Welcome to Just Commodores, a site specifically designed for all people who share the same passion as yourself.

New Posts Contact us

Just Commodores Forum Community

It takes just a moment to join our fantastic community

Register

VR / VS - Interior Fan Faulty

kopper69

New Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2005
Messages
2,617
Reaction score
38
Points
0
Age
37
Members Ride
VRII Acclaim
Hey guys,

Well this is my second of hopefully many how to guides. Again ive had another problem with my car so I have documented it and hopefully some of you will find it useful. The problem I have is that my interior fan will not operate on speed 1 or 2 but will quite happily blast out air on 3 or HI.

Fan.jpg


Im not sure how common this problem is, but if its happened to me chances are it will start happening to other people. Not a big deal, will cost you $50 to repair and about 1/2hour to an hour. You can even repair it for free if you want.

So whats the problem?? Well its actually known as a fan speed resistor. Basically it will control the fan speeds. It is constructed of fine wire windings which will become brittle over time.

Below is a picture of two fan speed resistors. The one on the left is the new one from Holden. I tried to source these from Repco but they did not sell them, so its either get one from Holden ($50) or wreakers if you want. Personally I would go Holden, although their price is ridiculously high for a resistor.

So the new one is on the left. The one on the right is the one you would have in your car at the moment. It does the job but is a poor design, and was replaced around 1998 i think the Holden dealer told me. The new one is far more reliable but both will do the same job.

Fan%20Speed%20(1).jpg


So lets get to replacing this guy.

Lift your bonnet and take off the screws holding the windscreen washers on. I think from memory you will need a 13mm socket or spanner. You will also need to pull the rubber protector off, as shown below.

Fan%20Speed%20(2).jpg


There are markings on the winscreen washer blades to make sure you put the right ones in the right place. The drivers side will be marked with a 'D' and the passenger with a 'P', as shown below. So now just pull the entire wiper blade off.

Fan%20Speed%20(5).jpg


You will notice from the photo above that there is also a nut under the wiper blade. This will also need to be removed as we want to get under the black plastic protector.

The only other piece holding the black protector are 5 small clips. You will need something like a nail to push them off a little bit, then you should be able to pull them off with pliers. Sorry I didnt get a photo of these, you should notice them but let me know and I will get a photo if you get stuck. You should now be able to remove the plastic ready for the next part.

Fan%20Speed%20(7).jpg


So the plastic is removed and you should now see this (Damn my car is dirty). The highlighted part in the photo above is the cover of the fan speed resistor. There are two screws holding this in place which will need to be remove. Phillips head, really easy.

Fan%20Speed%20(8).jpg


You should now see this. This is the connector of the fan speed resistor. Simply pull the old one out. On inspection you will notice one of the wire coils will have a break in it. If you wanted to save yourself the $ simply open the metal cage and squeeze them back together, maybe even try soldering. Personally i wouldnt because it is fragile wire and even if you do repair it, it will probably give you troubles again in the future.

Just install your new one and you will be right to go. Everything should go back in the order that you took it off. There isnt much to take apart so you shouldnt have any problems.

As always just let me or one of the 'Just Commodores' hear your Q.

Good Luck
 

hako

Donating Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
8,020
Reaction score
95
Points
48
Age
80
Location
Toowoomba SE QLD
Members Ride
VS11 BT1 V6
Kopper69 - another gem - excellent presentation and very comprehensive. Congratulations.
 

Boonz

Donating Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
4,042
Reaction score
49
Points
0
Age
35
Location
berri, south australia
Members Ride
green 355 VG ute
thats deserves a sticky i reckon :king: great work :thumbsup:
 

fitzy2005

New Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
1,971
Reaction score
12
Points
0
Location
Wide Bay, Queensland
Members Ride
VY S2 Berlina
boona15 said:
thats deserves a sticky i reckon :king: great work :thumbsup:

i agree, this is a very common issue, and is very well explained and illustrated
 

h2obro

New Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Sutherland Shire
Members Ride
VT Series II
Well done. you beat me to do this. There was another thread around with the type of resistor that it is. I heard you can get them back in nz aswell.
 

vzsv8

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2005
Messages
42
Reaction score
4
Points
8
Age
67
Members Ride
VZ SV8
Climate Control

The resistor shown in the 'How to' is for the standard air conditioner. Great write up BTW.
If you have climate control the module is a big transistor inside a similar looking heat sink. The failure mechanism is either no fan at all or full speed at all times, even with the key out of the ignition :my:
The climate control module is over $150 and the short term cure is to pull the fusable link IN FRONT of the engine fuse box, I think it's pink. Just keep pulling them out and replacing until the fan stops.
Three guesses how I found this out :cry:
Cheers, Steve
 

L8N

New Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
62
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
36
Members Ride
VS COMMODORE
could that be why sometimes my fan doesnt work but other times it does, or could it be something else.
 

fitzy2005

New Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
1,971
Reaction score
12
Points
0
Location
Wide Bay, Queensland
Members Ride
VY S2 Berlina
L8N said:
could that be why sometimes my fan doesnt work but other times it does, or could it be something else.
yea sounds like the resistor, its very common problem, ive replaced mine 3 times now, but u may notice it works at certain speeds too :p the last one i replaced woodnt work till i reached 60km/h weird things
 

kopper69

New Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2005
Messages
2,617
Reaction score
38
Points
0
Age
37
Members Ride
VRII Acclaim
You really shouldnt have to replace it at all. 3 times sounds sounds like there is a problem. Using this new style resistor you shouldnt have any failures. They are only resistors so if they fail you should be able to see the problem. The fan not coming on till you reach 60km/hr is not related to the fan speed resistor.
 
Top