85 westy. I'm looking at the Bentley, page 97.138 and I'm confused by some of the terminology.

This is what my air conditioning controls on the dash look like:

On the Bentley diagram on p. 97.138, I see the Evaporator Fan Switch, the Evaporator Fan Range Switch, and the A/C Thermostat.

Is this the Evaporator Fan Switch and the A/C Thermostat that I'm looking at in this photo? If so, where is the Evaporator Fan Range Switch located physically on the van? If not, what am I looking at in the photo and where is the third component located?

Thanks!
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Will
'85 Westy w/ '99 Subaru EJ25D
Orig. manual now automatic

[ALIKA T3]

This is the dealer AC added in a Westfalia van I believe. I`m not sure the Bentley covers these wirings. I took one apart recently, you got a bunch of relays added near the radiator fan relays un on the pilar above the ground trees and a couple as well above or next to the fuses.
The switch has many functions in one, it does it all, 2 knobs in one.

I`m not sure what you are troubleshooting, but these old ass systems are often off and non working, for years. Do you have refrigerant in it?
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[MarkWard]

Center knob is evaporator fan speed. Outer knob is compressor/thermostat knob.

[will5023]

Thanks for the responses. I am thinking that the Evaporator Fan Range Switch does not exist in my van. If anyone knows where it would be located and/or what it looks like, please let me know. I have found and identified the relays under the dash. Here's a pic; if these are mislabeled please let me know . I figured them out by comparing the relay wiring to the Bentley but certainly could have made an error.

Alika, no there's no refrigerant as I'm in the process of replacing the engine and the compressor was removed as part of the removal of the old engine. I'm not really troubleshooting anything specific. I'm in the process of relabeling all of the wires in the black relay box and figuring out everything the PO did.

The black switch in the first photo powers the compressor through an after market wire run under the van (as well as sends 'a/c on' signal to the Subaru ECM). In the engine bay, there's a mystery red wire with two types of connectors not hooked up that runs from the a/c evaporator cabinet above the bench seat. I think that this wire originally powered the compressor and the idle air stabilization valve (absent on Subaru conversions??).

I'm just trying to figure out what everything is and which wire is which so I can make sure its all wired properly. Not knowing where everything is supposed to be located is the main stumbling block. Thanks again.
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Will
'85 Westy w/ '99 Subaru EJ25D
Orig. manual now automatic

[MarkWard]

I’ll repeat, the center knob of the switch you posted is the evaporator fan speed switch. It does appear to be dealer installed air and as mentioned, is likely not covered in the Bentley manual.

[djkeev]

To clear up any confusion,
The EVAPORATOR is insid the Van mounted in the rear on the head banger shelf by the rear window.
There is a fan for the Evaporator, it is on the dash as has already been pointed out.

The CONDENSER is located in front of the engine radiator at the front of the Van.
There is a fan for thr condenser but it is thermostatically controlled. It should come on when the A/C compressor is energized.

Dave
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[khughes]

OK, first the bad news; Bentley is somewhat helpful, but mostly not. There was a great deal of variability in these dealer installed systems, from relays used, relay locations, use of a high pressure cutout switch, use of a trinary switch, and '85 and back AFAIK all used the 2 speed radiator fan while the '86 used a 3-speed, so extra relay, extra wires. Worse news, the full current for the evaporator fan goes through the single dash switch and tends to cook the switch - needs a relay added at least for high speed.

Also, this system is, IMO very anemic if you live in or drive around in a hot climate. Here in Phoenix it did not cut it at all. After getting 25 years older, I finally ditched it and went with the '87 and up evaporator (twice as big) and Fans (2 larger fans vs one motor and two squirrel cages). I did a lot of other customizations as well but those made the lion's share of improvement. When it's above 116F it's still just barely adequate, but anything below 110F it's great. So if you're going through all the work, you might think upgrade...

Good news: resistors for the evap fan speeds are in the headbanger - just pull the drivers side speaker and you'll see them on the side of the ABS fan/evap housing. I had the same system in my '86 so I spent some time figuring it out, and somewhere came across this drawing. It wasn't exact for my system, but it was close enough to figure things out. All my relays are mounted on the top of the fuse box, not mounted remotely. YMMV.

So this is s very useful guide and while yours may not match, it should be reasonably close.

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'86 Westy FAS GenV Turbo (Marvin)