Replacing the Fan Speed Resistor

[Gromit]

A $1.60 solution instead of $61 for a fan speed resistor block...
(for VS Commodore)

I have had a couple of the filament resistor failures in the past 12 months.
Have now tried the Jaycar approach. (Thanks to the values posted by Kenwstr)

Used two 5Watt ceramics resistors in parallel for each filament to handle the load while still fitting inside the metal cage over the resistor block.

Used two 3.9 ohm 5 watt resistors in parallel to replace the thinnest filament and two 1.5 ohm 5 watt resistors in parallel to replace the middle filament
(Left the thickest filament - it has never caused me any grief..)

At 40c per 5 watt resistor it's even cheaper than ebay and wreckers...

Been running for two weeks like a dream - I'm back in the quiet club.....
Resistor values seem good - close to original fan speeds!
The toughest part is getting the metal cage off...

Example attached...

[mrhotdog]

mine doesnt work on 1-2 but it does on 3-4. is there two different resistors for 1 and 2 or is it just one that controls all speeds?

[South West Oz Ute]

would this be the same for the VU, just doing some driving and the fan cut out unexpectedly

[Lost_Pete]

Anyone know the best place to buy a new resistor module? Holden quoted me $75.

[pitpit71]

i have a vx calais with climate control the fan doesnt work on any speed the a\c clics in so it is working how do i by pass the resister to see if the fan unit is working or can i test the resister to eliminate the problem...!!!!

[nathanVY]

A $1.60 solution instead of $61 for a fan speed resistor block...
(for VS Commodore)

I have had a couple of the filament resistor failures in the past 12 months.
Have now tried the Jaycar approach. (Thanks to the values posted by Kenwstr)

Used two 5Watt ceramics resistors in parallel for each filament to handle the load while still fitting inside the metal cage over the resistor block.

Used two 3.9 ohm 5 watt resistors in parallel to replace the thinnest filament and two 1.5 ohm 5 watt resistors in parallel to replace the middle filament
(Left the thickest filament - it has never caused me any grief..)

At 40c per 5 watt resistor it's even cheaper than ebay and wreckers...

Been running for two weeks like a dream - I'm back in the quiet club.....
Resistor values seem good - close to original fan speeds!
The toughest part is getting the metal cage off...

Example attached...

dude can you build me one of these for a VR?
let me know how much inc. shipping to geelong, vic (3220).

[Matty621]

The toughest part is getting the metal cage off...

How DID you get the metal cage off??? I can see my broken resistor and have plenty of leftover nichrome wire from my old car... If only I had a soldering iron to fit through that damn birdcage!

[Barto76]

A $1.60 solution instead of $61 for a fan speed resistor block...
(for VS Commodore)

I have had a couple of the filament resistor failures in the past 12 months.
Have now tried the Jaycar approach. (Thanks to the values posted by Kenwstr)

Used two 5Watt ceramics resistors in parallel for each filament to handle the load while still fitting inside the metal cage over the resistor block.

Used two 3.9 ohm 5 watt resistors in parallel to replace the thinnest filament and two 1.5 ohm 5 watt resistors in parallel to replace the middle filament
(Left the thickest filament - it has never caused me any grief..)

At 40c per 5 watt resistor it's even cheaper than ebay and wreckers...

Been running for two weeks like a dream - I'm back in the quiet club.....
Resistor values seem good - close to original fan speeds!
The toughest part is getting the metal cage off...

Example attached...

Apologies for the bump but did a search for fixing the fan in the car and found this thread. I tried this fix after the local Holden dealer quoted me $82 (!!!) for a replacement and went down to Jaycar (the resistors there are still $1.60) and it works! Worth the effort as opposed to what Holden are gouging for this part.

[db_notso]

normally faults are like this (especially vt - vz)

common:
no fan at all any speed = fuses or switch
fan only on high = fan speed resistor

uncommon but occasionally see:
fan on high and 2 3 (not 1 and it would be noisy see below 4 description) = siezing blower motor

the fan speed resistor drops the voltage on setting 1 2 3 therefore makes fan spin slower (get it?)
on high the power doesnt go through the resistor it goes straight to the fan on a different wire and fuse" (hence only works on high when resistor dead (common fault too!~))

the main reason a fan speed resistor fails is either age (lots of use)
or a "bind-ing up blower motor bearing if its the bearing in the fan (behind glove box) you will hear a fast light noise under the L/H dash on low and will get faster when you go to speed 2 if this is the case recomend you replace this as well or you may be up for another $50.00 resistor

hope that helps ,

[VSB]

The fan resistor is quite a reliable unit, common fault is the on the soldering joints, called a dry solder joint. You can t see this with the eye.
Just get a soldering iron and heat add a bit more solder to the back of the circuit board and freshen up the connections. Done this on both my commodores now and save some money!........ Do this before buying a new fan resistor

[ChoppaReid]

Hey folks,
had a similiar problem in my VS stato.
fan speeds were shyte 1 and 2 but 3 and 4 were ok.
read somewhere pullling the fuel pump relay resets BCM which controls all sorts of bits n pieces.
Low and behold, aircon now back to full pump on all levels (even auto, where it previously played dead)
(pretty good considering i only re-gassed it last year)

[hi_ryder]

A $1.60 solution instead of $61 for a fan speed resistor block...
(for VS Commodore)

I have had a couple of the filament resistor failures in the past 12 months.
Have now tried the Jaycar approach. (Thanks to the values posted by Kenwstr)

Used two 5Watt ceramics resistors in parallel for each filament to handle the load while still fitting inside the metal cage over the resistor block.

