DIY AC/Heater Panel Control Knobs

This is the AC/heater control panel on my 1997 Jeep Wrangler. You may notice the knobs on the slide controls are missing.

I noticed the knobs were gone when I bought the Jeep, but I thought for sure there would be some place to buy cheap replacements…WRONG.

I searched all over ebay, aftermarket parts suppliers, junk yards, etc…nothing. Plenty of places to buy the whole control unit, but not just the knobs. The more I looked, the more frustrated I got, and the more determined I became to find a solution to the problem.

After realizing I wasn’t going to find an actual knob to fit this Jeep, I resolved to find some gadget to modify into a new knob. After a couple of failed ideas, I finally found a solution…tire valve stem caps. These are a fancier valve stem cap with an annodized aluminum outer shell, however they are easy to find at your local Wal-mart, etc.

As you can see in the close-up of the slider control, the knob will require a horizontal slot to slide onto the control arm, and then a vertical pin to hold the knob on…so that’s what we’ll create.

We begin by using a piece of paper and a punch to measure how far from the face of the panel the hole needs to be for the vertical pin.

Then, we transcribe this measurement to the knobs and drill a hole. Note: the hole in the knobs should be the same diameter as the hole in the slider. Drill all the way through the knob (i.e. through both sides)

We now need to cut the horizontal slot to slide onto the control arm. For this I used a Dremel-type cutting wheel (as pictured). You could also use a hacksaw or coping saw, as long as you have something to hold the knob securely. Make sure to cut the slot perpendicular to the holes you previously drilled.

We are now ready to dry-fit the knob on the panel. For the pin, I wanted something that had a head on it, so it couldn’t slide through the knob. I found a simple household tack that had the right diameter. If it fits nicely, slide it back and forth a few times, and give yourself an early pat on the back.

Final assembly. In my Jeep the knob needs to pivot slightly as the arm moves across, therefore I chose to use silicone glue, which will remain flexible when it dries, yet still hold the pin in position. After filling the cap with glue and assembling, I used some wire cutters to snip off the excess portion of the vertical pin…let the glue dry, and…you’re done!!

Other options you may want to consider: The valve caps come in different colors (I’ve seen black, blue, red and chrome), so you can give your dash some "bling", if you want. Also, I thought of painting the head of the vertical pin black to hide it, but decided to leave it to serve as an indicator mark for the knob. If I were to paint it now, I’d paint it with some kind of glow-in-the-dark paint so you can see it at night. Also, if you don’t like the feel of the aluminum knob, you could dip them in plasti-kote prior to assembly.

Well, I hope this instructable provides you with some inspiration to make your own repair. While I’m happy with how the repair turned out…I’d love to use a 3D printer to make myself a new knob (hint, hint). Vote for me, please!