Davidhood999 Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Hi everyone, I'm in the middle of trying to remedy the very common Fiat Ducato fan speed selector fault, mine only works on full, setting 4. So, I've located the resistor pack (I think that's what it's called) from underneath the passenger side of the dash board and snipped all the (4) wires to remove it. I did this having read up that it's often good to replace a short secretion of wire incase the existing wire has become too hot and burned out near the terminal. I then got my new resistor pack with the heat fuse on it, and my new piece of wiring loom with terminal, however I've noticed that the new resistor pack and wire loom have 5 wires as opposed to 4 on the vehicle. Now I'm baffled, I'm not electrically minded but thought I'd do this as it sounded really easy when I read up on it. Is there any way that i can use this new loom and resistor pack or is this not possible? Every time I type in 2004 built (2005 registered) Fiat Ducato fan resistor pack, the one I've bought keeps coming up but it doesn't look right to me and I don't want to just start fiddling about randomly incase I damage the electrics on our van, and I don't seem to be able to find a direct replacement for the bits I've taken off. Can anyone offer any advice here? I'd be very appreciative. I'll try and post images of the bits I've got. Many thanks. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Are you able to see the colour of the cables in the RP, if so try matching only those up with your current loom and see if it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Possibly the fifth wire is for vans with air con as the compressor wont engage if the heater fan is not on whatever speed is selected It requires a signal or circuit for it to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Hi David, I believe that your vehicle is based on the x244 Ducato, but as it could be an X230 please confirm. If you do not know, check the VIN number, either on the the VIN plate, or in the V5C registration document. It will have the form xxx244......., or xxx230....... Does the vehicle have aircon? (Different diagrams apply.) You expressed concern about possibly damaging the vehicle wiring. I can see no reason why that should happen, but it would be sensible not to turn the ignition on, while working on the wiring. The same resistor pack is used on vehicles with and without aircon, and has only four connections. I have just checked on my 2006 x244 Ducato, and the resistor pack mounting has rounded ends with 4 wires, as expected. Will the resistor pack that you have, physically fit into the mounting point on the heater? I can see offers for resistor packs having 5 wires on eBay, but they have a mounting with a rectangular outline. Perhaps this is a "one size fits all" offering. This second version may be what you have. Those on eBay show only 4 connections to the actual resistor, so I supect that the extra wire is connected in parallel with one of the others. If so you could cut it off. On the Fiat eLearn drawings for vehicles both with, and without aircon, there is a tee connection shown in the wiring harness. The extra wire could be an alternative way of making this tee connection on other vehicles. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidhood999 Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 stevec176 - 2021-10-10 5:44 PM Are you able to see the colour of the cables in the RP, if so try matching only those up with your current loom and see if it works. Hi, I tried uploading an image last night so everyone could see the old and new wires but to no avail. I think maybe the image MB are too high. So, on the original wire loom we have looking at the plug at the bottom and left to right; black, white with black stripe, blue with red stripe, and grey with black stripe. On the new we have; thick red wire, thick red wire, blue, black, and yellow. As you can see none of it tallies up and I've not managed to find a conversion chart on the net so I'm flummoxed. Many thanks. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidhood999 Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 Alanb - 2021-10-10 8:33 PM Hi David, I believe that your vehicle is based on the x244 Ducato, but as it could be an X230 please confirm. If you do not know, check the VIN number, either on the the VIN plate, or in the V5C registration document. It will have the form xxx244......., or xxx230....... Does the vehicle have aircon? (Different diagrams apply.) You expressed concern about possibly damaging the vehicle wiring. I can see no reason why that should happen, but it would be sensible not to turn the ignition on, while working on the wiring. The same resistor pack is used on vehicles with and without aircon, and has only four connections. I have just checked on my 2006 x244 Ducato, and the resistor pack mounting has rounded ends with 4 wires, as expected. Will the resistor pack that you have, physically fit into the mounting point on the heater? I can see offers for resistor packs having 5 wires on eBay, but they have a mounting with a rectangular outline. Perhaps this is a "one size fits all" offering. This second version may be what you have. Those on eBay show only 4 connections to the actual