Blower fan noise

[seanmc1970a]

Is there an easy way to fix this before I start taking the whole dash out?
High pitched whining squeal has developed over the winter and yesterday I would rather be cold than switch it on.
Sounds like the the motor needs greasing, was hoping an accurate spray of GT85 would help

[California Dreamin]

Hi there, what you are experiencing is the typical prelude to the fan eventually seizing up. It might stay like this for a months maybe even years but you could experience blowing fuses or the melting/burning out of the rotary switch as the high current draw (caused by the seizing) loads the circuit.

If only.....indeed, if you could just get a squirt of something on both ends of the blower armature (bearings) but alas this is impossible. There is a work around to access one end of the motor but there are mixed results. This involves drilling a hole in the front panel (there are some instructions somewhere) not that I would personally recommend this particular route.

Martin

[CovKid]

I wouldn't recommend it either, for the reasons Martin has given. By the time the motor is noisy its already past its sell-by date and if it isn't already, will draw an increasing amount of amps to the detriment of wiring and fuses.

An original fan blower that exhibits problems has to be replaced. Not the best time of year to tackle this I grant you (unless you have an onboard heater). If you go to the trouble of fitting a new one, you might consider upgrading the blower control to a PWM controller at the same time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GzJ8N1Rqp8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Removing dash:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZMrfW6o2KQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[seanmc1970a]

Thanks for the replys and info gents, much appreciated. I thought that was going to be the answer.
Think I'll get a cheap 12v heater for now and attempt the blower in the warmer months ...... saying that, bet I leave it until November



Sean

[jokeruk]

Not seen that video before - does look nice and simple. It's a job I'm going to have to do at some point soon.

Need to get the current electric window wiring stripped out first as I'm going back to keep fit windows.

[CovKid]

I only put up video in the last week. A few more mods coming this year.

[jokeruk]

Oh, I didnt realise that it was actually you!

[ghost123uk]

Think I'll get a cheap 12v heater for now

I wouldn't bother with that. The amount of heat they give out is virtually zero.

[Mocki]

Think I'll get a cheap 12v heater for now and attempt the blower in the warmer months ...... saying that, bet I leave it until November



Sean

save your money,they are useless.......and the replacement blower motor is only about £35 and its not as bad a job as everyone says , just a slow daunting job!!

[Ian Hulley]

save your money,they are useless.......and the replacement blower motor is only about £35 and its not as bad a job as everyone says , just a slow daunting job!!

Yep, as the man say's a daunting but not difficult job. Took me about 5 hours including breaks but the issue really is having the space to have both doors wide open. I swapped our heater matrix too while I was in there because a) I had a new one to hand and b) I'm not doing that job again

Ian.

[seanmc1970a]

Think i'll ask for a blower for Fathers day then and just put my hat and gloves on for the drive to work

Doing over a couple of days seems the best bet for me and the info seems straight forward......famous last words

Cheers Gents

[Mocki]

unless your whole journey is spent in a que , you will find you still get plenty of heat without the fan as long as you are moving.... i never ever switch mine on when im moving, i just dont need it......

[jokeruk]

unless your whole journey is spent in a que , you will find you still get plenty of heat without the fan as long as you are moving.... i never ever switch mine on when im moving, i just dont need it......

This - my fan hasn't worked properly since I got the bus, but have coped because of the airflow forcing hot air into the cabin.

Will be doing it soon though!

[slowcoach]

This - my fan hasn't worked properly since I got the bus, but have coped because of the airflow forcing hot air into the cabin.

Will be doing it soon though!

I bet there's a lot of us in that same boat

[Ant-t]

Yes me to, my fan has never worked, time to change that