My Heater/Blower has stopped operating

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Brian Oblivion
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My Heater/Blower has stopped operating

Post by Brian Oblivion »

If the blower isn't working it is probably the heater motor resistor that has gone... costs a tenner and is located behind the dash. It can be got at by taking the plastic panel under the windscreen off.
Brian Oblivion
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Post by Brian Oblivion »

Got that wrong a bit (pressed submit as Outlook buggered up my message)
What I ment to say was my Heater/Blower has stopped working and I suspect the Control Switch.
I've done a search of the forum and found the info below
"If the blower isn't working it is probably the heater motor resistor that has gone... costs a tenner and is located behind the dash. It can be got at by taking the plastic panel under the windscreen off."
My question is, how do I test the resistor, and can I bypass it to see if the fan is working and confirm that the resitor is faulty?
Car is 1994 ZX 1.9TD Aura 89k miles.
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Post by Peter.N. »

If you can find the resistor, you can test it by shorting it out with the fan turned on, if the resistor is u/s the fan will then run. The resistor only applies to the low speed operation,it doesn't affect the 'full on' setting.
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Post by Brian Oblivion »

Is it worth me taking the wiper motor off to test the resistor? As I understand it the resistor only affects lower fan speed settings. My fan doesn't work on any speed setting. Might it be the control panel itself?
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Clogzz
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Post by Clogzz »

At the high speed, the resistor isn't used, with the full voltage applied to the motor.
Therefore, an open resistor will only cause loss of the lower speeds.
To save yourself the acrobatics involved in the testing of the resistor, put the fan on the high speed, and check that the full voltage arrives at the motor terminal.
The fuse may be blown, the earth may be open, or the motor brushes may be worn, though that's rare.
Also ensure that the motor spins freely, for in case it was stuck.
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Post by Sl4yer »

The fan CAN appear to fail completely when the resistor goes. I've had it happen.

The resistor is relatively easy to get at (it must be, I've done it! :oops: ). I also removed the blower and tested it with a battery charger. This confirmed that the blower wasn't knackered, but didn't show that it was stiff. It was finally replaced the following winter, after it blew a new resistor in about 10 seconds!
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