Heater/ Air con/ demister fan

Website · Post by **murcod** » Thu Sep 25, 2003 8:50 pm

Anyone else lost the lowest speed on their heater fan???

I know the speeds are controlled by switching in resistors, but has anyone replaced them at all and got any tips on how to do it?

Post by **SimplyPV** » Fri Sep 26, 2003 3:33 pm

i dont have the lowest speed for my heater fan.. all the other 4speeds work great.. so i jus ignored it... lol.

Website · Post by **murcod** » Fri Sep 26, 2003 3:59 pm

Yep, that's the same as mine!

From what I've managed to work out the resistors that control the speeds are actually inside the blower motor assembly under the dash..... Doesn't sounds like an easy thing to fix.

Post by **SimplyPV** » Fri Sep 26, 2003 4:01 pm

yeah that was what i came up with.... took me forever to tear the dash apart an put it back together.. ur prolly better off replacing the whole unit... an for ONE speed? an thats the lowest speed... pfffft... not worth it....

Post by **rocknferoza** » Fri Sep 26, 2003 8:40 pm

My fan wouldn't work on the first setting and I found it 2 be a pain in the neck so I found out that the resistor was stuffed. The dam wreckers wanted $50 including freight for a second hand one :shock:

I got a new one for about $43-45 including freight :finger:

I was told it's a common problem with the ferozas.

Website · Post by **murcod** » Fri Sep 26, 2003 8:54 pm

So the resistor is located inside the blower assembly then? How hard is it to replace it?

Post by **rocknferoza** » Fri Sep 26, 2003 8:58 pm

Not sure as I got the electrican 2 replace it for me

Post by **Le0n** » Fri Sep 26, 2003 9:30 pm

Hey David,

When you get it worked out mate let me know coz mine's been a 2 speed fan for over a year.

Website · Post by **murcod** » Fri Sep 26, 2003 11:23 pm

Le0n wrote:Hey David,

When you get it worked out mate let me know coz mine's been a 2 speed fan for over a year.

It'll be one of those things I'll get around to one day....... :roll:

I'll make sure I've got the camera handy and write a "How To" for the FAQ!

Post by **Mathew** » Mon Sep 29, 2003 6:55 pm

If its the same as a rocky you will need to pul the dash out,and that is a real pain in the preverbial,as i have done all this when i did a body swap and hopefully dont have to do it again

Website · Post by **murcod** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 4:15 pm

OK- an update.

It's an easy bit to replace, but I haven't got a price for a replacement part yet.

1. Remove the glove box (under dash undo two screws that hold hinges, open glove box and wiggle a bit it will come out).

2. Locate the blower motor to the left of the opening where the glovebox was. There is a four wire plug that plugs into the top of it- remove the plug by depressing the release lever on it and pulling.

3. Grab a stubby screwdriver and undo the single Phillips head screw that is on the black plastic socket that the plug was connected to on the fan motor.

4. Gently lift out the black plastic socket and you'll see the resistive wire loops that are switched in to control the fan speeds. If it's like mine one will be blown like a fuse.

It appears the whole assembly needs to be replaced. I'm going to investigate repairing mine with a high wattage resistor.

Will take pics later and post link in FAQ.

Website · Post by **murcod** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 8:49 pm

I've got my low speed on the fan working again!

I didn't end up buying a Daihatsu part to replace the burnt out resistance wire and instead made my own replacement out of two 25Watt 2 Ohm resistors in parallel. The manual list the resistance of the burnt out resistor as ~1.17 Ohms, so the two 2 Ohm resistors in parallel give me 1 Ohm (close enough) and can handle 50 Watts. I worked out roughly the power should be around 30 Watts, which is a lot for the old resistance wire to handle- no wonder they burn out!

I mounted the two resistors using thermal paste onto a sheet of aluminium and then mounted then the assembly inside the fan housing to keep them cool. It was just a matter then of running two wires back to the plug where the old resistor was.

Here are some pics of the blower fan and the black plug that needs to be removed. It's held in by one screw. Once it is unscrewed, carefully removed it and you'll see the resistance wires that are switched in to control the fan's speed. They're mounted in the airflow from the fan to keep them cool- I ran it with them removed from the airflow and they glowed redhot within five seconds!!!

If you look carefully at the rightmost winding you'll see a break in it from where it's overheated.

Website · Post by **murcod** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 8:58 pm

Next pics are of the resistors I used to replace the blown wire and a pic of them installed into the fan ducting.

I've got the aircon ripped out at the moment so it was easy for me to mount them into the ducting. I'm not sure how hard it would be to remove the heater motor and do the same mod. It would probably be easier to pay the money for the genuine Daihatsu part and pray it doesn't burn out again.

Website · Post by **murcod** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 9:03 pm

A final note:

Remember safety is important when doing these sort of mods.

If for some silly reason you should want to check how hot the new resistors get while the fan is operating, be very careful of the fast moving fan blades. Human flesh will only momentarily stall them....... and you'll be left with a very sore finger that's bleeding and missing a lot of skin..................

