A strange one this as the fan for the ventilation and heat has suddenly stopped working on position 1. Its still working on the other three positions (2, 3 & 4) and the air conditioning still works when on position 1 as it won't work without the fan being switched on. So this means that there is still some electrical connection in the switch but its not getting to the fan. Also with the fan working in the other three positions means that it doesn't seem to be seized. Does anyone know where the fault may lie and how to repair it?
Fan for Air & Heater - Rover 416
Jul 13, 2009
9 Replies
It'll either be the switch (more likely) or the motor.
That's stating the obvious, but you can possibly isolate the switch first to test it.
Stephen, snipped-for-privacy@ntlworld.com, il 14-07-2009 1:23 ha scritto:
As far as I understand electrical parts, looks like the "1" position of the switch isn't making (good enough) electrical contact. Maybe it's just dirty or oxided.
If you are able to open the switch, you could verify/clean the copper contacts for the "1" position.
But, as Brian wrote, it's better if you test the switch as the first thing.
Thanks for the advice to both Brian and Skizzo.
However the fault is with the resister pack mounted behind the glovebox. Its simple enough to access with two bolts for the grovebox to remove it and then two screws holding the resister pack onto the fan housing. Its a very crude affair consisting of three bare wire coiled resisters cooled by the fan. The wires get very hot and over time brittle and eventually break (just like the filament in a light bulb).
Now for such a crude affair the replacement cost in the region of £40-45 which is very expensive for when it is. However one option I was going to take was to renew the resisters with coiled wire ones encased in a ceramic compound from Maplins costing about £3 in total. But then chanced upon a second option that I'm carrying out with a company selling the bare coiled wire resisters of the exact ohm resistance values but with a chromium/zinc alloy added to the metal so that they don't become brittle. These are obtained for about £6 and all you need to do is desolder the originals and then solder in the new ones all for a fraction of the cost.
Simples! lol
I wish the 25 K engine head gasket problem where as simple............and cheap.
What's the name of the company selling this replacement unit, Stephen?
Can you post contact details, please?
Yes, they're called Rezpax based in Bath and sell through both eBay and their own website;
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They send the small package out the same day by first class post if ordered early enough. One point is that it's useful to have a small drill bit to clean out the residue solder from the "loop" stamped into the contacts through which the wire resistors pass through. You will also find that you'll need to clean the brass contacts well before soldering as they'll be almost black if mine was anything to go by. Hope this helps you.
...and ditto for the 400 K series engine!!
Mines kept tight though as the Rover replacement dowels of aluminium were used to replace the original Bakelite ones. Seems to do the trick.
Thank you! Added to my "what if?" Rover notes.
:-)
Same here; all good.
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