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Heater blower woes

Posted: 15 Nov 2014, 16:54
by 123-jn
Well here we go again yet another failure of something , I have checked the switch, but have the following issues.
Speed 1 doesnt work at all, speed two pops the fuse, speed three works great, what does this mean? I tried continuity test of each lead yellow white and blk/yel, all have a small resistance to earth. 12v feed is good. I've tried each speed using a jumper cable to rule out the switch. Is it likely to be the motor or more likely to be the resistor block?

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 16 Nov 2014, 17:22
by 123-jn
well I've bitten the bullet and removed the dash, time consuming but quite easy. Those sheer bolts come out nice and easy with mole grips and a bit of plus gas. But what a mess under there. Ive tidied a bit of the wiring but its still rather messy. (Ive got an alarm and central locking which c auses quite a bit of extra wiring as well as the gas sytem which causes more.)
Now what is next looks a nightmare. I can see the top screws on the heater unit both sides, the next screws down seem to come through from the other side. Then there are two bolts at the front into the cross member. It appears to be the later type heater unit (it's a 1989) but does not have the clips holding it together instead it appears glued. It could be a right pain. I'll take some pics to upload next week end when I try to fit the new heater motor and bodge a new resistor. I've got some resistor coils from a freelander which I'm hoping may do the trick. I need approx 0.7 ohms and 1.4 ohms, so as long as the coils are more than this I can cut them down and mount them on a plastic plate.
When putting the unit back together can the clips be purchased from anywhere?

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 16 Nov 2014, 17:35
by lloydy
if its glued, it just means it hasn't been apart since birth. Brickwerks sell the clips for when you put it back together.

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 16 Nov 2014, 17:50
by Plasticman
Pickies lol

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 17 Nov 2014, 20:56
by 123-jn
Firstly I am quite amazed that brickwerks stock the clips to put the unit back together. Then I'm gobsmacked that the heater motor is only £4 more than the 11 clips required. Oh well at least I'll have a heater fan again!! The old one seems to be quite stiff to turn even after I've oiled it. And the resistor was merrily melting it's way through the casing. It is possible to use cable ties to put the box back together but best to use the proper clips I reckon.

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 17 Nov 2014, 22:10
by nicq
I used silcoflex to put mine back together, it was glued when new why change it.

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 18 Nov 2014, 06:54
by CovKid
Yep, glued mine too. Made more sense.

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 18 Nov 2014, 09:22
by ghost123uk
Check your heater runs the right way before glueing back up. I read somewhere that some of them are incorrectly wired up and suck instead of blow. Best to check before you re-assemble ;)

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 18 Nov 2014, 11:28
by Hacksawbob
Just a thought would it be possible to do a version of the headlight upgrade relay by using the fan switch to run a relay? I guess you would need three relays? Or will this just speed the blower fans early demise?

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 18 Nov 2014, 13:29
by CovKid
Mine appears to use a relay for high speed. I think it depends what year it was made. Not sure but some have one, some apparently not.

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 18 Nov 2014, 16:51
by Hacksawbob
Another thought. Looking at the wiring diagram it would be possible to have the resistors in the switch and just use the high power connection thereby by passing the crappy old resistors. Does anyone know what amps the fan uses on full? maybe by a PWM with a dial?

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 18 Nov 2014, 16:58
by Hacksawbob
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pulse-Width-M ... 40&afsrc=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 18 Nov 2014, 16:59
by lloydy
I put new resistors in mine, got them a few years ago from Brickwerks. Can't remember the cost, but thought it would be crazy to just replace the fan. The new resistors fit in the same place but need a little wiring mod

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 18 Nov 2014, 17:00
by lloydy
http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php/t ... -pair.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Heater blower woes

Posted: 18 Nov 2014, 19:48
by 123-jn
I think the resistors are in the casing as they get ***** hot and the airflow cools them down!! I/m thinking of mounting mine in the air intake duct behind the front grille to save taking it all out again in case of problems. I have the resistor coils from a freelander to use but they need a cool airflow. Thanks for the advice everyone.