Heater fan

[mgbond]

Another one for you guys. When I put the blowers on they work for a while and then you can hear as if the fans are binding up until they stop. Sounds like the windings on the fans may have burnt or burning out.

Any ideas?

If the box needs replacing can this all be done from the front rather than anything behind the dash?

Bondy

[The devil]

Hi Bondy.

If it is the motor on the fan heater then it is accessible from under the front clam.

[Adrian W]

i need to get one of these apart and make it work properly

[mgbond]

Adrian W said:

i need to get one of these apart and make it work properly

well if you take it apart gets some pics of the process

Bondy

[The devil]

Check the brushes on the motor, I had to do a bit of work on mine, the spring had gone and I had to be a bit inventive but it has been ok now for 6 months

[F.C.]

Escort Mk V IIRC etc, much better fan and resistor pack.

[mgbond]

Cheers Guys, do I assume that if its just the fan as they work for the first 5 mins and then start to pack up. Is this just a swap out of the fan box from the front of the car (not behind dash) and is an easy job. plug and Play (if I find a replacement)?

Bondy

[Stella Artois]

Steve (Supergrass) had this same problem IIRC. It was the wiring from the actual fan housing to the fan loom right at the base of the fan. He had the wiring replaced and the fans worked fine. Check for the wire suffering from voltage draw/ heat degradation in that area.

[mgbond]

Stella Artois said:

Steve (Supergrass) had this same problem IIRC. It was the wiring from the actual fan housing to the fan loom right at the base of the fan. He had the wiring replaced and the fans worked fine. Check for the wire suffering from voltage draw/ heat degradation in that area.

That makes sense, I assume that's easy to get to?

Bondy

[F.C.]

mgbond said:

Cheers Guys, do I assume that if its just the fan as they work for the first 5 mins and then start to pack up. Is this just a swap out of the fan box from the front of the car (not behind dash) and is an easy job. plug and Play (if I find a replacement)?

Bondy

The fan is only accessable by removing the fan box this entails (you guessed it) getting under the dash and removing the four fixing bolts/nuts that hold the front of the fan box to the baulkhead. once I had done this I cut away the top section of the fanbox and had a piece of stainless fabricated to the same profile as the box top to form a removeable lid (for future access).
The Escort fan is an almost identical unit in terms of size and shape requiring only a hacksaw (to remove two plastic mounting lugs) and a drill to make new mounting holes to match the original.

The ceramic load resistor pack is definately a far better prospect for longevity versus the couple of curled up wires on a plastic flap that really are a nonesense.

The worst part of the job (for me) was re-locating the fanbox fixings under the dash, still do-able in half a day though.
This is also a good time to carry out the centre tunnel ventilation mod as access to the centre tunnel cover plate is easy with the fan box out.
F.C.

[mgbond]

F.C. said:

mgbond said:

Cheers Guys, do I assume that if its just the fan as they work for the first 5 mins and then start to pack up. Is this just a swap out of the fan box from the front of the car (not behind dash) and is an easy job. plug and Play (if I find a replacement)?

Bondy

The fan is only accessable by removing the fan box this entails (you guessed it) getting under the dash and removing the four fixing bolts/nuts that hold the front of the fan box to the baulkhead. once I had done this I cut away the top section of the fanbox and had a piece of stainless fabricated to the same profile as the box top to form a removeable lid (for future access).
The Escort fan is an almost identical unit in terms of size and shape requiring only a hacksaw (to remove two plastic mounting lugs) and a drill to make new mounting holes to match the original.

The ceramic load resistor pack is definately a far better prospect for longevity versus the couple of curled up wires on a plastic flap that really are a nonesense.

The worst part of the job (for me) was re-locating the fanbox fixings under the dash, still do-able in half a day though.
This is also a good time to carry out the centre tunnel ventilation mod as access to the centre tunnel cover plate is easy with the fan box out.
F.C.

Oh dear, don't like the sound of that. Hope its the Wiring.

I thought the resistor pack is on the back of the fan speed selector switch. Thinking about it. could it not be a faulty resistor pack as i can't believe a fan from a regular car would pack up after only 7yrs?

Bondy

[mgbond]

I did a little test today. if i put the fan setting on 3 then after 5 mins or so it will die. I then later tried 2, this took longer to die. Finally I put it on 1 and this took even longer.

Would this suggest its the wiring breaking down or the brushes/windings on the motor?

Thanks

Bondy

[F.C.]

mgbond said:

F.C. said:

mgbond said:

Cheers Guys, do I assume that if its just the fan as they work for the first 5 mins and then start to pack up. Is this just a swap out of the fan box from the front of the car (not behind dash) and is an easy job. plug and Play (if I find a replacement)?

Bondy

The fan is only accessable by removing the fan box this entails (you guessed it) getting under the dash and removing the four fixing bolts/nuts that hold the front of the fan box to the baulkhead. once I had done this I cut away the top section of the fanbox and had a piece of stainless fabricated to the same profile as the box top to form a removeable lid (for future access).
The Escort fan is an almost identical unit in terms of size and shape requiring only a hacksaw (to remove two plastic mounting lugs) and a drill to make new mounting holes to match the original.

