I need to remove my center pad so I can get to the room temperature sensor alongside the ignition switch to test if it's functioning properly. All I've been able to find in searches is center console removal stuff.

The service manual briefly covers it on BO-112, simply saying to pry it off with a screwdriver. The two clips on the lower left portion are easy to get free, but the rest of it won't budge. The lone picture makes it look as if there are two more clips along the top, below the center vent wood trim. It shows the center console removed at that point, but I don't see how that would help with access, since the overall dash is still a raised lip once the console is out. It feels like there might be screws holding it in from the side or back (or extremely tight clips), in which case glove box / airbag / center vent removal may be necessary.

The diagnostics section for the room temp sensor (AC-45) references BE-103 for steps in removing it, but that section of my PDF doesn't exist... (Unless I just haven't found where it got placed. Several of the BE sections are jumbled and it doesn't show up in any of them.) It's a great resource, but hunting for some of the randomly placed sections of the scan can be frustrating.

This is on a '94 SC400, in case there are any differences by year.

 

I'm pretty sure that entire piece just pulls off. 50/50 chance of it breaking though...what to expect on an old car...

 

50/50 ... that's what I was worried about! It's such a long, slender piece, pulling that hard from either end seems risky. Maybe I can snake some pry tool back there from the left side to apply force to a longer section and put less stress on it.

 

Rather than break the panel, I opted for breaking the rules... I was able to remove the sensor without removing the panel, but getting to the clip on the side closest to the stereo was pretty tough.

Specs:
1.6-1.8k ohms @ 77 degrees
0.5-0.7k ohms @ 122 degrees

Mine is reading 0.86-0.92k @ 96 degrees, which looks a bit off. I'll have to recheck in the morning when things are cooler and see if that gets up around 2.0k, since I can't actually cool the car below about 85 degrees even with full A/C, due to the constant heat problem that this room temp sensor check is part of the troubleshooting for.

Has anyone ever pulled out their room temp sensor before? It's not at all what I expected it to look like, based on the illustration in the service manual. I kind of wonder if I broke it and removed only the inner portion, because the illustration looks more like the outer housing that I unclipped to get it free. To my surprise, the wiring was still connected to something in the back, but the piece I pulled out exposed the two long wires to the sensor itself up front. Maybe it's designed to come apart in that way and be serviceable.

Looking back at the illustration, it appears there may be two screws toward the back that hold the whole assembly in place. That could explain why I had no luck getting it free until I pried the clips loose up front. If so, they obviously planned on the panel being removed to get to it!

 

Word to the wise: DO NOT remove the sensor in the manner I outlined above. You'll never get back in. The stupid thing is L-shaped and catches on something that can't be seen with the trim panel in place. I've already broken one of the clips trying to wiggle/force it in place for 30 minutes. I'm going to have to pull the stereo/HVAC and see if there's some way to pull on the wires from behind. If that doesn't work, my only option looks to be busting up the sensor casing and fastening the sensor itself behind the panel with sticky tape or something. As it is, I can't push the panel back in against the ignition cylinder.

 

That center trim piece or pad pulls off. It does come off easier with the center console out, but it still slides out pretty easily. I have taken mine off countless times without breaking anything,

 

Consider yourself extremely lucky! I've pulled on mine with enough force to break a fairly large stick, and there's no hint of it wanting to come loose.

Of course, I also struggled with removing my passenger window/door control switch, only to discover that it had been hot glued in place. Between idiotic things like that and how bad some of the clips age over the years, there's no telling what I might be up against.

 

Finally, success!

I eventually got so frustrated with the impossible task of angling the de-housed sensor back in, I just started yanking on the "center pad" trim piece with all my might. No joke, I had the car rocking back and forth enough that I wondered if the parking brake would hold (on a hill). I can't believe the cover didn't break. It never did release the two upper/right clips, but it eventually stressed enough to pull it out sufficiently far to get to the back of the sensor, disconnect it properly, and drop the whole lower dash cover (below the steering wheel) down. From there, I could plug the sensor back in easily enough.

If anyone needs to remove their room temperature sensor, you absolutely must remove the lower dash cover! There's a small clip on the back of the sensor that will then allow the whole housing to slide out once you remove the one screw which is located on the back left of the sensor housing -- that's why I couldn't find it feeling around in the dark.

What a ridiculously painful ordeal that turned out to be.