Heater Blower

[DiscoStu]

I've just discovered the Bongo way of life two weeks ago, and have been away a couple of times already in our new toy - N plate 2.5diesel AFT.

I'm not sure how the heater should work. When you turn it on, nothing happens, then five or ten minutes later the blower starts blowing. At the weekend (we had sunshine) it would only blow hot air, and the aircon was no use (though I realise this may need charged).

The question is should the fans come on straight away, or does the electronic unit have a delay on it, to say wait for the enginer to warm up or something. The previous owner said it was a bit temperamental, but on asking a garage they said this was normal, and was waiting for the engine to come up to temperature. Sounds a bit strange to me !

What're your experiences ?

Thanks,
Stuart

p.s. great forum !

[TonyBee]

The blower motor has a habit of seizing due to the gulley drain under the windscreen blocking and flooding the motor.
Mine did this and caused the control resistors to overheat and melt their soldered contacts.
The first thing to do is unblock the drain tube then remove the motor and free it up.
If the resistor pack has overheated then it is a simple job to re-solder it.

[missfixit70]

Fans should come on straight away, if it's the digital system, they may take a few seconds to speed up depending on temperature selected, but not ten minutes, this FAQ should point you in the right direction - http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 43&t=28727.

[DiscoStu]

Thanks for your very fast replies!

The drain pipe was unblocked in the first weekend of new ownership. So it's possible the motor could have got a bit damp in the past. Maybe like you say the current is increasing, and does so until it comes on. I don't know, I'm not very electrically minded (though should be able to do some soldering!). I'll have a look at the info, and see if I can figure it out.

At least now I know it's not normal !

Thanks again
Stuart

[jaylee]

Just a thought Stuart, Regarding the blower inconsistency...

Do you switch on the fan before setting of on your travel..? & with the fans operation "five or ten minutes later" would your vehicle be traversing an uneven or bumpy road??

[DiscoStu]

It was switched on during the journey. On a dual carriageway, which was smooth enough.

Had visitors round all weekend, so not had a proper chance to check it out yet.

Hopefully there's an easy fix !

[DiscoStu]

It's taken me a while, but armed with the heater factsheet, a screwdriver and a 10mm socket I managed to take the fan motor out. It looks like water had got in and damaged the solder joints.

A quick resoldering of the bush connections and that seemed to do the job.

It'll be nice to have the use of the blowers next time we're out !

Thanks for your help.
Stuart

[buntytw26]

I'm glad you asked that question as we were freezing when away the other week for the first time. In know this is a daft question but I'm assuming the engine needs to be on for the rear heating to work?

Think I'm just going to buy a fan heater to run on electric for when we are in sites.

[widdowson2008]

Not a daft question if you don't know the answer, but yes, the engine needs to be running for the hot coolant to be pumped round. This applies to both front and rear heaters - they are both effectively on the same circuit.

BTW - Nice job DiscoStu

[buntytw26]

Thanks Steve!