Electrics: heater blower

[hodge911]

all help accepted ............ before i find a long drop and a short rope.
2004 xc90 2.4 d5
begining of 2019 i replaced the blower motor resistor as the blower stopped working all well again then about 4-5 weeks ago it stopped again .
i thought " well thats what i get for buying a cheap ebay replacement" so pulled the blower out again and bought another resistor but this time i connected the motor direct to a 12v alarm battery via the 2 wires that plug into resistor and it was ok so rebuilt it into car but over the first couple of weeks it started working intermittently then 2 weeks ago it stopped again so today i got a new resistor and blower motor connected the blower motor 4 pin plug and tried it before building it back into car .
first click on switch nothing second click fan started spinning and increased speed as should as i rotated switch then stopped
all the green lights work as they should but no fan working .
i just put every thing into car footwell locked the car and came indoors [to sulk before set the bloody thing alight ] and had a cuppa to calm down .
so any ideas .
all connections are clean and tight
so anyone got any ideas what may be wrong PLEASE .....

[gmonag]

The blower motor control is not quite as simple as you might think. The "resister" is actually called the power unit and I believe is not just a dumb ballast.

From VIDA:

The blower fan motor is a permanent magnet type fan.
The blower fan has stepless electronic control.
The power unit is mounted under the fan unit. The power unit can be removed.

Like most faults in this car, you are just guessing unless you get the DTCs read. Then you will know more. VIDA is your friend.

[hodge911]

So as advised I need to get the Xc90 hooked up to a vida . I don't have an independent garage with one near me so I suppose the next best thing is to see if I can buy one and learn to use it ..
BUT !!! my other problem is I've just about spent up my slush fund on ... rear shocks for mot and now a new heater blower motor and resistor so if any of you nice peeps have a system I can buy for as cheap as possible please it would be a mega help

[Harley Dave]

Cheshired5 and Vindo - both contributors on here, have usually got VIDA & Dice to sell - either loaded on a laptop/tablet that they supply or to load onto your own.

Cheers

Dave

[foeism]

Originally Posted by Harley Dave

Cheshired5 and Vindo - both contributors on here, have usually got VIDA & Dice to sell - either loaded on a laptop/tablet that they supply or to load onto your own.

Cheers

Dave

I got one from Cheshired5, to load onto my computer.
A really helpful chap, and knows his stuff.
I would purchase a Vida, before anything else you buy or upgrade on your car.

[foeism]

Originally Posted by hodge911

So as advised I need to get the Xc90 hooked up to a vida . I don't have an independent garage with one near me so I suppose the next best thing is to see if I can buy one and learn to use it ..
BUT !!! my other problem is I've just about spent up my slush fund on ... rear shocks for mot and now a new heater blower motor and resistor so if any of you nice peeps have a system I can buy for as cheap as possible please it would be a mega help

Maybe someone near you has one?
Might be worth a shout to ask on here?

[cheshired5]

I would avoid applying external power direct to any CCM component unless specifically advised in Vida.

Also check resistances on the blower motor Power unit.
Screenshot from Vida below.

I have Dice available at £100 delivered which includes the Vida software. You would need to provide the suitable laptop for that so to keep this thread on track, pm me with your laptop specs.

[hodge911]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

I would avoid applying external power direct to any CCM component unless specifically advised in Vida.

Also check resistances on the blower motor Power unit.
Screenshot from Vida below.

I have Dice available at £100 delivered which includes the Vida software. You would need to provide the suitable laptop for that so to keep this thread on track, pm me with your laptop specs.

Thanks for taking time to reply ... the power supply/ resistor is brand new ( I have 2 & have tried both).
Have a little more info .
Left car over night got in this morning started the engine tried the blower and it worked as it should getting faster with each click until at max (blower unit not fixed into housing just me holding it and switching it on ) then decreased click by click down to min and back up to max all fine until I clicked it off .... then wouldn't work again ...... aaarrrgghhh wtf is going on. My laptop is running Windows 10 .. but I have an old Samsung one I could wipe and put on whatever you recommend..

[binty]

Hi,
Not been on here for a while but For reference I had three fan motors during my ownership.
Like you the cheap resistor from eBay failed after a few months.
I swapped the fan again for a second hand unit and lubricated it with lithium spray grease, bad choice as over time it set like glue, burning out the resistor again.
(When it was taken off the fan would turn but not spin)
Then another second hand unit which did not work (failed resistor) so swapped the resistor for a hella one for about £60 and that worked great with no more problems.
As an emergency I connected the power direct to the motor via spade connectors, thick wires and a 20amp fuse.
It blows only at full speed but got me to the airport and back.😃
The problem I think was the second hand units were themselves ten years old and from scrappers so it was a bit of a lottery to get a good one.
Good luck with it.
PS I do not miss laying on my back with my legs over the back of the passenger seat fitting these fans. I tried but never managed it without 😂😂