Narrative:

During the climb and initial leveloff the cockpit and forward cabin temperatures rose to uncomfortable levels (100 F to 120 F). I selected full cold on all cabin temp controllers with no effect noted. I selected the cabin hot air valve off per flight manual reset procedure. Within a few minutes temperatures dropped into uncomfortably cold levels in all cabins. Aft and forward cabin temperatures were in the low forties with no ability to control the temperatures available. This is [a] chronic issue with this aircraft as per the log history. I contacted dispatch and maintenance. Maintenance suggested a pack reset via recycle of pack circuit breakers. Since this action required captain's emergency authority; I advised dispatch and maintenance that we would divert to ZZZ regardless of whether or not this fixed the issue. ZZZ was 45 minutes away so in the interest of safety of flight I reset the pack circuit breakers. This provided no relief. Temperatures remained uncontrollable from one extreme to the other. An emergency was declared and we proceeded to ZZZ. During the descent the lead flight attendant reported a burning electrical/oil odor in the forward cabin with no smoke noted. No odor or smoke was noted in the cockpit. I requested a follow up call if the odor worsened or smoke became evident. An uneventful approach and overweight landing followed. To our surprise operations was not aware of our divert. We waited 10 to 15 minutes for a gate. At the gate mechanics reported a burning oily smell lingering in the pack intake area. An odor/smoke checklist was completed by the lead flight attendant and myself.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 Captain experiences uncomfortably hot temperatures in the cockpit and forward cabin during climb. With the the Hot Air valve turned off uncomfortably cold temperatures result and the crew elects to divert to a suitable airport. This was a chronic issue with this aircraft according to the maintenance history.

Narrative: During the climb and initial leveloff the cockpit and forward cabin temperatures rose to uncomfortable levels (100 F to 120 F). I selected full cold on all cabin temp controllers with no effect noted. I selected the cabin hot air valve off per flight manual reset procedure. Within a few minutes temperatures dropped into uncomfortably cold levels in all cabins. Aft and forward cabin temperatures were in the low forties with no ability to control the temperatures available. This is [a] chronic issue with this aircraft as per the log history. I contacted Dispatch and Maintenance. Maintenance suggested a pack reset via recycle of pack circuit breakers. Since this action required Captain's emergency authority; I advised Dispatch and Maintenance that we would divert to ZZZ regardless of whether or not this fixed the issue. ZZZ was 45 minutes away so in the interest of safety of flight I reset the pack circuit breakers. This provided no relief. Temperatures remained uncontrollable from one extreme to the other. An emergency was declared and we proceeded to ZZZ. During the descent the lead Flight Attendant reported a burning electrical/oil odor in the forward cabin with no smoke noted. No odor or smoke was noted in the cockpit. I requested a follow up call if the odor worsened or smoke became evident. An uneventful approach and overweight landing followed. To our surprise operations was not aware of our divert. We waited 10 to 15 minutes for a gate. At the gate mechanics reported a burning oily smell lingering in the pack intake area. An odor/smoke checklist was completed by the lead Flight Attendant and myself.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.