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Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS
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dhaavers
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 5:55 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

^^^ Ultimately, I settled on a 3-speed (4 position) switch: 1=OFF, 2=low, 3=med,
4=full speed (direct wired, i.e.: not through resistor)

As someone else posted, the difference between high speed (via the resistor) and
FULL speed (direct wired, full 12v) is negligible, so when my cheap replacement
4-speed (5-position) switch died I went with a "standard" 3-speed (4-position)
switch & it's all good.

I'm now 4 years into this mod & still works great for me... Cool

- Dave
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markswagen
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 09, 2019 7:52 am    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

I have to say thank you, to the OP, I have done this for several customers now.
One thing I have to add, if the van has a BMW brake booster on it already, there's very little room to see the top of the resistor, with that in mind, the last one I did, was an aircooled westy to EJ swap, I had previously added the BMW booster, with limited space I put the resistor in the same spot, but on the other side of the heater box, since I was rewiring it anyway, the additional few feet of wiring is a nothing, if it should fail in the future, access is now from the glove box area.
I'm happy enough with the installation, that from now on, I will be putting them on that side anyway.
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dhaavers
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:03 am    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

^^^ Indeed! Well done, good sir! Cool

- Dave
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jtorry
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 19, 2020 3:26 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

Hi There.
Has anyone done this install on a diesel air box?
I believe that the location in the thread that people have used is irregular on mine.
I’ve installed the Saturn Vue EPS, so access from the drivers side below is blocked.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Looking down with cluster removed.
Was thinking maybe I could install on the flat spot on the top right?

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Or maybe the same spot on the passenger side top left here?
I was attempting to install w/o removing the dash as I previously removed the stock resistor when I had the dash apart a few years ago and had installed a PWM that recently went up on smoke.

Any information appreciated and thanks to the OP for sharing this info.
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bajaleo Premium Member
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 4:34 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

I have added the Jeep resistor as part of a heater box rebuild, along with a new fan motor. One item to disclose up front. I've been bench testing with a 12V battery charger set on the lowest of the two amp settings, which is 2 amps.

While bench testing I wasn't getting the results I was expecting as far as a difference in fan speeds from 1 to 4 with the Jeep resistor and a new 5 position fan switch as shown in the above posts, so I decided to bench test with the old resistor and old switch. There must be something I'm not understanding because with the old switch and resistor on the high setting, the fan isn't spinning as fast as when I attach 12V directly to the motor.

Does the switch reduce the voltage that the fan motor sees at high setting?

This is a little frustrating as I'm trying to put the heater box back in the van so that I can put the dash back in so that I can start driving it again!

Here's a video showing the difference in speed.

https://youtu.be/Ufj6Oy_mbI4

Grateful for any advice.
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DanHoug
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 4:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

the heater fan switches burn out with regularity. that tells me there's voltage drop, heat, and sure, fan won't run as fast as with a good connection.

VW wiring is juuuust barely adequate when everything is new and shiny. add a bit of dryness to motor bushings and things begin to get warm.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 5:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

Thanks for the reply Dan.

Is a 12V battery charger a good source of 12V for bench testing or should I acquire a battery to supply 12V?

DanHoug wrote:
the heater fan switches burn out with regularity. that tells me there's voltage drop, heat, and sure, fan won't run as fast as with a good connection.

VW wiring is juuuust barely adequate when everything is new and shiny. add a bit of dryness to motor bushings and things begin to get warm.

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 5:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

bajaleo wrote:
Thanks for the reply Dan.

Is a 12V battery charger a good source of 12V for bench testing or should I acquire a battery to supply 12V?


that's fine for testing. if you REALLY want to be skookum, put a battery charger on a battery and test. chargers put out a pretty rough DC current with lots of ripple, the battery smoothes it out, acting as a huge capacitor to filter the output of the charger.

i've got a couple small Prius ECU AGM batteries that are sorta lightweight and have a great handle on them. perfect for bench testing, don't spill or spit acid, and are "free" after replacing the ECU battery as they still have some life left in them.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 5:51 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

A typical battery charger is pretty hopeless as a power supply. Either they're dumb and have far too much ripple on them (just full-wave rectified) or they're semi 'intelligent' and don't like providing current when there's no battery connected - these like to see at least 8 volts. Plus 2A is inadequate for the blower motor, particularly at start-up.