The ceramic load resistor pack is definately a far better prospect for longevity versus the couple of curled up wires on a plastic flap that really are a nonesense.

The worst part of the job (for me) was re-locating the fanbox fixings under the dash, still do-able in half a day though.
This is also a good time to carry out the centre tunnel ventilation mod as access to the centre tunnel cover plate is easy with the fan box out.
F.C.

Oh dear, don't like the sound of that. Hope its the Wiring.

I thought the resistor pack is on the back of the fan speed selector switch. Thinking about it. could it not be a faulty resistor pack as i can't believe a fan from a regular car would pack up after only 7yrs?

Bondy

Haha! mine was less than two years old when it packed up!

The "resistor pack" really is a joke, it was this that managed to melt its way into one of the fan rotors!!

The Ford unit really is the best cure for logevity, I think it was used on Sierras and Mk 4-5-6 escorts and escort vans.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-ESCORT-MK6-HEATER-FAN-W...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Sierra-2-0L-Gt-heater-f...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SIERRA-HEATER-MOTOR-BLOWER-K...

[Jim O.]

F.C. said:

The worst part of the job (for me) was re-locating the fanbox fixings under the dash, still do-able in half a day though.

You can make this much easier on yourself if you install nutserts in the body of the car where the nuts used to be. Then, you can fasten the fanbox back in place from under the front clam, without having to climb under the dash...

[F.C.]

Jim O. said:

F.C. said:

The worst part of the job (for me) was re-locating the fanbox fixings under the dash, still do-able in half a day though.

You can make this much easier on yourself if you install nutserts in the body of the car where the nuts used to be. Then, you can fasten the fanbox back in place from under the front clam, without having to climb under the dash...

I had thought of that, probably safe (I use them on a regular basis) but was unsure of the "swell effect" of the rivet body on the fiberglass baulkhead, I didn't fancy encouraging any stress fractures etc.

[mgbond]

F.C. said:

mgbond said:

F.C. said:

mgbond said:

Cheers Guys, do I assume that if its just the fan as they work for the first 5 mins and then start to pack up. Is this just a swap out of the fan box from the front of the car (not behind dash) and is an easy job. plug and Play (if I find a replacement)?

Bondy

The fan is only accessable by removing the fan box this entails (you guessed it) getting under the dash and removing the four fixing bolts/nuts that hold the front of the fan box to the baulkhead. once I had done this I cut away the top section of the fanbox and had a piece of stainless fabricated to the same profile as the box top to form a removeable lid (for future access).
The Escort fan is an almost identical unit in terms of size and shape requiring only a hacksaw (to remove two plastic mounting lugs) and a drill to make new mounting holes to match the original.

The ceramic load resistor pack is definately a far better prospect for longevity versus the couple of curled up wires on a plastic flap that really are a nonesense.

The worst part of the job (for me) was re-locating the fanbox fixings under the dash, still do-able in half a day though.
This is also a good time to carry out the centre tunnel ventilation mod as access to the centre tunnel cover plate is easy with the fan box out.
F.C.

Oh dear, don't like the sound of that. Hope its the Wiring.

I thought the resistor pack is on the back of the fan speed selector switch. Thinking about it. could it not be a faulty resistor pack as i can't believe a fan from a regular car would pack up after only 7yrs?

Bondy

Haha! mine was less than two years old when it packed up!

The "resistor pack" really is a joke, it was this that managed to melt its way into one of the fan rotors!!

The Ford unit really is the best cure for logevity, I think it was used on Sierras and Mk 4-5-6 escorts and escort vans.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-ESCORT-MK6-HEATER-FAN-W...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Sierra-2-0L-Gt-heater-f...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SIERRA-HEATER-MOTOR-BLOWER-K...

cool, cheers.

Where is the resistor pack as I may change this first? Anyone got any pics?

Bondy

[AMG Merc]

Bondy, may be a red herring but how good is your battery - more load = more drain?

[Adrian W]

mgbond said:

Where is the resistor pack as I may change this first? Anyone got any pics?

Bondy

Left side of heater box under screw on cover, just above the wiper motor support, once you see it youll be shocked, bit of nicrome wire wrapped around a pencil.

[mgbond]

AMG Merc said:

Bondy, may be a red herring but how good is your battery - more load = more drain?

Wouldn't make a difference while driving as all is good with lights on etc. Has to be either fan windings, wires to the fan or the resistor pack. Considering that I replaced the resistor pack (setting 3 didn't work) when I got the car, I can only assume (hope) its just that.

Cheers Guys.

Bondy

[Jim O.]

F.C. said:

Jim O. said:

F.C. said:

The worst part of the job (for me) was re-locating the fanbox fixings under the dash, still do-able in half a day though.

You can make this much easier on yourself if you install nutserts in the body of the car where the nuts used to be. Then, you can fasten the fanbox back in place from under the front clam, without having to climb under the dash...

I had thought of that, probably safe (I use them on a regular basis) but was unsure of the "swell effect" of the rivet body on the fiberglass baulkhead, I didn't fancy encouraging any stress fractures etc.

Right behind the fiberglass is a metal strip - you can see it from the inside of the car, where the stock fasteners snug up. You can install the nutserts into that strip.