I'm an idiot and cut part of the HVAC ribbon

[GP1138]

So, I was cutting some of the back of the radio well, and I thought I'd ascertained where the wiring and electrical was back there. Apparently not. I cut about a half inch into the HVAC harness ribbon from the left side in. The HVAC actually still functions, but appears to be only blowing on the floor. I can still adjust fan speed and temperature. It's just as well because it blows cold on the passenger side, but I was going to be replacing those actuators.

How much have I screwed myself here? Is that particular ribbon cable difficult to replace? Could I possibly solder some wires to the two sides of the ribbon to fix this?

[Sirius]

I don't know how difficult it would be to R&R that cable, but I'll bet Andrew at Bonnevilles Unlimited can hook you up with a replacement. I'm sure you could splice your old one back together, but it might be a PITA to access the break without removing the cable; and if you have to remove it you might as well just replace it.

[harofreak00]

That sucks, a lot.

I do sell the ribbon harness, but you have to remove the entire dash to access it. If you have clear access, I would definitely try to solder it back together, nothing really to lose. If you need the harness, PM or email me @ andrew.suderman@gmail.com

[GP1138]

Thanks man. I have to get back in there to do some cleaning up and refine some connections, and I eventually have to replace some blend actuators, so I'll address it at that time.

[ddalder]

My experience in soldering flexible printed circuits is that it is generally quite difficult unless you are very experienced. I would not take this on as a first or second time job. If it's not 100%, you're just going to continue having problems down the road. It has to be carefully prepped to expose the copper traces. Once you do, it can still be a challenge to get solder to stick to provide a long term, reliable connection. You most certainly need to jumper across the cut with a piece of wire as opposed to just applying solder to bridge the cut. None of this will be easy (or even practical) reaching into the dash. It's a big enough job to swap out, but it'll still be less time than trying to make the original work and then almost certainly have to change it out anyway. There is no disagreement that it really sucks. Over more than 40 years of working on electronic devices and equipment, I still cringe every time I have to do something like this to a flexible printed circuit. You probably don't want to know that the instrument panel wiring harness was changed to traditional wires in 2002.