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Heater fan only works at high speed


tim_roberts

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I have a 1999 Freelander with air-conditioning.

The heater fan stopped working on setting 1 some time ago, and yesterday it stopped working on setting 2. Settings 3 & 4 work fine, but they are too noisy for normal use.

I assume it's either a fault in the heater/air-con unit itself (which is a pig to remove, I believe) or in the switch mechanism.

Does anyone have experience of this?

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I have a 1999 Freelander with air-conditioning.

The heater fan stopped working on setting 1 some time ago, and yesterday it stopped working on setting 2. Settings 3 & 4 work fine, but they are too noisy for normal use.

I assume it's either a fault in the heater/air-con unit itself (which is a pig to remove, I believe) or in the switch mechanism.

Does anyone have experience of this?

Either the switch is defective or - more likely - the fan-resistor has burned out.

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One tip: if you replace the resistor-block, also make sure the pollen-filter is new and that there's nothing else impeding the air flow: the design of the resistor-pack is that it's cooled by the airflow so a blockage will make the new resistor have a short life.

A friend's Renault Scenic *spit* blew its resistor and when investigated we found that the heater-box and ductwork was packed full of nibbled nut-shells. Seems the local mice had used his car as "dry-storage" for their food-cache (which explained the poor A/C operation and the 'odd smell' from the A/C)

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I've answered my own question by looking in the Haynes manual and then poking around under the dash - the resistor block is easy to get at (provided you're double-jointed and have 3 hands).

On mine, one coil has burnt out so will start looking for a replacement on ebay!

By the way, as far as I can tell the air-con heater unit doesn't have a pollen filter. It appears to rely on the nylon mesh fitted to the air intake panel in front of the windscreen, which of course is falling apart.

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Just a quick update: I ordered a resistor kit from Rezpax (£7+ incl, postage) which arrived yesterday. I soldered the new resistors in place (luckily I am of the generation used to working with soldering irons, valve-driven radios, etc) replaced the unit and the fan now works better than ever - all 4 speeds working!

I still have to replace the mesh grille that fits under the air intake panel in front of the windscreen - couldn't find anyone selling these so have ordered some fish-pond filter which ought to do the job.

I am still pondering how to open up the unit to allow me to clean out the dead leaves that must be sitting on the intake side of the evaporator unit. According to microcat I have the early version of the air-con unit, which doesn't have a filter (later ones do) and there is no obvious way of getting the debris out.

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Just a quick update: I ordered a resistor kit from Rezpax (£7+ incl, postage) which arrived yesterday. I soldered the new resistors in place (luckily I am of the generation used to working with soldering irons, valve-driven radios, etc) replaced the unit and the fan now works better than ever - all 4 speeds working!

Good to know you've achieved a satisfactory fix at a truly excellent (and spectacularly-below-dealer-rates) price!

[and yes, I've also got plenty of experience on valve radios/transmitters and the like].

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A further update: my fish pond filter (black foam mesh measuring 17" x 11" x 1/2") arrived and is now cut to shape and fitted. It's a lot thicker than the original, so I had to bodge some clips to hold it all in place, but it looks like the original and works just as well (probably better) with no apparent loss of air flow.

Here's the ebay link for anyone interested: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SET-3-REUSABLE-FISH-POND-FOAM-FILTER-SPONGE-17-X-11-MEDIA-/221220519640?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&var=&hash=item791af1753c

I never did find any dead leaves inside the evaporator/heater unit, despite partially dismantling the thing and shoving the vacuum cleaner nozzle in every nook and cranny, so I have to assume that everything gets sucked right through the system and out of the air vents. Anyway, that's one job I hope I won't have to worry about again.....

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