75ZT Community

Arctic · Posted 16 May 2011, 20:55 #1

Hi.
Can a fan resistor upgrade be done with out having to remove the front bumper, also how do you know if you need one or not,

Is it best just to do this mod anyway weather one is needed or not if so is the one below the right resistor cheers Arctic.

http://tinyurl.com/69wzczr

Duncan · Posted 16 May 2011, 21:07 #2

Fairly certain you will need to remove the bumper. In fact on a facelift, it's a certain! Unless of course you are a qualified keyhole surgeon, in which case you can do mine too!

You need one if you have a 2 speed fan, and one isn't fitted already.

The age of the car isn't always an indicator, My 04 facelift is a 2 speed, a friends of the same age was a three speed.

If you have a two speed, you can usually see the resistor through the grille. If it's there and silver in colour, it is not an uprated one, and is likely to fail at some point. Uprating stops this happening.

As for if it's the right one, the buyer is saying it is so it ought to be, can see no reason to doubt it as they seem to know their stuff.

Arctic · Posted 16 May 2011, 21:30 #3

HI Duncan
Thanks for the reply i will check it out in the morning and see if there is one fitted at what angle would the resistor be top,right,bottom,or to the left of the fan. Also is it just unplug and plug or is any soldering needed

if not an uprated one, and is likely to fail at some point is this 100% sure can this job be done by one person cheers Arctic.

Mick · Posted 16 May 2011, 21:35 #4

Top right quarter towards the centre of the fan if it's there you can't miss it. As Duncan says a 3 speeder doesn't have one.

Arctic · Posted 16 May 2011, 21:53 #5

Mick wrote:Top right quarter towards the centre of the fan if it's there you can't miss it. As Duncan says a 3 speeder doesn't have one.

Hi Mick/Duncan.
Just poped out to take a look and what have i found it does not have one so this means i must have the old type 3 speed yes even though my car is an 04 plate

photo below.

Does this mean now that i will have to change the fan altogether now or at some stage if so when ? i am finding these cars are or seem to be money pits.

Mick · Posted 16 May 2011, 22:03 #6

That is the bracket a resistor would be fixed to. You have a 3 speed. The slowest speed is the one that fails if it's going to. The brushes wear out. Medium and fast speeds will carry on for a long time. My 04 plated car is actually a 2003 and had the 3 speed fan. I got Jules to replace it with a 2 speed and uprated resistor for me when the slow speed failed.

Arctic · Posted 16 May 2011, 22:12 #7

Hi Mick.
Do you wait until it fails or do you act asap i wonder why these were not changed to a two speed on 04plates do you have any idea of the cost for this job and is it posible to do your self

cheers Arctic

Mick · Posted 16 May 2011, 22:19 #8

This slam-panel-removal-without-regas.html will give a good idea how far you have to go to replace the fan.
I have no idea about current prices.

PaulT · Posted 17 May 2011, 06:06 #9

The other option is to fit a Kenlowe fan - about Ã‚Â£160.

Paul

Duncan · Posted 17 May 2011, 06:57 #10

Apparently, there are some 2 speeds around with the resistor fitted somewhere else, though these seem to be rare from what I heard.

My 04 plate, has the resistor and is still working OK at 51k miles.

It is also possible to repair the 3 speed fans rather than replacing. One of the brushes wears out so taking two dead ones can repair one of them with brushes left over. There were a batch of replacement brushes made by someone on the OC, not sure if there's any available now.

Remember a lot of the things you read about on here are to keep the car tip top. You would probably never know about the fan resistors, or the O rings otherwise. Other cars are just the same: things go wrong and you may never even know.

Arctic · Posted 17 May 2011, 10:05 #11

HI Duncan.
Funny you say Apparently, there are some 2 speeds around with the resistor fitted somewhere else, though these seem to be rare from what I heard.
as i am sure not so long back when i was under the car and had the tray off i am almost sure i saw the silver resistor at the back fixed will have to check it out. cheers Arctic.