resistor, so I supect that the extra wire is connected in parallel with one of the others. If so you could cut it off. On the Fiat eLearn drawings for vehicles both with, and without aircon, there is a tee connection shown in the wiring harness. The extra wire could be an alternative way of making this tee connection on other vehicles. Alan Hi Yes our van has air-con, I'm not sure which type of Ducato the chassis / engine etc is based on but here is the VIN; ZFA24400007416374 Although it's a 2005 registered vehicle it is is in fact a 2004 built vehicle. I'll paste below a reply I made to another forum user below incase it's any help; Hi, I tried uploading an image last night so everyone could see the old and new wires but to no avail. I think maybe the image MB are too high. So, on the original wire loom we have looking at the plug at the bottom and left to right; black, white with black stripe, blue with red stripe, and grey with black stripe. On the new we have; thick red wire, thick red wire, blue, black, and yellow. As you can see none of it tallies up and I've not managed to find a conversion chart on the net so I'm flummoxed. Many thanks. David. Cheers for your help Alan. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 You might try contacting Coastal Motorhomes about this as they advertise a selection of heater/blower resistors for Ducato models https://coastalmotorhomes.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=ducato+heater+resistor The Fiat Part number for a 2002-2006 Ducato seems to be 77364714 https://coastalmotorhomes.co.uk/fiat-ducato-peugeot-boxer-citroen-relay-heater-blower-resistor-02-06-77364714.html and photos on online adverts (example here) https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/ridex-13631753.html show 4 ‘spades’ in the part's female socket (image attached below). The equivalent part for 2006-onwards Ducatos has (as Alanb has said) a differently shaped ‘mounting-block’ and that block’s socket has 5 spades. Regarding attaching a file to a forum posting, I gave detailed guidance in my last posting on this recent thread. https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Leisure-Battery-fully-charged-but-not-operating-anything-/58969/ I'm doubtful though that providing a photo of the wires would progress the matter, as you’ve adequately described the colours of the old unit’s 4 wires and of the new unit’s 5 wires. Your original question would still remain unanswered regarding whether it’s practicable to connect a 4-wire loom to a 5-wire resistor unit and - if so - what the 4-wire to 5-wire ‘colour conversion' should be. (I think the simple answer is that you have bought the wrong resistor pack...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 David, In all the confusion, you have missed answering the most important question. Specifically will your new resistor pack physically fit into the aperture in the heater blower unit???? Given the above, I am sure that the connections can be sorted out. Definitions. Plug = The part of a connector having male pins, or blades. Socket = The part of a connector having female receptacles. Looking on eBay I can see several offers of units with 5 wire tails attached to the socket, but I cannot discern the number of receptacles in the socket. Further the resistor units have only 4 metal connections to the back of the plug. What I cannot do is see exactly what you have without pictures, which must be not larger than 100K. To attach tick the box "Attach a file after posting" The clue probably lies in the fact that your new socket has two red wires. I strongly suspect that these two red wires are connected together either permanently, or via the resistor pack when the connector is mated. Select the red wire at the end of the row, bend the end back and insulate it with electrical tape, or similar. Now you have four wires. Use a 4 way electrical connector block of suitable rating. (The fan is fused at 30A.) Starting with the remaining red wire, connect it to the vehicle black wire. Connect the other four wires in identical sequence, so that the vehicle grey/black wire connects with the new yellow wire. Since your heading for this thread states the the fan works on speed 4, I am deducing that the fan is free to rotate. Testing. Select fan speed to the off position. Switch ignition on and try all four fan speeds. The worst that can happen is that the speeds will not be in the correct sequence. When all is to your satisfaction, you my wish to crop the spare red wire, and replace the 4 way connector with butt crimps. I have a deja vu feeling about this thread, but I cannot recall where I have seen the problem previously. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Ducato heater/blower ‘resistor packs’ have been discussed here several times, often resutiing in advice from Nick Fisher (euroserv). https://tinyurl.com/3mkfns5x (I don’t recal, though, it ever being asked before whether a replacement 5-wire resistor pack could be used when the original pack’s wiring loom had 4 wires.) As I said above, the 5-wire unit that is apparently appropriate for 2006-onwards Ducatos has (as one might expect) 5 ’spades’ in its socket (image below). