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VR Air Con/Blower won't turn off!

Jambv

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Thanks for all the replies guys. I have just come home after buying the $40 Haynes repair manual for the VR & the only thing behind the windscreen valence (ie the plastic cover the wiper arms are attached to) is the heater assembly & heater core. There are no relays or fuses up there. The manual says the air con system needs to be evacuated (drained) before playing so I'll probably end up taking it to Holden :)
 

Jambv

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Looking back at your post I forgot you were talking about a statesman which may have some extra parts around the heater core so I had a look at the manual & couldn't find any reference to a fan amplifier assembly. I realise that the manual isn't exhaustive so I will take it to an auto electrician before Holden because the problem seems to be electrical more than mechanical.
 

statesman_vs_s1

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I cant garentee what i have written to be correct,
but i am just informing you of a problem had with our old VR Statesman which sounds very similar.

The certainty about the windscreen valance as apparently when the auto elec took it off, he left it off until the part arrived, leaving us driving around for 4 days with none. Thats why we are sure of its location.

Remember, it doesnt cost to ask questions and as for manuals, its probably limited as the fan amplifier would only be on those with climate control, and the manuals are usually based on the base model commodore.

See how ya go anyway :wave:
 

Demons1964

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statesman_vs_s1 is correct, the fan amplifier is your problem (I've had 2 fail before myself). It's a problem specific to those cars with climate control and the Haynes manual proabably leaves off some of the detail for those cars seeing as the bulk of cars sold then had the standard aircon. If when you turn the car off the blower goes at full speed irrespective of what setting you have the climate control set to I'd like to welcome you to the "Faulty Fan Amplifier Club". The calais and statesman have identical contruction in the climate control area so anyone who's seen the problem in a statesman can work on a calais. Now, how to fix it.

You can save yourself some money and don't bother taking it to Holden or an autoelectrician, it's a very simple fix - doesn't require any electrical know-how to fix it. And the aircon doesn't need to be degassed!! The fan amplifier is located in the plenum chamber (the windscreen valence mentioned in the previous post). Leave your battery disconnected and remove the plenum cover underneath the windscreen wipers. For detailed directions refer to this link here (Step 11 will have a white cover). The fan amplifier is a grey aluminium heatsink - you'll see a bunch of stubby thin grey rods. When you've disconnected the wiring and removed the screws pull out the amplifier and have a look at the base of it - housed inside the heatsink is a small circuit board and chances are the transistor has blown (you may see a black smudge from when the transistor blew). The original from Holden can be expensive ($170+) but there are other places that sell it as a changeover item.

Alternatively if you're handy with the soldering iron refer to this thread.

Let us know how you go.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
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flashgordon

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A quick fix to keep you going without flattening the Battery. Untill a repair can be made.
Pullout the Blower fuse located in the small box just behind the battery.
Gordon.
VS Berlina
 

SIKVR

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wiv this Problem would that result in the battery going flat for no reason.
I've had the battery Dropped charged and tested and the battery is fine, but wen climate controll does its thing its like its sucking life out of the Electrical system.
 

kopper69

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Hard to say unless you know a bit about electrical system and can test the batteries voltage and the current being drawn. I dont believe it would be. The battery is a very powerful little box, the climate control would have to be working fairly hard to drain the battery. Far more likely to be something like dodgy terminals.
 

theburna

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statesman did the same

its the relay behind the valance.
don't go to holden, just unplug it and if the fan goes off its that, nothing to do with evac of air conditioning lines either.
I got mine done by a mobile elec, $240 did my sons in 40 minutes for $48
Make sure you buy the new relay, looks like a heat sink. No wires
 
V

VY Clubsport

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SIKVR, yes it does as it slowly but surely drained my battery many times and eventually killed it. I believe it must create some sort of slow current leakage.

A much better short term fix (and free) is simply leave the "BLOWER FAN" relay in (FWD Driver side in Engine Bay and pale pink in colour), but disconnect the electrical plug on the FAN SPEED AMPLIFIER itself (underneath the black plastic Valence panel the wipers are connected to as previously discussed).
This will allow you to still use the climate control on fan speed HI only (speed 3 on the LCD display from memory). At least this allows you to have heating/cooling while you get around to chasing up a new transistor or unit.

I hope this has helped at least someone here.

-Dave
 
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