Arctic · Posted 17 May 2011, 17:51 #12

No silver resistor was just a silver label attached to some wire so looks like i have the 3 speed fan :cry:

what i need to do now then is see if it is all working ok some sort of test yes,

SpongeBob · Posted 17 May 2011, 18:16 #13

I'm not sure if there is a short-cut method but a T4 (Testbook version 4.Computer Diagnostic System) will be able to test all fan speeds with the click of a mouse however this does rely on you having access to a T4.

Duncan · Posted 17 May 2011, 19:27 #14

Start engine (cold engine) and switch on aircon, make sure econ is not selected. After a few seconds low speed fan should start. We can check it at the next Nano with my T4, to be sure.

MrB · Posted 17 May 2011, 19:38 #15

As Duncan says simply turn on the heater on - select to demist the windscreen as this will definitely turn the aircon on - you should hear/see the fan startup.

There is a cheap fix/bodge where you swap the wires round so as to use the brush for the medium or fast instead of slow - effectively turning your fan to 2 speed. As, especially with the diesel, these will very rarely be used.

I had mine on a T4 and discovered all three speeds on mine had gone, so I bought and fitted the Kenlowe kit from Jules.

One word of warning if you do leave your fan broken for a long time expect your aircon condensor to fail as well as it will overheat. I bought mine with this condition and ended up having to replace some aircon pipes, seals and the condensor. Plus a pressure test and regas of the aircon all in probably cost me an extra Ã‚Â£150. So worth checking and sorting asap.

Arctic · Posted 18 May 2011, 09:36 #16

Duncan wrote:Start engine (cold engine) and switch on aircon, make sure econ is not selected. After a few seconds low speed fan should start. We can check it at the next Nano with my T4, to be sure.

Hi Duncan
That would be great if you get time to fit me in as i know you will be in great demand most appreciated, please let me know if i can do you any favour in return or you require a donation of any kind cheers Steve.

Arctic · Posted 18 May 2011, 09:40 #17

MrB
There is a cheap fix/bodge where you swap the wires round so as to use the brush for the medium or fast instead of slow - effectively turning your fan to 2 speed. As, especially with the diesel, these will very rarely be used.

Hi Is this wise and safe if so how do you go about this

Duncan · Posted 18 May 2011, 18:34 #18

Arctic wrote:
Duncan wrote:Start engine (cold engine) and switch on aircon, make sure econ is not selected. After a few seconds low speed fan should start. We can check it at the next Nano with my T4, to be sure.

Hi Duncan
That would be great if you get time to fit me in as i know you will be in great demand most appreciated, please let me know if i can do you any favour in return or you require a donation of any kind cheers Steve.

Thanks, but no donation or anything required, just help others with their jobs. That's the basic idea behind the Nanos. Hopefully I'll be training someone else on the T4 so evenif I get tied up with something else like last time, we can still do some T4 sessions, though we can't guarantee things unfortunately as some jobs take longer than expected. Hoping to do the two days which will help, and we may even have a second T4 there.

Arctic · Posted 18 May 2011, 19:20 #19

Hi Duncan,
Thats great and i am always willing to give an hand to anyone that needs it, maybe even help if they wanted to do my undertray mod that i did to mine which are self tapers and are easly removed with a cordless screw driver, or even the spyhole mod but i think Dennis as that down to a T, i still prefer mine as it will open the plenum tube exit whole and not just poke a tiny hole in any muck which could have gone hard or clingy inside, but poke all the muck out due to it's actual size (tight fit)

And clearing that hard to get to plenum drain under the servo, more than willing to do thjis for anyone who wants it doing,

Where it comes out once pushed home from underneath

Tools of the trade/job well mine anyway.

MrB · Posted 19 May 2011, 08:59 #20

Arctic wrote:MrB
There is a cheap fix/bodge where you swap the wires round so as to use the brush for the medium or fast instead of slow - effectively turning your fan to 2 speed. As, especially with the diesel, these will very rarely be used.

Hi Is this wise and safe if so how do you go about this

As all three speeds on mine had gone I never got round to trying this. But I believe you just need to find which colour wire goes to which bush and then swap the wire for slow with the wire for Medium.

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Fan Resistor Upgrade by Arctic (Page 1 of 4)