PS: it's still hurting :cry:

Post by **metal** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 2:18 am

Hi, murcod

you still have the pictures?

I just lost the lowest speed of the blower...

Thanks in advance

Post by **Fearhoza** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 8:17 am

ive only got the top two speeds on mine working, but until it's really a problem... spring lift comes first

Post by **metal** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:15 am

I only use the lowest speed, the higher speeds are too noisy and interferring

Website · Post by **murcod** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:38 am

Not on this PC.... From memory you need to remove the glovebox and you'll find an electrical plug that goes into the ducting near the fan up behind there. There are a couple of screws that hold the part the plug goes to onto the ducting. Undo them and pull it out- then you'll see the resistors.

You'd be better off buying a new resistor pack IMHO- particulalry if you've got A/C. To do the mod I did, I pulled the A/C heat exchanger bit out - the A/C was stuffed and I had to pull it out anyway. Normally you'd lose all the A/C gas if you did that (ie. illegal to do....and $$$ to get it replenished)

Mine will last forever now- that's why I decided to do the mod (plus I got the parts for free!)

The Service Manual has got the details on resistors and what value they are etc.

Post by **metal** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:57 am

murcod wrote: You'd be better off buying a new resistor pack IMHO-

you mean the OE resistor wire pack available only from the Daihatsu dealers?

Post by **metal** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 12:14 pm

murcod wrote: To do the mod I did, I pulled the A/C heat exchanger bit out - the A/C was stuffed and I had to pull it out anyway. Normally you'd lose all the A/C gas if you did that (ie. illegal to do....and $$$ to get it replenished)

so your mod was to replace the burnt resistance wire with two parallelled 25W (clay box?) resistors? I suppose the two 25W resistors are much bulkier than a resistance wire and that's why you need to take out the A/C exchang bit?

Looks like the resistor wire is used as a shunt resistor (connected in parallel with the electric fan to divert most of the electric current from the fan for it to rotate at low speed) that's why it got red hot...

Website · Post by **murcod** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:02 pm

Yes, used a couple of heatsinked alloy cased resistors. IIRC they are connected in series to limit current and are mounted in the airflow for cooling. Yes, need access inside the ducting for mounting them.

Post by **metal** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:26 pm

if connected in series then those resistance wires for the higher fan speeds are of even smaller resistance values...

Website · Post by **murcod** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 8:27 pm

metal wrote:if connected in series then those resistance wires for the higher fan speeds are of even smaller resistance values...

Yes, that would be right as they are a thicker diameter wire- hence why they don't burn out. All the "resistors" are is bare wire wound into a loose coil- the thinner guage wire would be higher resistance for the lower speeds. For the lower speeds the airflow is slower and the wire thinner- so it's more prone to burning out.

Post by **MightyMouse** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:13 am

Thanks guys - I also havn't got low speed and have "considered" having a look at fixing it. But thought it would be a standard Daihatsu task - remove the entire daskboard to get to it. Will add it to the to do list, or on reflection just do it.

Post by **BenDover** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:11 am

Mine is stuffed too. So I removed the resistor pack on the weekend and brought it into work with me and phoned up Motorama for a new one. $31.85 and in stock. So I will be picking that up on the weekend. Will be good to have the fan on without it going flat strap!

PS. Removing it is dead easy guys. 2 screws to remove glovebox and then 1 more screw to remove the resistor pack!

Post by **metal** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:39 pm

Hi Bendover

How does the resistor pack look like? a box? are you going to replace the whole pack or pick out the burnt wire to replace?

is Motorama a Daihatsu dealer? I mean, is the resistor pack a Daihatsu part or just a general car part like a spark plug orignition coil?

Thanks

Post by **BenDover** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:14 pm

The resistor pack is a set of three wires coiled to look a bit like what the old light bulb coils looked like. The wires sit on a black plastic bracket about 1.5" x 1" but in a diamond shape. Its easy to find. All I did was phone up Motorama at Moorooka (yes they are a Daihatsu dealer) and asked them for a new "resistor pack for the internal fan speeds". He said "no worries" and has put one aside for me. Thats all I know. I think the part would only be a Daihatsu part though...I doubt you could get it through Repco or anyone...but you could always try!

I am replacing the whole thing as it is a bit old by now and the other wires got a bit wrecked anyway in my bag on the way to work! So I will be picking it up Sat morning. Will let you know if its the correct part etc.

Cheers

Post by **metal** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:51 pm

thanks very much, Bendover

Post by **Le0n** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 5:20 pm

Hi Guys,

I fixed mine by buying a Surf.

Cheers Leon...

Still miss my Roza.

Website · Post by **murcod** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 7:37 pm

Le0n wrote:Hi Guys,

I fixed mine by buying a Surf.

Cheers Leon...

Still miss my Roza.

Still having trouble letting go of that Avatar too Leon?

Good to see some of the old names are still around.

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