Used two 3.9 ohm 5 watt resistors in parallel to replace the thinnest filament and two 1.5 ohm 5 watt resistors in parallel to replace the middle filament
(Left the thickest filament - it has never caused me any grief..)

At 40c per 5 watt resistor it's even cheaper than ebay and wreckers...

Been running for two weeks like a dream - I'm back in the quiet club.....
Resistor values seem good - close to original fan speeds!
The toughest part is getting the metal cage off...

Example attached...

i got to pick a part with cargo pants on so it cant be cheaper than a 1 dollar entry fee... thanks for the info though going next weekend for some pocket trinkets... i love this website...

[hi_ryder]

so i pulled the resistor from my cali style project vn calais, robbing it for the vp berlina just to find that it too had a split medium resistor wire. so rather than wasting my time at the wreckers i hit jaycar on sydney rd coburg (5 mins from my house). i did 2 of them at the same time for both my cars. i used a small flathead screwdriver to lever the cage away from the base. reaching inside the cage and also prying from the bottom. dosent matter if you mess up the plastic base a little. once apart all i did was flatten the crimped metal with a set of beefy pliers then shave off the mushroomed out plastic with a stanley knife so that the cage will slide back into the groves with out too much hassle. when the cage is in place just punch it with a screwdriver and a hammer to recrimp the cage to the base. copied the above example thanks "Gromit". used 2 3.9 ohm 5 watt resistors for the smallest wire and 2 1.5 ohm 5 watt resistors for the medium wire. worked a treat, back in the quiet club yaaay! took some happy snaps

[CRCinAU]

How have these resistor packs from Jaycar 5W resistors holding up?

#1 2.0 ohms
#2 0.8 ohms
#3 0.5 ohms
#4 direct connection to fan

Hmmm - and you used 2 x 5W in parallel which gives you:
- 1.5 ohm 5W x 2 = 0.75 ohms @ 10W
- 3.9 ohm 5W x 2 = 1.95 ohms @ 10W

Keep in mind that the elements are in series so the resistance on:

1 is 2.0 + 0.8 + 0.5
2 is 0.8 + 0.5
3 is 0.5
4 is zero

Plus fan load of course.

I used a amp meter but It had a blown resistor internally which was replaced. Since then the meter is probably not calibrated correctly and I think is reading high. My readings give:

1 4 A
2 11 A
3 18 A
4 25 A

This is bloody close enough to the above measured resistances... What I'm wondering though is if 10W is enough...

Assuming you have just the low speed selected, you're dragging 4A @ 12v through the resistor - which as we don't know the resistance of the fan, we know the wattage through the resistors will be somewhere under 48W.

At speed setting #2, you'd be dragging 11A @ 12v - being 132W

Anyone who has modified there pack care to comment?

[pepstar87]

Does this also apply to VX? I need a DIY replacement guide for VX if possible
Thanks

[LJ RB30]

Have recently acquired a VS and am in the process of fixing all the problems. I have just done this fix, thank god i looked thru here first cose i was about to rip the switch out etc.... Thanks for the info guys!

[crabby]

same problem with fan only blowing on 4 i tried the replacement resistor. got one from the wreckers that looked ok so preceded to pull mine out to find this in there...the one on the right....decided to try the cage version anyway and no luck..still the same

[IMG][/IMG]

[hi_ryder]

How have these resistor packs from Jaycar 5W resistors holding up?



Hmmm - and you used 2 x 5W in parallel which gives you:
- 1.5 ohm 5W x 2 = 0.75 ohms @ 10W
- 3.9 ohm 5W x 2 = 1.95 ohms @ 10W



This is bloody close enough to the above measured resistances... What I'm wondering though is if 10W is enough...

Assuming you have just the low speed selected, you're dragging 4A @ 12v through the resistor - which as we don't know the resistance of the fan, we know the wattage through the resistors will be somewhere under 48W.

At speed setting #2, you'd be dragging 11A @ 12v - being 132W

Anyone who has modified there pack care to comment?

i drove my vp today for 2 hours with the aircon on speed 1 and 2. no problems yet, just smooth operating....

[mrflibbles]

just a quick thanks for the how to!
I replaced the resistor in my VR on friday night, my words of advice are dont do it in a rush like i did! put it in put it all back together only to find it only worked on 4 still! so i had to pull everything apart again, then pulled the resistor out and found i had bent one of the connection blades! oh well straightened it back out and tested before i put it back together. It worked on all settings!
nothing worse than doing the same job twice because you were in a rush!
next job is the rooflining when i find one!

[drewVHSS]

My VR heater blower does not work at all, not on any speed, would this be the resistor as well?
Thanks in advance.

If you have a look at where the wiring plug goes into your heater fan motor under the dash, you'll find it's melted. Very common for the heater fan motor to burn out and draw too much current and pop the fuse in the small fuse block (next to the main fuse/relay block)
The fuse usually unfortunately pops after you've managed to melt the plug into the fan motor's socket.
Have fun with the "dash out" replacement.