I do think we’re talking from different generations here, and under the assumption everything even works. Yes, it is wonderful when everything works correctly, but even in that case, older vehicles had separate controls for the vents, the heat, and the air conditioning.
We got a '96 Sonoma, missing the entire right side of the dashboard, so no glove box, no blower motor, and half the missing ventilation system is duct taped over. Thanks to the previous but now deceased owner. :(
But at least the windows roll down in the heat of the day, and at least some of the ventilation system gives us heat in the cold when the vents are set for open air.
Yes we’re driving what most would call a shitbox, but it’s reliable at least.
I’d try to fix the dashboard shit, but that would probably cost more than the truck itself. So, back to simple brain mode…
FROST: Warm up the engine, even if the AC worked, like why? Just warm it up a bit and drive…
FOG: Wish the AC worked, but at least the windows roll down…
Sonomas are decent little trucks overall. With a lot of Gm products a lot of shit quits working for no reason (or cheap plastic parts break) and there’s always little gremlins to chase, but they’ll usually get you to where you’re going.
But ya, If everything worked proper, the 96’ Sonoma is supposed to turn the ac compressor on and flip a vent door to redirect the air to your windshield whenever you put the dial to the far right defrost. It’ll still defrost the window anyway if the ac is bust, but with the dry air it works a lot faster. Your defogger button directly under that knob only puts power to the heat lines in your rear window. They’re kinda meh for actual defogging in my opinion, but they’re great for melting ice so you can at least see out the back. (probably not as big of a deal with a flat back window like yours, works nice on curved back window on my Olds Intrigue.)
I do think we’re talking from different generations here, and under the assumption everything even works. Yes, it is wonderful when everything works correctly, but even in that case, older vehicles had separate controls for the vents, the heat, and the air conditioning.
We got a '96 Sonoma, missing the entire right side of the dashboard, so no glove box, no blower motor, and half the missing ventilation system is duct taped over. Thanks to the previous but now deceased owner. :(
But at least the windows roll down in the heat of the day, and at least some of the ventilation system gives us heat in the cold when the vents are set for open air.
Yes we’re driving what most would call a shitbox, but it’s reliable at least.
I’d try to fix the dashboard shit, but that would probably cost more than the truck itself. So, back to simple brain mode…
Sonomas are decent little trucks overall. With a lot of Gm products a lot of shit quits working for no reason (or cheap plastic parts break) and there’s always little gremlins to chase, but they’ll usually get you to where you’re going.
But ya, If everything worked proper, the 96’ Sonoma is supposed to turn the ac compressor on and flip a vent door to redirect the air to your windshield whenever you put the dial to the far right defrost. It’ll still defrost the window anyway if the ac is bust, but with the dry air it works a lot faster. Your defogger button directly under that knob only puts power to the heat lines in your rear window. They’re kinda meh for actual defogging in my opinion, but they’re great for melting ice so you can at least see out the back. (probably not as big of a deal with a flat back window like yours, works nice on curved back window on my Olds Intrigue.)
There are no rear window defogger wires, I’m talking about the front windshield defogger vents.
Ah ok that would be an option yours didn’t have then. Up here virtually all cars have them.