Heater blower won't work Citroen Saxo- solution

Thought I'd post this in case anyone searches usenet.

The blower is in a circuit from the alternator via the ignition switch. It will only work when the ignition is on And the engine is running. This makes some sense, as you don't want it sapping power while you're trying to start the car.

If the heater blower stops functioning, the fault is normally with the ignition switch; the thing behind the key. The correct solution is to replace the ignition barral and switch, which, if you have an old car, is disproportionately expensive, =A3200 even.

But there is a cheat. There are three circuits run from the ignition switch; the blower- two brown wires , and two others. (I cant remember the colours. one pair is yellow, maybe?? not important) So it is like three switches in one.

- Tap in to one of the other circuits as follows:- Remobe the cover below the steering wheel. (note dipswitch attached to that cover) Cut the plug from the two brown wires from the blower, and strip the exposed ends. Strip rubber from the middle one of the other pairs of wires without cutting.(Colours?? yellow and something???)

Buy a free standing relay. Attach that so that when the yellow wires become active the relay closes. Attach the brown wires so that they are connected together when the relay closes. When you put the cover back, note that the headlight dip switch is still connected to it. It'll fall off while youre working and is easy to forget. =2E.................................... Thats it. For =A35 you get a bit more life out of the ignition switch. =2E...................................

An easier way is to cut the two brown wires, strip them, and tie them together, but this is rubbish because it means you have to remember to turn the blower off every time you get out the car, or it'll keep running. =2E............................

Tony

Reply to
tonyjeffs
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The blower is in a circuit from the alternator via the ignition switch. It will only work when the ignition is on And the engine is running. This makes some sense, as you don't want it sapping power while you're trying to start the car.

If the heater blower stops functioning, the fault is normally with the ignition switch; the thing behind the key. The correct solution is to replace the ignition barral and switch, which, if you have an old car, is disproportionately expensive, £200 even.

But there is a cheat. There are three circuits run from the ignition switch; the blower- two brown wires , and two others. (I cant remember the colours. one pair is yellow, maybe?? not important) So it is like three switches in one.

- Tap in to one of the other circuits as follows:- Remobe the cover below the steering wheel. (note dipswitch attached to that cover) Cut the plug from the two brown wires from the blower, and strip the exposed ends. Strip rubber from the middle one of the other pairs of wires without cutting.(Colours?? yellow and something???)

Buy a free standing relay. Attach that so that when the yellow wires become active the relay closes. Attach the brown wires so that they are connected together when the relay closes. When you put the cover back, note that the headlight dip switch is still connected to it. It'll fall off while youre working and is easy to forget. ..................................... Thats it. For £5 you get a bit more life out of the ignition switch. ....................................

An easier way is to cut the two brown wires, strip them, and tie them together, but this is rubbish because it means you have to remember to turn the blower off every time you get out the car, or it'll keep running. .............................

Tony

Easier idea - take a fused live feed from the battery to the switch. Or take a wire from something else that only switches on when the ignition does such as the cigarette lighter. No need for relays. Why not just solder another wire to the ignition switch to take a new switched feed?

Reply to
Ian

The blower is in a circuit from the alternator via the ignition switch. It will only work when the ignition is on And the engine is running. This makes some sense, as you don't want it sapping power while you're trying to start the car.

If the heater blower stops functioning, the fault is normally with the ignition switch; the thing behind the key. The correct solution is to replace the ignition barral and switch, which, if you have an old car, is disproportionately expensive, £200 even.

But there is a cheat. There are three circuits run from the ignition switch; the blower- two brown wires , and two others. (I cant remember the colours. one pair is yellow, maybe?? not important) So it is like three switches in one.

- Tap in to one of the other circuits as follows:- Remobe the cover below the steering wheel. (note dipswitch attached to that cover) Cut the plug from the two brown wires from the blower, and strip the exposed ends. Strip rubber from the middle one of the other pairs of wires without cutting.(Colours?? yellow and something???)

Buy a free standing relay. Attach that so that when the yellow wires become active the relay closes. Attach the brown wires so that they are connected together when the relay closes. When you put the cover back, note that the headlight dip switch is still connected to it. It'll fall off while youre working and is easy to forget. ..................................... Thats it. For £5 you get a bit more life out of the ignition switch. ....................................

An easier way is to cut the two brown wires, strip them, and tie them together, but this is rubbish because it means you have to remember to turn the blower off every time you get out the car, or it'll keep running. .............................

Tony

My rear window heater/demister in Xsara has stopped working.As it, when working , only does so when engine is switched on .Does this mean that it is wired in the same way as blower and that I could have the problem that you describe here.

allan

Reply to
allan

Hi Ian, Allen

-I'm not an expert btw- just (used to) like playing around with cars.

Ian, you can omit the relay, but when the blower is working, the connection gets warm. I'd rather risk burning out my relay which is easy to access than burning out something in another circuit, e.g. the lighter circuit which'd be a pain to figure out.

Allen. Could be. I don't know. First, get a meter and check the resistance of the heater element on the window when the engine is switched off. It should be very low. The needle should leap accross the dial. If you haven't checked already, it might be a break in that element, in which case you have to bridge the break somehow, maybe you can get a conductive compound to paint on. If you can read wiring diagrams that'd tell you.

Under the steering wheel, there are 3 connectors. One's the blower . One I think will be to do with the ignition, and necessary for the car to start. The third could be anything. You can unplug them in turn, identify by trial and error the blower, the starter, and the third one. Check whether disconnecting the third one disables somthing else. e.g. it could disable the fog lamps, in which case, we're on the wrong track, so give up, put it back together & have a coffee. If it looks like it might be the rear heater... disconnect that connection. Start the engine Close the circuit by sticking the ends of a paperclip, or a thick copper wire, into the part of the connector that is not connected to the ignition switch. This shouldn't be a problem because it is only what the switch does in closing the circuit, connecting the two ends together. Only do it for a moment though or you might burn your fingers, or damage the spade connectors if you get sparks. While you're doing this, Get a friend with a meter to check if there is a voltage accross the rear screen element. If so, yes it's the same situation.

disclaimer:- I've never done it myself, and it'd be better and safer to figure it out from a circuit diagram.

Tony

Reply to
tonyjeffs

Allan Sorry about spelling

Reply to
tonyjeffs

Hi tony I need to do this for my car just unsure what to wire where even though u do explain it.

On a relay there are the 4 numbers 85 86 87 and 30 not sure what to wire where.. Auto electrician wants 60 quid..

Any help much appreciated

James

Reply to
derek1271

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