Blower Resister

[Chris Parkes]

I have had my Beach for 3 years now and can only get the blower to work on 4. Now out of warranty I got a local garage to replace the resister in January. Now BLOWN AGAIN ! have not used it in lockdown. Any reasons why it’s gone again?

 

[sidepod]

Same reason it blew before?

 

[steve_b]

different vehicle entirely (I think it was a ford focus) but my blower resistors used to blow the fuse which controlled the lower settings so that it would only run on max because the fan was corroded due to water ingress so harder to turn, presumably drawing more current & running hot. I managed to get the fan unit out and lubricate it enough that solved the problem to make the fan outlast the car.

The resistor pack had a thermal fuse on it that used to blow so it could be corrected at the cost of a few pence instead of replacing the whole pack. Not sure what the VW one looks but assume similar rules apply - depends on how confident you are with a multimeter and a soldering iron.

 

[Loz]

different vehicle entirely (I think it was a ford focus) but my blower resistors used to blow the fuse which controlled the lower settings so that it would only run on max because the fan was corroded due to water ingress so harder to turn, presumably drawing more current & running hot. I managed to get the fan unit out and lubricate it enough that solved the problem to make the fan outlast the car.

The resistor pack had a thermal fuse on it that used to blow so it could be corrected at the cost of a few pence instead of replacing the whole pack. Not sure what the VW one looks but assume similar rules apply - depends on how confident you are with a multimeter and a soldering iron.

indeed.

 

[steve_b]

ah yes, that'll be it - thermal fuse at the very bottom

is that cable, pad and tie-wrap a temperature probe that you added to test something or part of the actual unit?

 

[Loz]

ah yes, that'll be it - thermal fuse at the very bottom

is that cable, pad and tie-wrap a temperature probe that you added to test something or part of the actual unit?

It's something one of the members on the T6F had posted doing a test.

 

[Chris Parkes]

It's something one of the members on the T6F had posted doing a test.

Sorry I am not handy replacing this thermal fuse. But why does the blower still work on 4 if the fuse is blown?

 

[steve_b]

if it is the same as my ford which I strongly suspect it is:

the fan control is basically cheap garbage - instead of electronically controlling the speed, settings 1 2 and 3 run the fan supply voltage through a resistor pack which gets hot and literally burns off the excess energy making the fan run slower. Horribly inefficient (battery energy wasted as heat in the resistor pack) but cheap to make.

The fuse is to protect the resistor pack from overheating/melting - on setting 4 the pack (and hence the thermal fuse) is bypassed and all of the power goes to the fan.

The problem is likely the fan is stiff/corroded which overheats the resistor pack and blows the thermal fuse. It's a 30 second replacement if you have a spare and a soldering iron ( but be careful soldering it as of course you could blow the fuse because it's a thermal fuse, so you need to keep as much heat away from it as you can!)

But likely there is an underlying problem with the fan if the fuse blew twice

 

[Chris Parkes]

Thanks steve. Looks like I need a new fan. should my local garage, that specialized in electrics! be able spot this problem? I am not a DIY man when it come to electrics.

 

[steve_b]

I would assume this would be bread and butter to them. If you know anyone handy it may be worth seeing if they will give you a hand as if you can access it and lubricate the fan then it might save you a few hundred quid - not sure how much of a job the replacement is - I would guess less than an hour if you know what you are doing.

I think the problem on the ford I had was it had a problem where water leaked in somewhere and got into the cabin filter, which was then sucked into the blower fan - causing it to rust and the resistor to blow - so there could be a long chain of cause and effect in play.

 

[Chris Parkes]

Thanks again steve. I will book it in next week. I love my cali but this is the 6th problem I have had with the quality of the build 5 fixed under warranty. Not good for a 3 year old vehicl.

 

[Meoncoast]

Not good for a 3 year old vehicl.

that's why I was happy to buy the extra 2 year warranty when we bought our van

 

[Dave Lowe]

Unfortunately l didn't buy the extra 2 years

 

[Oldskoolcali06]

Mine did this so I removed the fan for a look. Not that hard to access and pretty self evident that the fan was fubar! Bearings were shot and it did not turn freely, Also has carbon brushes circa the 19th century which were gone. Problem is a new fan in the UK is £200+ as the market for RHD is small. The fan is handed as it sits up under the passengers foot-well. The housing is different from LHD and the fan spins the opposite way. I sourced an OEM fan from Germany for £30 and then refitted it into the UK RHD housing, then reversed the polarity on the motor so it spins the right way.... Do-able. Buy the fan and if you've a half decent Mechanic he can sort this easily for you. Resistor pack can be bought from GSF or Eurocar parts... Hope that helps!

 

[Chris Parkes]

Thanks that is great. I might have a go at getting the fan off myself.

 

[Oldskoolcali06]

Cool... its pretty straightforward. Lower trim up under the dash in passenger foot-well needs removing first. Then you will see the curve of the fan housing and the resistor pack in front of you tucked up under the dash. remove the resistor pack first and then unbolt the fan housing. the fan will come away in the 'shell' of the housing. unplug it then you can test the bearing and bushes for wear etc... will need a Torx driver T10 i think. The LHD fan is exactly the same just the housing that is different. will be self evident when you have it all out in front of you.