Electrical: Blower Motor Help

[Bugjam1999]

Originally Posted by morsing

American fan motor, very different. Whole heater setup is different.

True, but the general approach is the same and that guide is useful for showing how the dash comes apart etc. Overall the process is easier for a U.K. car as there isn’t an ac system to deal with, just the heater matrix.

Cheers

[Big 240]

OK, so I'm finally taking a look at this now that I have the car running properly.

At the number 3 fuse, my which is the heater blower, I get power from the left side to an earth point. So I gather this is telling me that the fuse is ok and the issue may lie elsewhere?

At the switch, the thick black and white wire shows no volts when earthed, and yet the red which I am presuming is the feed to the blower is showing 12v on speed 1, speed 2 and 0v on speed 3.

The freezing weather has stopped play for today. I will investigate further back at the blower motor sometime over the next few weeks. Will try a direct feed to it.

[Big 240]

Quick update.

New blower motor ordered as the motor had seized.

Blower unit out today:


Full of crud!:


Old motor next to new one:


Now here's my issue, I managed to snap one of the rubber mounts when trying to pull it through. I was using silicone lube and pliers. So how the hell do I get them pulled through?


I've ordered 3 original ones as replacements, but what's the best process of fitting them as the hole they go through is tight.? Heat them up? Vaseline?

[Bugjam1999]

Yep, the replacement rubber mounts are a larger diameter than the original ones - I suspect the volvo ones you’ve bought to replace the one you broke won’t fit the replacement motor.

I used one of those replacement motors in a car I used to own and carefully drilled out the holes in the yellow plastic mounting plate 0.5mm at a time until I could pull the new mounts through, then glued them in place as well.

I know others have replaced the rubber mounts entirely with nuts and bolts with plastic washers.

Whatever you do, make sure the fan is secure in the housing and connect it to a battery and spin it before you put it back in the car to make sure it’s not catching on anything.

The rubber mounts on the fan in my car are original and are now a bit weaker- the result is the fan is silent when stationary or at a constant speed, but during even moderate braking the mounts flex enough that the fan catches the inside of the housing making a rattling noise… so I’ll be taking that apart again at some point.

Cheers

[Big 240]

Originally Posted by Bugjam1999

I know others have replaced the rubber mounts entirely with nuts and bolts with plastic washers.

Cheers

Now that sounds like a plan, but would that not make it solid mounted?

Although the Skandix set comes with plastic washers to help keep the fan level. I may do this too if I go with the rubber mount route..

[Bugjam1999]

Yes, certainly more solidly mounted- the use of plastic washers is to help reduce vibrations and noise obviously enough.

I think making the rubber mounts work is the better solution personally, I doubt those fans are particularly well balanced (although they do have metal balancing weights added to the blades, so there is some attempt at balancing) and I imagine the heater box would act like an amplifier of any noise caused by a solidly mounted fan.

Cheers

[SnineT]

Originally Posted by Big 240

Quick update.

New blower motor ordered as the motor had seized.

Blower unit out today:

Nice supercharger does it do nitrous oxide as well?

[Big 240]

Originally Posted by SnineT

Nice supercharger does it do nitrous oxide as well?

Next on my list

[Big 240]

So thanks to Bugjams comment about the solid mount way, I came up with a solution with some odds and sods I had lying around.

3 bolts, 3 nylock nuts and some 15mm fuel line. Kind of like a semi solid mounting.

Will test it for noise/vibration etc before refitting, but I'm sure it will last.

[Big 240]

I can confirm after nearly a year since I did this fix that the motor runs nicely without any vibrations