DASHBOARD SWEATING?

beernazi · July 2, 2004

During the summer months there is an oil or something that bleeds from around the A/C button. I have no idea what it is or where it's coming from. Anyone have any ideas?

99 Chevy Tahoe 2dr

tryn2lrn · July 3, 2004

Is it while the AC is operating? If so is it condensation from a vent leaking down?

beernazi · July 4, 2004

No, the A/C doesn't have to be on for this. It's not condensation. It's more like a resin. I've never heard of this before on the older body trucks. I've owned a 97, 98, 99, and and old style 2000 3/4 ton and never had a problem like this. It only seeps from around the A/C button. Any suggestions would be a big help

budhayes3 · July 4, 2004

I'd pull the dash bezel and take a look. Possibly some dialectric grease melting off? Or maybe an electrical problem melting the insulation off a wire at the back of the switch?

tryn2lrn · July 5, 2004

I agree with the above suggestion, maybe it's grease, they used to pack switches with that stuff. Maybe something back there is warm enough to be melting some of the grease down to liquid and causing it to ooze out. Good luck.

beernazi · July 10, 2004

Thanks for the help. I'm kinda new at this shadetree mechanic stuff. Especially when it applies to the interior. Thanks again.

GuyZ71 · July 12, 2004

I don't know if the Silverado uses the same AC/heater control system but I'd be inclined to believe it does. My wife's 2000 Grand Prix GT, my cousin's 2002 ZR2 and my friend's 2003 Grand Am GT all had the climate controls replaced under warranty for the same problem as you describe. All the switches (fan speed, temp adjustment and vent selection) are one unit. Apparently there's a vacuum line that runs to this switch pack from the engine somewhere. This line has been known to collect a little oil and then it seeps down into the climate control switches and ruins them. Two different dealerships performed the work on the 3 vehicles above and both of them said this was common knowledge for them. In my wife's car they replaced the vac line and the climate control pack and we were good to go. We never noticed any leaking in my wife's car but one day the fan speeds of 3 and 4 just quit working. Positions 1, 2 and 5 worked normally. About 2 weeks later position 5 took a dump too. We took it in and this is when they told us about the vac line. My cousin's ZR2 started to have an oily substance around the controls and he took his truck in and they told him the same thing at a different dealership.