Blower only works on position 4

**damomac** · 10-10-2009,03:00 PM

Hi all,

Some feedback on this. I managed to fit the series resitor in less than 10 minutes. I didn't have to remove the glovebox and it was a type of foam/rubber cover which is located between the bottom of the glovebox and the passenger side carpet or directly above a tall passengers feet.

No tools were needed.

The part was €48.10 from my local VW Dealer here in the Rip Off Republic of Ireland.

Hope this helps anyone else with a similar problem and thanks again to everyone here.

**Gerry T** · 11-10-2009,07:58 PM

I have since repaired the fault for 69pence. The thermal fuse had blown. I bought one from my local Maplin store (got the guy to read the rating printed on it as my eyesight not so good). Then cut the old one off and soldered new part in. Took 30 mins from removing the resitor unit to replacing it in working order. Has now been working to two weeks perfectly.

**damomac** · 29-10-2009,11:01 AM

Hi Gerry,

Would you have any idea of the Maplin part number of that thermal relay ? My replacement part from VW has failed after 1 week and my local VW garage will not replace it as they reckon something else is and they want to book the car in to investigate further.

I called into my local Maplin store in Dundalk but they were unable to read the ratings from the "new" blown series resistor.

I'll try another Maplin store in the next few days.

**jwturpin** · 31-10-2009,01:20 PM

Originally Posted by damomac

Hi Gerry,

Would you have any idea of the Maplin part number of that thermal relay ? My replacement part from VW has failed after 1 week and my local VW garage will not replace it as they reckon something else is and they want to book the car in to investigate further.

I called into my local Maplin store in Dundalk but they were unable to read the ratings from the "new" blown series resistor.

I'll try another Maplin store in the next few days.

unfortunately, i can't remember as i threw the old part away. However, they said they only needed the thermal rating. A thermresistor is just like an ordinary one, just with a thermal rating rather than an ohms rating.
Ask for a 240C rated, should suffice.

**Gerry T** · 02-11-2009,08:17 PM

Originally Posted by jwturpin

unfortunately, i can't remember as i threw the old part away. However, they said they only needed the thermal rating. A thermresistor is just like an ordinary one, just with a thermal rating rather than an ohms rating.
Ask for a 240C rated, should suffice.

The Maplin code is RA23A (240 deg C rating). This was the rating advised by the sales person in my local Maplin store as that was he claimed was written on the new component that failed. He did seem to be very confident although it did seem a bit high to me at the time and I suspect the lowest rated one will suffice such as the RA14Q (93deg C).
The VW dealer is probably right is suggesting that there may be another fault that needs investigating prior to replacing with another new component. A standard response from a good electrician. I had exactly the same thoughts but my dealer (in Bristol) failed to respond to a simple email to even suggest that. However, my logic on fitting the new part myself was this:-
The blower works fine on speed 4 thus showing that the motor is okay and is not faulty. (An ammeter would prove this but not tried.) Note the main fuse has never blown. If the fuse in the fuse panel had blown then I would agree immediately that there was a fault causing it.
There was no evidence of overheating (discolouration or singeing) on the component at all.
I think that the thermal fuse was incorrectly rated for temperature or current and the fault, which seems to happen to a lot of people, is a result of that or a bad batch of thermal fuses.
After replacing the thermal fuse with a component with sufficient "nuisance" margin my repair has worked reliably since. Now approx two months.
A tip on affecting a good soldered joint would be to use a needle file or emery cloth to clean the joint area really well prior to soldering. Don't remove all of the original component's wire tails (just expose the copper) as these seem to have been spot welded to the steel prongs and soldering to steel is not readily achievable (I had a dry joint on my first attempt).
Hope this helps. Do let me know how you get on.

**damomac** · 03-11-2009,12:44 AM

Hi Gerry,

Well last week I purchased 2 of those items from Maplin, using the exact code. I removed the old resistor and then used a Dremel tool to clean the contacts on both sides. The joints looked ok but when I plugged the part back into the Passat, the fans didn't work and the resistor pack got extremely hot. I had to cool it down in a puddle of water !

No shortage of these in Ireland right now.

Anyway, as my DIY plan has failed, I'm gonna try and track down a 2nd hand resistor pack from a scrap yard and see what happens then.

Thanks for the info.

**damomac** · 10-11-2009,03:26 PM

Well I'm back again and probably a bit wiser too. I got hold of a 2nd hand resistor pack and popped it into my car. Switched on the ignition, fan to 1, 2, 3 and 4. Nothing on 1, 2 but 3 and 4 were ok. When I switched it back off 2 worked but not 1.

I did all this a 2nd time and eventually got all 4 positions spinning but only when turning the switch anti-clockwise.

I also noticed that the resistor pack got quite hot for the 30 seconds or so it was plugged in so I'm guessing it's my fan motor that busted. I would normally leave this set to position 1 anytime I'min the car to keep the airflow going.

Any other hints on this ? Are these motors hard to get at ?

**martin1810** · 11-11-2009,11:49 AM

I don't know if anyone is interested but I would be happy to replace the thermal fuse for people. I would need someone to send me a spare broken one to start the ball rolling. That way a broken one could be on it's way to me whilst a repaired one is on the way back. Given post cost and price of fuse I should think the job would cost less than £5, which is a lot better than £30 for a new one. PM me if you want to help start the ball rolling.

(This is an offer to help so if the MODS think it's a money making enterprise, just delete the post.)

**martin1810** · 11-11-2009,11:55 AM

Originally Posted by damomac

Well I'm back again and probably a bit wiser too. I got hold of a 2nd hand resistor pack and popped it into my car. Switched on the ignition, fan to 1, 2, 3 and 4. Nothing on 1, 2 but 3 and 4 were ok. When I switched it back off 2 worked but not 1.

I did all this a 2nd time and eventually got all 4 positions spinning but only when turning the switch anti-clockwise.

I also noticed that the resistor pack got quite hot for the 30 seconds or so it was plugged in so I'm guessing it's my fan motor that busted. I would normally leave this set to position 1 anytime I'min the car to keep the airflow going.

Any other hints on this ? Are these motors hard to get at ?

From memory the motor isn't too bad once you take out the glovebox. I wonder if it could be a switch fault. (If the contacts are damaged inside it)

**damomac** · 11-11-2009,12:21 PM

Hi Martin, I'll check the switch later and I guess the next step for me is to try and track down a 2nd hand blower motor at the weekend.

Yesterday evening, with no resistor pack installed, blower position 4 was working fine as normal but after about 90 seconds of usage it suddenly stopped.

Turned out the 40 AMP fuse blew. Got a 30 AMP replacement and blower position 4 is back working again.