Ducato heater fan

[snowie]

Hi all;

 

Ducato 08 reg; heater fan malfunction

 

We came back from Croatia in October; and the heater fan was only working on setting 4.

 

I've just come back from the local garage, who do all the work on the van now that it's out of warranty.

 

There's good news and bad news.

 

The regulator/speed controller is easily accessed, and only costs about £15.

 

The bad news is that part of the a/c loom has been damaged by the regulator overheating (we think), this costs approx £70.

 

I am minded to replace the regulator and loom, and leave the fan and see how long it lasts, it's been ok for 3 years.

 

"My mechanic" says he's never seen a speed controller this cheap before, suggesting to him that Fiat know they have a problem and either pitch the price of the component at a low level because they are selling lots, or to ease the pain, rather than solve the problem.

He has encountered a "wall of silence" as far as the Fiat parts dealer is concerned.

 

There are quite a few possibilities that I'll leave to one side at the moment.

 

My question; Have any of you Ducato X250 owners experienced this. Do any of you have any detailed knowledge/experience of it?

 

I intend to contact Fiat in any case.

 

Thanks

alan b

[Dave Newell]

The blower motor resistor pack is easily accessible from under the passenger side glove box. A common fault on these is the connection in the plug/socket is not good and leads to corrosion, very often there is nothing wrong with the resistor pack. Remove the plug and gently squeeze each terminal inside it to make a better connection. 9 times out of 10 this cures the blower only working on max. What damage has been done to the AC loom?

 

D.

[euroserv]

Hello,

 

Dave is completely right. They do fail though and are cheap and easy to replace; what more could you want?

 

The design and build of these resistors is pretty standard across manufacturers; the alternative is an integrated motor control and that is many, many times more expensive.

 

It is almost unheard of for wiring to be damaged before a resistor packs up, and if the wiring does need to be replaced I would think you have a problem with the motor windings and would brace yourself for a repeat of the experience.

 

I have never seen any wiring damage and have only replaced a couple of resistors on X250 vehicles, so this is unlikely to be a common problem in the future.

 

Regards,

 

Nick

[snowie]

Thanks both of you; I'm told that some of the wiring has overheated and should be replaced. That would suggest that the fan motor may be at fault? If that is the case maybe I have to bite the bullet and have the fan replaced? Seems a bit drastic for a van just out of warranty.

I was considering this. If the fan has just developed a fault that causes the overheating problem, then just replacing the controller probably risks damage to the new section of loom.

 

Thanks for the speedy response

 

alan b

[Keithl]

snowie - 2013-01-25 5:06 PM

I'm told that some of the wiring has overheated and should be replaced.

 

alan b

 

Alan,

 

Have you seen the damage or are you going by what you've been told?

 

I'm not doubting your garage but would want to see the damage for myself to help understand the problem. Could you possible get a photo of the area as others may be able to help identify the cause.

 

Keith.

[snowie]

Have you seen the damage or are you going by what you've been told?

 

I'm not doubting your garage but would want to see the damage for myself to help understand the problem.

Keith.

 

I usually need to "see for myself " Keith, but I know my limitations on things electrical, so rely on advice of folk I trust.

I'll see if the loom is visible, and snapable, but I've left the van at the garage over the weekend so not sure if I'll be able to get there tomorrow am

cheers,

alan b

[Dave Newell]

Pureley from a personal point of view I would first check the connections in the plug as I described above and then I would replace the pollen filter (hidden behind the centre console "glove box" on the basis that if this hasn't been replaced it could well starve the blower of free clean air which is also used to keep the blower motor resistor pack cool. Its a common fault on Vauxhall cars where if the pollen filter isn't replaced periodically the resistor pack overheats and dies usually closely followed by water in the passneger footwell during rainy spells because the scuttle drain hasn't been cleared of debris either. The latter part of this diatribe doesn't necessarily apply to the Ducato/Relay/Boxer X2/50 vehicles. but does demonstrate how a lack of regular maintenance cn cause problems.

 

D.

[snowie]

Dave Newell - 2013-01-25 7:50 PM

 

Pureley from a personal point of view I would first check the connections in the plug as I described above and then I would replace the pollen filter (hidden behind the centre console "glove box" on the basis that if this hasn't been replaced it could well starve the blower of free clean air which is also used to keep the blower motor resistor pack cool.

I take your point on the pollen filter etc...............

a lack of regular maintenance cn cause problems.

 

D.

 

Thanks for that Dave.

 

I'm sort of expecting that, for some reason Nick's suggestion that the motor windings may be at fault means that the problem originated there, and that I would have to replace the fan in any event, or face a repeat of the problem.

 

I Googled before I posted on this forum, and a couple of guys said that they had had a repeat of the problem within a month of just replacing the controller.

 

cheers

alan b