Just a battery is fine for go/no-go testing, but for performance testing you also need a charger or power supply across it to keep it at about 14V to simulate being in a running van.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 7:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

Unless you have a commercial grade battery charger with a jump mode, you won't be getting anywhere near the power needed to spin that blower fan.

You need a battery to spin that fan.

Dave
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:52 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

bajaleo wrote:
...Does the switch reduce the voltage that the fan motor sees at high setting?

Nope. "High speed" is 12v direct to the motor....(check your wiring)... Wink

- Dave
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 4:44 pm    Post subject: Blower switch connections question Reply with quote

After more testing I can concur with everyone who responded that a battery charger is not a good source of 12V. A real battery is required.

Another question regarding my particular van. After looking at this page in the Bentley, can anyone tell me why I have a yellow/black wire coming out of the 4 position of my blower switch? This diagram shows 3 positions and power. I have all three fan speeds without using it.

It's been so long since I removed the heater box from the van that I don't remember how it was hooked up.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

You can use a jump pack, but it has to be a beefy one with basically a golf cart battery in it. I have one of these. It's great. I use it a surprising amount. Very handy. Testing blower motors, injectors, lights, starters, actually jumping cars, etc...

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https://www.ebay.com/c/1435566319
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2020 2:32 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

I now have 4 fan speeds also! Much thanks to Dave for starting this thread, and for everyone else who shared their experience.

I located my resistor on the passenger side like Markswagen does because I'm adding a BMW brake booster. I bought the OEM Jeep resistor and also the ebay resistor to get the plug that came with it.

One more question I have. Before I button the heater box back up, is there a consensus on replacing the wiring, such as the brown ground wire and the yellow power wire to the motor?

How about the wiring between the switch and the resistor? And what gauge should I use if I do?

Happy New Year everyone.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2020 4:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

IIRC, I used 14AWG because I had it on hand, but your Bentley spec looks like 16AWG.
Either works, but a little bit larger is better than anything smaller... Evil or Very Mad Wink

- Dave
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 3:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

For anyone doing this mod in the future, I just wanted to point out that the device circled in yellow is a thermal fuse.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.



So whichever resistors you choose for your speeds, it is prudent to wire the lower speeds through the thermal fuse. That way if the resistors heat up too much when you're running on low speed their heat will blow the thermal fuse instead of melting your air handling box and causing other badness.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:53 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

I just got done rebuilding a Vanagon heater box, with foam flaps, a new core and blower plus this mod. I wired up the blower the same as the OP, but when I test with a five pole switch, I get four distinct speeds, but no off...as in, the off position is the lowest speed. Has anyone had a similar situation. I haven't had time to dive into the diagnostics, (it's been a long day), so I'm hoping someone has some experiential insights.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 8:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

Zeitgeist 13 wrote:
I just got done rebuilding a Vanagon heater box, with foam flaps, a new core and blower plus this mod. I wired up the blower the same as the OP, but when I test with a five pole switch, I get four distinct speeds, but no off...as in, the off position is the lowest speed. Has anyone had a similar situation. I haven't had time to dive into the diagnostics, (it's been a long day), so I'm hoping someone has some experiential insights.


your van is reacting to a jeep part being implanted in in VW being. the white coolant cells are on their way to eradicate the infection.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 8:55 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

Oh no! He's going to have to act quick before a Subaru motor materializes in his engine bay!
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 9:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Dash blower rebuild with (cheap) Jeep resistor - w/PICS Reply with quote

[eyeroll]...this isn't my van.

I've done this mod before and had no issues, but this one is a little confusing.
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