Blower Motor Went Bang

[Buncers]

Well - on the hottest day of the year so far my blower motor went clatter clatter bang.

Air con still working - but not too effective.

 

Anyone had this go. Can't find a reference on this site.

 

Just phoned Frauds (148+VAT) for a new motor. Anyone know where I can get it any cheaper.

[Guest stevebm1]

SURELY YOUR LOCAL SCRAPYARD WOULD BE CHEAPER?

[Guest MATT]

as clear as mud, do you mean the radiator fan, or the fans in the vents (dash)?

 

as said already, a good look in the scrap yards should do the trick.

 

MATT

[Buncers]

I thought "Blower Motor" was pretty clear - that's what Haynes call it anyway.

 

It is the thing that pumps cold or hot air at you (in the cabin) from the Air Con, Heater or outside

 

Some of the fins have been broken off - don't know how

[Guest MATT]

its properly someone (or little monster :)) that have stuck objects down the vents, and broke them, i have had a look on e-bay, and they have only got dash fans for other models. have a go at giving VW a ring, many say that the galaxy is mostly VW, and it is likely that the fans are vw, if anyone knows the part number?

 

MATT

[Buncers]

I found some of the broken bits (a plastic fin) and plan to glue them back on. Any suggestions on what glue to use ?

[Guest MATT]

if the actual motors still work, then good idea. i would suggest finding a model shop, and ask for a strong glue for plastics, i have listed some web sites below, that i would recommend.

 

al's hobbies

stevewebb

srcm

 

you should know though, if a propeller is not balanced properly (ie, missing one blade out of 4) it will be unstable and vibrate at higher speeds.

 

MATT

[Guest stevebm1]

gripfill,sounds silly but it sticks to anything and sets rock hard!

[Guest kev140766]

The blower had gone on mine shortly before I bought it as all the paperwork came with the car. A local garage charged

[Ivor_E_Tower]

...... I would suggest finding a model shop, and ask for a strong glue for plastics, i have listed some web sites below, that i would recommend.

If anyone knows what glue will stick the plastic that Barbies are made out of, my younger daughter will be most grateful. Have so far tried general adhesives like Bostic, hard plastic glue, polystyrene (plastic model cars), hot-melt glue gun ......

[Guest galaxybits]

Mine did the very same thing today, very loud thud then loads of vibration.

Plan to take it off tomorrow for a look-see.

 

Would be interested to know how you get on.

 

Fords electrical bits are a ridiculous price

[Buncers]

I tried glue, but it just fell apart again in operation. So I removed the loose fins and opposite fins to balance them out.

 

I have now re-installed it and it works OK at setting 2, but is pretty rumbly at 3 and 4.

 

I'll see how it goes for now. The scrap merchants want 60 - 80 quid. Bit steep for old parts with only 3 months guarantee.

 

I'll going to check on VW parts and aftermarket.

[Guest MATT]

if you search for 'ford galaxy' in eBay, there are often folks selling off parts, i wouldn't of thought a fan would be all that much demanded - put it this way, it wont cost to look, and you will properly get one, or two, depending on how many of your fans a giving in with all this heat.

 

MATT

 

STAND BACK! my car is falling to bits around me lol

[Guest galaxybits]

Took the blower out and found the same problem, 6 blades broken off the plastic cage fan. It must be fatigue as I can't see or feel any objects in the ducting that might have damaged the blades. Presumably the pollen filter would prevent this anyway.

 

Found one in a London breakers for

[Buncers]

Galaxybits

 

Out of interest - what year is your Galaxy and how old is the replacement motor you found

[Guest galaxybits]

Galaxy is 1996P 1.9TDI with manual Aircon

 

I gave them the part number from the motor plastic casing. Taking a chance on the age, but then its

[Buncers]

Amazing - same year as mine. Must be a Fraud special - everything that can falls apart on the 9th aniversery.

 

Good luck with the new motor.

[Guest marcusheawood]

Purely as an aside I have found that the absolute best glue for most hard plastics is the stuff I use for bonding waste pipe when re-plumbing bathrooms kitchens etc.

 

It actually melts the plastic slightly creating a repair like plastic welding.

 

Try it on your barbies!!!!!!!! :D

[Guest MATT]

Purely as an aside I have found that the absolute best glue for most hard plastics...

...and what is this fantastic glue?

 

MATT

[Guest marcusheawood]

Dunno wot it's called, but pop into a plumbers merchant and ask for pipe bonding cement, there's loads of different brands and I've left mine on a job...

[GSMGuy]

Matt, it's full name is.. "Non Pressusure solvent weld cement" I use it on the waste fittinggs for the sinks when at work..

 

Remember the old "airfix" kits?? Same stuff, with a smell that gets you as high as a kite....

 

As said, it basically melts the components slightly, so they duse together... Just grabbed a tub out of the van, I quote..

 

"Suitable for use on UPVC, MUPS and ABS plastics"

 

HTH

 

Mike

[Guest galaxybits]

Did consider glueing the six broken blades back in place but with the speed it rotates at, I think that a balance would be difficult to achieve and would lead to vibration especially at the higher speeds.

 

BTW I may have sorted the resistor problem as well. One section of the resistor pack failed a while ago, so no fan on speeds 1 and 2.

 

Did some measurements with a DVMM and settled on a 1R resistor, had a 25w version so tried that and it worked a treat but having measured the voltage drop I calculated the dissipation at 36w so have ordered a 50w version from RS components.

[Guest galaxybits]

Just to finish this one off. Motor turned up a promised and turned out to be only 18 months old. Same part no. as original although they have re-designed the plastic cage fan, it has more but smaller blades now. Not as well balanced on high speed either but perfectly OK.

 

Got the resistor fitted on a small heatsink on the back of the original resistor pack, seems to work well.

 

Mark

[Masked Marauder]

Just to finish this one off. Motor turned up a promised and turned out to be only 18 months old. Same part no. as original although they have re-designed the plastic cage fan, it has more but smaller blades now. Not as well balanced on high speed either but perfectly OK.

 

Got the resistor fitted on a small heatsink on the back of the original resistor pack, seems to work well.

 

Mark

Do you fancy explaing the resistor side in more detail?

[Guest galaxybits]

The fan speed is governed by a pack of 3 resistors and the blower switch. At positions 1-3 either 1, 2, or 3 resistors are placed in series with the blower motor. Position 4 supplies full voltage to the motor (no resistor).

 

I had a problem with the 2nd resistor, so no operation on speeds 1 and 2. I measured the value of the two good resistors 0.2R and 1.7R (approx) and went for 1R for the damaged one.

 

The issue is though, that they are wire wound high wattage resistors that need to dissipate a fair ammount of heat. Tha'ts why they are mounted inside the air delivery system. Although the mounting aperture is small there is a lot of space inside, so I 'piggybacked' a 1R 50watt resistor mounted on a small heat sink and wired it to the relevent pins on the module to replace the damaged one. (solid copper wire with heat resistant sleaving)

 

It works fine although having driven around for a day I think that the value may be a little high as speeds 1 and 2 are slower than I remember. R.S. do the same package in R68 and R5 (0.68 & 0.5 ohms) so I may try one of those. This would also drop the power dissipation requirements. (all good practice for your secondary school Physics) :(

 

Mark