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidhood999 Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 Hi, Took your advice and purchased another from Coastal Motorhomes but to no avail unfortunately. I've also tried changing the heat fuse on the old one to see if it would work then but nothing. I have noticed that one of the retro fitted dashboard USB chargerled display turns off when I switch the fan dial to 1 to 4 so I'm wondering does this mean there's a short? We have several of these USB chargers that were fitted by the last owner. Is it possible that the fitting of these is what is causing the fan to only work on full? Also seeing could it be the fan switch/ dial? If so do you know how to remove the switch from the dash? Many thanks. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidhood999 Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 Hi everyone, So located the correct resistor pack and fitted it but still the fan only runs on full. Advice mentioned on an above reply, we have several retro fitted usb chargers on the dashboard, one of which the LED display goes out when the fan switch is on anything but full but then switches on again once the dial is brought back to zero. Is this a short? Or a faulty switch dial? Many thanks in advance, we really appreciate everyone's input. David & Anna ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 I think at this stage it would be prudent to call in some professional help. Just in case of a fire hazard maybe from previous poor wiring You have done your best and your last post rings some alarm bells Always be safe Let us know how you get on Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidhood999 Posted October 30, 2021 Author Share Posted October 30, 2021 onecal - 2021-10-29 11:25 AM I think at this stage it would be prudent to call in some professional help. Just in case of a fire hazard maybe from previous poor wiring You have done your best and your last post rings some alarm bells Always be safe Let us know how you get on Regards Hi, Yes I think you may be right, the longer we've had the van the more things become apparent that the last owner did, or bodged as it may me. None of it was apparent at the time, all hidden beneath the surface. Bit miffed by it all but we live and learn. Many thanks. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casimir Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 "Fan speed only works on full ..." I had the same problem with my X250 a few weeks ago. The blower switch would only operate in one position, if at all. All the advice I read up on seemed to suggest the heater resistor might be at fault. So I obtained and fitted a new one but this made no difference - the blower still would not work properly. I had also read somewhere that the blower switch might be the problem so I obtained one and fitted it. Success! I now have a fully functioning blower. So it might be worth checking the blower switch itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidhood999 Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 Hi message to all who assisted me, Turns out it was just a faulty relay switch in a fuse box under the passenger side of the dash board. Simple when you know eh? ?? So all works fine now only sometimes the dial can be temperamental and I've read that I have to remove the dial cover from the dash, and then clean the contacts a bit and that usually fixes that lil problem. Not really even a problem, just a mild irritant. However, I've no idea how it comes off, does anyone know? Many thanks. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 I think your motorhome's heater control-panel is the '3-knob' type shown on the photo attached below. There are some online videos that relate to control-panel removal. The (appalling) example on this link relates to a '2-knob' panel, but there are a couple of others that suggest the same thing - that removing the panel to get at the contacts will be a major disassembly exercise. If you can live with the dial being temperamental, I suggest you do. If you still wish to try contact-cleaning and want practical advice on removing the dial cover, Nick Fisher may be able to give you blow-by-blow guidance. Nick is now MMM Magazine’s Tech Help Editor. If you don’t get fine-detail feedback from this forum, you might try copying your enquiry to the magazine using this email address mmmtech@warnersgroup.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 Hi David, Provided that you have a computer with a CD drive (external or internal), perhaps the best advice that I can give is to buy a CD version of Fiat eLearn for the x244 version of the Ducato. These CDs are available on eBay for less than £5 and contain a wealth of information. However extracting information has been described on the Fiat Forum as, "like peeling the layers off an onion.". Examples here. I should warn you that there are some errors in the numerous wiring diagrams. To remove the aircon control panel cover you should start by removing the starter battery -ve, and then the radio and ash tray which conceals a screw. The document holder also needs to be removed. This gives access to the switch control panel, which has to be disconnected. The rectangular knob on the air flap slider, pulls off. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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