Heater blower packed up

Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:45 pm

As above, it's been squeaking for a day or two but now it's died. Looking at the wiki it says if it only works on position 4 it could be the resistor pack, is this also a possibility if it doesn't work at all?

Mon Mar 11, 2013 8:08 pm

A good,almost free,starting point would be to remove the fan unit and oil it.

It's removed via an access hatch on the engine bay side of the bulkhead and some spring clips that will tax your patience and teach your next door's kids some new words!

Mon Mar 11, 2013 8:38 pm

Mine only works on 4 I keep meaning to replace the resistor but not got around to it yet

Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:05 am

Sometimes mine doesn't work, except for on 4. If I leave it on 4 for 5 seconds, the rest of the speeds work. I just put it down to needing a good ole' lube

Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:35 am

If removing the fan to oil it as daimlerman suggests, put a pointy pin in the hole at the bottom of the retaining spring clip and lever it off. Simples

Tue Mar 12, 2013 11:01 am

The resistor is getting quite expensive for what it is from BMW. It was £16 last year and £24 when I bought one last week.

Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:09 pm

scallyally wrote:If removing the fan to oil it as daimlerman suggests, put a pointy pin in the hole at the bottom of the retaining spring clip and lever it off. Simples

The clips come off quite easily,it's putting the little swine's back that causes the swearing!

Tue Mar 12, 2013 1:47 pm

daimlerman wrote:
scallyally wrote:If removing the fan to oil it as daimlerman suggests, put a pointy pin in the hole at the bottom of the retaining spring clip and lever it off. Simples
The clips come off quite easily,it's putting the little swine's back that causes the swearing!

+1.

my hearter motor was in a poor state and I had to swallow for a new..

Thu Mar 14, 2013 2:31 pm

Just checked the motor and it's spinning freely so that seems ok. Resistor next I guess, but as before, if it was knackered would the fan not work at all or just on the highest speed? Also, the wiki says where the resistor is on non AC cars but where is it on AC equipped models?

Thu Mar 14, 2013 3:39 pm

Cloggy Saint wrote:Just checked the motor and it's spinning freely so that seems ok. Resistor next I guess, but as before, if it was knackered would the fan not work at all or just on the highest speed? Also, the wiki says where the resistor is on non AC cars but where is it on AC equipped models?

I've got AC on my E30, my resistor is under the blower motor.

Thu Mar 14, 2013 6:26 pm

Monkey27 wrote:
Cloggy Saint wrote:Just checked the motor and it's spinning freely so that seems ok. Resistor next I guess, but as before, if it was knackered would the fan not work at all or just on the highest speed? Also, the wiki says where the resistor is on non AC cars but where is it on AC equipped models?
I've got AC on my E30, my resistor is under the blower motor.

Iv been trying to figure that out as mine has AC

Thu Mar 14, 2013 6:26 pm

Monkey27 wrote:
Cloggy Saint wrote:Just checked the motor and it's spinning freely so that seems ok. Resistor next I guess, but as before, if it was knackered would the fan not work at all or just on the highest speed? Also, the wiki says where the resistor is on non AC cars but where is it on AC equipped models?
I've got AC on my E30, my resistor is under the blower motor.

Iv been trying to figure that out as mine has AC

Thu Mar 14, 2013 7:26 pm

jonny323i wrote:
Monkey27 wrote:
Cloggy Saint wrote:Just checked the motor and it's spinning freely so that seems ok. Resistor next I guess, but as before, if it was knackered would the fan not work at all or just on the highest speed? Also, the wiki says where the resistor is on non AC cars but where is it on AC equipped models?
I've got AC on my E30, my resistor is under the blower motor.
Iv been trying to figure that out as mine has AC

I found it somewhere on another forum the Bentley E30 Service Manual is very helpful. There is a link on here for an electronic version

Fri Mar 15, 2013 7:43 pm

It was the fuse

. BUT, with the new fuse it worked for about 10 minutes, still not sounding too healthy, before popping the new fuse. Is this normal behaviour for a fan that's on it's way out?

Fri Mar 15, 2013 7:47 pm

If you decide to replace your blower,remember yours is a different size to a non aircon car,yours is slightly bigger....

Fri Mar 15, 2013 7:48 pm

No, it's very unusual for the fuse to fail, since the stall current is barely enough to pop a 30A fuse.
What size fuse was there?

Fri Mar 15, 2013 7:49 pm

Mine too !!

Fri Mar 15, 2013 9:15 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:No, it's very unusual for the fuse to fail, since the stall current is barely enough to pop a 30A fuse.
What size fuse was there?

It was 30 amp. The AC blower fan is bigger? Typical, I bet that's not easy to pick up second hand.

Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:14 pm

Take the thing out and lubricate it! Power it up while it's out and check that it runs freely.
I've only ever come across very few motors that can't be returned to as new performance with a bit of cleaning out and a drop or two of oil.

Fri Mar 22, 2013 7:34 pm

macas wrote:If you decide to replace your blower,remember yours is a different size to a non aircon car,yours is slightly bigger....

Realoem does list 2 different part numbers for the blowers but doesn't mention anything about airco. I guess mine would be the more expensive one?