Club 80-90 Forums

Hi everyone.
The heater on the van hasnt worked since i bought it in Jan. I thought it was the blower switch because heat comes out of the vents (better the faster you drive) I bought the blower switch but it didnt make any difference. I checked the fuse and it had blown. I put in another yellow fuse and still nothing. Is the blower motor knackered? What would make the fuse blow?

Northants

Seized heater blower motors are common and require dash removal to facilitate their removal/freeing off or replacement....plenty on the Wiki about this, do a search.
Martin

Thanks Westie
I am a bit of a novice at the technical stuff. Taking the dash out seems like a complicated job. Oh Dear!

Northants

follow the advice in the wiki .. s'easy but somewhat time consuming

Or failing that, you could try this to see if this helps in the short-term:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... =fan+drill" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Having done this job myself, you'd be wise to try the drilling solution first as it doesn't take long and should give you enough access to de-seize the motor. They do seize, although this will usually cause the fuse to blow if you try and start fan. On mine it would take out wipers too.

Removing dash isn't that bad although I'd would want to be in the warm doing it frankly. You only have to remove steering wheel and lower column (not remove column as described in Haynes) to begin removing dash if motor is stone dead. It also means you can replace washer pipes, clean up earth crowns properly and do a general 'under dash' service.

HI. Wonder if any one can help.
This site is great to learn from and I have removed the dash and heater box. My fuse kept blowing when i turned the blower on.
Now proved the problem to be a seized / dead blower.
Trouble is I can't get into the box to remove / replace the motor.
Any one got any tips or done this before as I can't work it out unless I break the thing. The heater box is properly sealed!!!
Cheers guys
Chris

The top of the box is (or should be) secured by lots of little push on clips that you'll have to lever off. It's also stuck to the bottom section by a strong double sided adhesive foam/rubber tape so you have to go round gently levering it apart with a flat screwdriver or similar tool. The tape also ensures an air tight seal.

Hi - well done for having a go at this! I did it in February and remember the krypton factor moment that you got to....

So, here goes: 'IF' VW have been in there at some point (or a good previous owner) the top of the box will be attached to the bottom with clips on the 10mm or so flats that stick out from the edge and no glue.

However, if like mine, the fan has been in there working happily for over 20 years you will meet the glue described above..... I used a screwdriver/craft knife combination to do this - would say it is a two man job if doing with the coolant hoses still attached to the box and the whole thing in the vehicle (this is what I did).

So, about a day later , you are in and you can change the fan over in 5 seconds. REPLACE THE RESISTOR AS WELL. I did not and found that only speeds two and three work (not really a problem but frustrating as I am not in a hurry to go back in there).

Then, put back together. I opted not to glue (as such a hassle to 'de-glue') and used small self tapping screws through the 10mm plastic flats that hold it closed.

If not in a hurry to get back on the road clean the earth crowns (and be surprised what comes back to life) and investigate the contacts in the oblong white electrical connection that goes into the dash pod (open them out a bit with a very small screwdriver - gently' so they grip the circuit board better). Also, good to remove any surplus stereo wiring etc....

Then, you'll have a fantastic van with heat and lots of lights working! Big smiles.

Let us know how you get on.

Oh - I found some of the hoses from the box for the hot air were not attached to the fan vents in the dash - I was heating the glove box

Tom.

noggintom wrote:Oh - I found some of the hoses from the box for the hot air were not attached to the fan vents in the dash - I was heating the glove box

Yeh - I had thought that the reason the passenger side of the window never de-fogged was because I had not mastered the complex 4 lever heating controls It was in fact because the hose was attached to nothing .......... I had a laugh about that too!

Tied on with elec cable ties now! I blame the previous 'radio bodgers'....i found at least 5 taped up live wires doing nothing, each added by a previous owner! The things you learn...

Update -
The heater box had never been touched so have prized the thing apart. The blower was solid. Bit of wd40 and it fired back to life, but I am not going to do this again ( hopefully ) so I am buying a new one. As for the resistor, I will take your advice and get a new one for the same reason, not to have to spend a day pulling the dash out.

As for the dashboard, I will post some tips I have found when I rebuild.
I took the heater box complete out so I can tied up the cables and clean the 24 year old dust and other nasty things

Laughing about the hoses. Some of mine where not where they were meant to be

ndcx..
I am in the process of doing this job at the moment. Dash not quite out due to subborn screw on top edge, but getting there. Someone mentions coolant pipes above... If, like you, I opt to take out the seized unit completely, to make it easier to prise apart etc, will there be coolant everywhere and the need to subsequently bleed system?
Also, was the steering column bit easy to do. I read on WIKI about 'shear bolts' and filing them done etc...
Cheers, and well done too.
FW

WARNING

Heres a word of caution for those with earlier cartridge rather than blade fuseboxes. Because the blower and wipers use the same fuse on the these fuseboxes (a daft idea to be honest), any problem with the blower that for whatever reason, pops the fuse, also kills the wipers. This can be a safety issue. I've mentioned before on here that I once had it happen on a busy motorway in torrential rain and it was some miles before I could find a place to stop and replace the fuse - not good.

For this reason, I'd recommend anyone that has the same layout, gives the wiper circuit at least its own independent fuse. If the wipers kill the blower thats less of a headache than the other way around. I've yet to do this on mine but once I do I'll post it in the WIKI as a safety mod. I think VW (though it pains me to say it) really goofed on this one. I think it was resolved when the later fusebox came out

As a belt n' braces approach I always use Rain-X on my windscreen so that if my wipers do go AWOL, I can at least continue to drive safely in heavy rain. Anyone who has ever used it will tell you how good it is. You don't actually need wipers once its applied and it lasts around a month before you need a retreatment. A bottle lasts a couple of years I find. Worth thinking about, particularly if you have the earlier fusebox.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1S_Jm_FwM0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Added this note to: https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Co ... CH_REMOVAL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fairwynds..
Did not remove the steering wheel. but the column came down, after a lot of head scratching and tuting, I drilled them out and will replace with an alternative nut and bolt ( lock nuts )
To take the box out there are six bolts. Four were knackered and had to drill out. ( will replace somehow ) The middle screw on the right ( completely covered, as i didn't see it until we tried to pull it out ) We had to break the bracket. Will have to find some way of fixing it too
As for the coolant. I unplugged a pipe in the engine bay, lowest point and my drive way has a nice decline so water drained out. When we lifted ( two man job ) treated like a radiator.

Its stopping raining time to crack on with this some more.