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Hi Folks.
I have a 2006 ST 3.0TD auto with 92K that has spent its life to date on top of a coal mine. Dust everywhere!!! Every day.
The cabin fan has just one speed - '4'.
Turn it to 0-1-2-3 and nothing happens. Quite.
Why might that be so?
How do I remove that piece of the dash assembly to clean and check the fan switch?
Thanks
There's some sort of dropping resistor, just behind the Glove box, I believe. This is exactly what happens when the resistor burns out.
Maybe somebody else has a few more details and can actually help you :)
Look under the glove box you will see a black fan motor (it's up against the kick panel), it should have two wires going to it a blue with a red trace and a blue with a white trace.
If you turn ignition on and with one end of your multi-meter/test light earthed you should have power in the blue with a red trace wire. If you do then you know the fuses are OK.
Unplug the connector from the interior fan motor. With your meter/test light connect one end to the blue with a red trace wire and the other end of your test light to the blue with a white trace wire.
With ignition on run through all fan speeds by turning the interior fan speed switch from 1 to 4. Does the meter/test light give a reading on all 4 settings? If it does then the fan speed resistor is OK and the problem is with your fan motor.
The fan motor can be removed by undoing the 3 screws, you may also need to remove the glovebox (about 6 screws) to get the motor out.
Hi Steve.
Thanks for your prompt input. Serious good and detailed advice (which I can readily follow).
Will finish my big Aussie Day breaky, then grab my circuit tester and multimeter, and go check it out.
[Having the fan on MAX is great for super hot days - but the A/c can get a chilly as night gets darker. ;o} ]
I agree with Bulbous, you problem is more likely a faulty fan resistor then a switch problem.
In the photo you can see the black fan motor (LHS of photo) it mounts into the white plastic, just to the right of the fan motor you can see the brown plug for the fan resistor.
You will also need to remove the interior fan and check that it spins freely by hand as this could be that reason the resistor has burnt out.
As a rule of thumb 12v motors change speed depending on power, voltage supplied to them, so if the fan is working then its stands to reason it's not the cause for positions 1-3 not working.
regulation of power is the probable cause, not the fan.
Good luck
You need to be careful, a blown interior fan resistor could be just the symptom.
The cause could be the interior fan is drawing excess current and has burnt the resistor out, (fan speed 4 does not run via the resistor).
Take the extra couple of minutes and remove the interior fan motor and check that it spins freely before fitting the new resistor, otherwise you could burn out your new resistor.
Also the resistor needs to be cooled by air from the interior fan, so don't run the interior fan with the motor or resistor not fitted into the box.
You were correct. It was the dropping resistor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bulbous
Could have procured from eBay for between $67 and $75 plus postage. Gave the dealer a chance. $64 - and no postage. Not everything oneBay is cheap; pays to check around.
I have the identical symptom on my 89 GQ. 0-3 nothing, 4 = flat out (and have to yell to talk with passengers over the fan noise). Will check it out when I get home tonight. Is anyone aware if the componentry is in roughly the same places?
Yes the resistor is in the same position on the GQ.Quote:
Originally Posted by vixim
If you can't see it just follow the wire harness from the interior fan motor this will lead you to it.
As per my post above (especially with your noisy interior fan) you will need to remove and inspect the fan motor before replacing the resistor.
Thanks Yendor. Haven't had chance to look yet, but hopefully will soon.
I have the same problem with my 03 GU. I was goggling the proper name for this resistor and come upon this site, so hi and thanks
Gentlemen: Thanks for your posts of 2012. Had same fan problem this week (Nov 2014) in 1998 gu 2.8. Your posts saved me a lot of fault-finding. Thanks.
Thanks all for the info, it was easy to diagnose and find the resistor pack after reading this. I ordered the new resistor (20 bucks cheaper than dealer) from Patrolapart. painless and easy, great forum thanks guys. as a matter of interest if anyone else had there resistor fail was it due to rust on the one corner of the resistor heat sink causing a break in the resistor card circuit? just wondering if its a known weak spot. Reason I ask is that I recently had the Nissan dealer fit a Nissan snorkel and found that the self tapping screws for the snorkel mount on the a pillar had worked loose to the point that they were almost out. we have had massive storms here in Brisbane and surrounding areas so I wondered if the water had got into the car from the A pillar holes and rusted out the heat sink??
Can you post a photo of the resistor?. They do have a fusible section in the circuit board that is designed to burnout just like a fuse.Quote:
Originally Posted by bowerbird
If you had water leaking into the vehicle you would smell it by now.
Spring Mountain that's a cool place to live. :smile:
Its definitely not a designed fusible section. I could see the rust bubbling on the corner and as a result went right through the outer resistor track. I have included a photo that I got from the net and circled the area where the rust was. (mine is back in the car waiting for the Patrolapart to arrive)
yes Spring mountain is like going back to the way it was.. kids visiting other kids on dirt bikes, horses walking around and the odd GQ belting it out on the horse trail behind my house. I love the silence (and yes the sound of the dirty six belting it out as well)) the freedom and space. no traffic lights etc. good place to live. are you near there Yendor
The fuse section is just up from where you have circled. I haven't seen any rust like yours has.
I'm on the right as you come into Spring Mountain, just off Natasha Ct.
small world.. my name is Tony, and as my forum name suggests I am on Bowerbird close. look out for a silver GU with light stalk at the rear. honk your horn or flash me if you see me !
I'll keep an eye out for you. I'm only new to the area, one thing I noticed is that most people are real friendly and will give you a wave.Quote:
Originally Posted by bowerbird
I have a white GU with steel bull bar and ARB awning mounted on the passenger side roof.
Cheers Rodney
yes its a nice little community, almost like an oasis in the bush. I will look out for you Rod, cheers
Hi I have a 2000 td4.2 patrol.... I've taken out the glove box ans can see the fan but no relay is present there... Where else could it be hidden?
Which relay are you looking for?Quote:
Originally Posted by bulls121
You might want to go over to introductions & tell the people about yourself, the regulars on here don't like total anonymity, and are very helpful after you introduce yourself (it will also add to your post count so you can access downloads).
Graham
Look for a long plug with a loom running to it that has a screw at either end of it. This will be mounted in the air box where the fan is. Its not a relay you will be loking for. Its called a heater fan resistor.Quote:
Originally Posted by bulls121
If your fan is stuck on full, this part is buggered.
Sent from my GT-N7105T using Tapatalk
If it is the same fault it is probably the resistor mentioned above, if you get any debris in the fan it can stall & draw excessive current burning out the fusible link (the shiny patch just above the red circle in post #16), after you have checked that the fan is free to spin you can solder over the link reinstall the resistor & test it, if that fixes the fault go & get a new resistor as you have removed the safety device that stops it catching fire.
Graham
The relay for the interior fan in the GUs is above the fuse box inside the vehicle.Quote:
Originally Posted by bulls121
If your vehicle doesn't have the resistor as per my photo in post 5, then that's a problem. Maybe someone has removed it. Have you owned the vehicle long?
If you want you can just download the workshop manual.
Same problem on My 1990 GQ. Found fan resistor unit behind glove box. Opened it up and found there is a thermal switch inside which had "unsoldered" due to overheat. Resoldered, reinstalled and now works just fine. Also check fan was free to spin and no obstruction.