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[Olddavid]

You guys have been invaluable to me in my ongoing quest keeping my Catera on the road. When this car is completely operational, it is unbeatable for the driving combination. Key word here- operational. Gremlins are my co-pilots. Phantom sunroof, leaking gaskets, DIS failure, "lifetime" transmission fluid, etc.etc. But, at the price point of used cars, anyone who believes that trouble-free and low cost are hand in hand will want to buy my ocean front property in Arizona. Now, I have encountered something that intimidates even this Hudson Hornet owner - my climate control has gone dark. There was a faint smell of burning electrics, then gone. Everything associated with the radio and remote trunk and fuel door are working fine. No obvious fuse failure. I have collected the module with the electro-luminescent screen from a donor car, but it looks like the innards of my computer - not a climate control. What should I be cognizant of when heading into these repairs? Does the radio come out with the regular fork used for other DIN models? Can I keep the radio connected to avoid the theft mechanism? Has anyone ever had to do this repair? Regardless of whether this is successful, I want to, again, thank you all for being able to keep this low-mileage vehicle on the road (mostly) these past two years. It would have been much more difficult - if not impossible - without your tips and guidance.

[Andy H]

There are visible differences between the Omega and Catera radio - the Catera radio looks to have curved sides to the facia, the Omega is a square lump. I imagine that the facia is just hiding a double DIN unit though (unless there is an ANSI standard that is more popular in US)

[Andy H]

The instructions for removing the Omega panel are here Centre dash panel removal

[Olddavid]

Thank you, Andy. I'm a little chagrined that I failed to fully avail myself of the "search" function. My fault. Again your excellent forum site comes to the aid of your foolish American cousins. It's our plan to come to your island this summer to see our Welsh relatives. I hope to meet some of you and buy you several of your favorite libations in gratitude for all the help. That will be my reward for saving money by keeping this car.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Looking at the two different climate setups, I suspect they are actualy the same (each have 11 push buttons and two dials) with different facias and pads.

The climate panels are normaly very reliable so a straight swap should be possible althoguh I cant see it coming our without radio removal.

[Olddavid]

They appear to be identical when removed from the cars, too. The differences are cosmetic. I'm just intimidated by the theft control, but I bought the car from the original owner, so re-activation should be simple, right? This is just another example of diving in and doing the damn job so I can drive. This isn't rocket science. The CEL was just plug and play, too, when I finally lined everything up, voila, return to normalcy. But this car has had two bizarre failures now, the climate control and the MAF, both fixable but unusual repairs. I was spoiled by the motor pool of my previous working life. What ever happened to the simple RAMCO valve?

[05omegav6]

I suspect the mountings for the radio cage are the same beneath the surface, given the dash structures are identical

[adey2]

i was looking on ebay and looks like the radio screws in from sides on these cars, bit like the toyota set up, only one plug too so wiring i suspect could be different, the back is double din though

[05omegav6]

Suspect being a Pre Facelift, the OPs dash looks like this...

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l231/Denco206/CarLounge/99catera_int.jpg

Might have to feel your way a bit, using a combination of the pre and post facelift guides

[Olddavid]

Well the update on the climate control is that it's going to have to wait. My dear son, a young rookie driver, made the mistake of not allowing for the traction differential of wet pavement with some gravel. Now the car has a slight sag to the right and the hood, although seemingly undamaged, will not open. So body work is my priority now - something I am very uncomfortable doing. When faced with these problems in the past, I've always ended up using a saw or hammer when finesse would have worked equally well. The bumper cover is scratched, but intact, and aside from the hood latch snafu, a driving light and headlight bucket should have me in great shape. Any suggestions as to approaching the hood opening problem? The cable feels like it is connected, just not actuating the release. I assume the accident has jammed the down piece into the lower receiver, keeping it from letting go. I am planning on removing the grille, which is expendable, to give me access to the hood (bonnet) which I want to save, as it looks undamaged. I will post pictures and start a new subject as soon as the car returns from the store.

[Andy B]

Well the update on the climate control is that it's going to have to wait. My dear son, a young rookie driver, made the mistake of not allowing for the traction differential of wet pavement with some gravel. Now the car has a slight sag to the right and the hood, although seemingly undamaged, will not open. So body work is my priority now - something I am very uncomfortable doing. When faced with these problems in the past, I've always ended up using a saw or hammer when finesse would have worked equally well. The bumper cover is scratched, but intact, and aside from the hood latch snafu, a driving light and headlight bucket should have me in great shape. Any suggestions as to approaching the hood opening problem? The cable feels like it is connected, just not actuating the release. I assume the accident has jammed the down piece into the lower receiver, keeping it from letting go. I am planning on removing the grille, which is expendable, to give me access to the hood (bonnet) which I want to save, as it looks undamaged. I will post pictures and start a new subject as soon as the car returns from the store.

Oh dear! 
As for opening the bonnet/hood, try lifting it as someone else pulls the release lever. 

[Andy H]

Well the update on the climate control is that it's going to have to wait. My dear son, a young rookie driver, made the mistake of not allowing for the traction differential of wet pavement with some gravel. Now the car has a slight sag to the right and the hood, although seemingly undamaged, will not open. So body work is my priority now - something I am very uncomfortable doing. When faced with these problems in the past, I've always ended up using a saw or hammer when finesse would have worked equally well. The bumper cover is scratched, but intact, and aside from the hood latch snafu, a driving light and headlight bucket should have me in great shape. Any suggestions as to approaching the hood opening problem? The cable feels like it is connected, just not actuating the release. I assume the accident has jammed the down piece into the lower receiver, keeping it from letting go. I am planning on removing the grille, which is expendable, to give me access to the hood (bonnet) which I want to save, as it looks undamaged. I will post pictures and start a new subject as soon as the car returns from the store.

Oh dear! 
As for opening the bonnet/hood, try lifting it as someone else pulls the release lever. 

Better still get the assistant to press down on the hood/bonnet before pulling the lever (to unload the latch mechanism) then pull up.

[05omegav6]

Oops

What he said ^^^^ for the bonnet