Cab Heater Fan Intermittently working.

[MitSurfbishi]

Ive had my '95 L400 Exceed II for about a year now also a L300 for 4 years before that, and one thing Ive always counted on is the blasting heaters my Vans have had....especially after surfing!

Just last week after surfing my windows fogged up and my front blower fan stopped pushing air at me!! Then it came on again, then stopped, over and over. It will come on for a few min and take the chill off then just stop again, with all settings totally cranked, on min, or med, still the same.

Of course I checked the fuse and found it to be fine, pulled it and replaced it with no change.

The rear blower still seems to work as normal.

I have now noticed a vibrating, pulsing sort of slow fan blade tapping, weakening and dying sound coming from under the passenger side dash.
Before I start ripping my whole dash apart, just wondering if this sounds familiar to anyone?

Hopefully keeping the repair somewhat easier, my van did not come with the electronic climate controlling system.

[MitSurfbishi]

Update...
So I pulled out the glove box, located the ticking, dying fan sound, gave the bottom of the fan motor a whack with a screwdriver and....
WHOOSH.... Hot air in the face!

Fan motor behind Glovebox.

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Now will it last is the question...what caused it in the first place?
Probably gonna need to replace the fan at some point I would think.

Anyways, a small cheap victory for today.

[Diver]

At a guess i'd say the brushes in the fan motor are worn/sticking. Hitting things does persuade them to work on occasion!

[CREGAN]

I made a filter/cover for the cabin air intake because I noticed a HUGE amount of bug carcasses that were being sucked into the fan area of the dash and it was starting to stink. Since I have put the cover on it has been shocking the amount of bugs and debris that gets sucked in. My guess it that it had something to do with build up of debris. By tapping it you probably dislodged something (it will blow out eventually). I would recommend rigging up a cover of some sorts to stop them from being sucked in. My first prototype was just a cut to fit dryer sheet. Even that helped.

Craig

[MitSurfbishi]

Hey thanks for the input guys. Cregan, did u drop out the fan to find all the little sacrificial carcasses? I'm considering doing that just to see if it is full of possible other restricting "bodies". The filter screen is a great Idea...making one right now out of a HVAC floor register filter.

[madmazda]

Craig pics please..... anted to try to do the same thing....

[CREGAN]

No I didn't drop the fan to empty them out, but I think once I cut off the supply of "freshies" they eventually blew out of the front defrost vents. The stink was really bad for a while because I think the fan not only gets an injection of bug carcasses but water too. I have found that my new filter gets pretty saturated just from driving in the rain/wet snow sometimes, or when you pressure wash the front air intake at the car wash. But it does not let the water pass, at least not as much as it used to.

Here is what I did: Bought a box of replacement charcol filters for an air purifier we have in the house and when I saw them a very tiny lightbulb came on. At the time I had been using an old dryer sheet cut to fit and held on by the suction- so when the engine was off, so too was the dryer sheet. I cut a piece of the charcol filters to fit and then I used 4 of my wifes bobby pins to keep it held in place against the grate. Works awesome and eliminated the odor. I think the filter replacments are about $15 at london drugs.

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Craig

[madmazda]

sweet I'll give that a go

[Adam]

The fan for my front heater died too. I checked behind the glove box but I didn't see the fan housing, is it a different location on the '94 model?

[RickJ]

Looks good Cregan, nice idea. I think I will borrow your idea and build my own if you dont mind.

[Big-Bird]

Interesting how common problems crop up on these Deli's. My front fan started to misbehave recently but my issue is related to the actual fan speed switch on the dash. I am quite sure the brass contacts inside are filthy. Blower motor will probably benefit from an exhumation of dust/insects/what the hell is that?!?! from the blower box assembly. I too will try the charcoal filter idea that Craig put out there. Good idea for sure!

[Ruckus]

Hi There,

I've been looking through the forums for heater issues and this one seems to be the most fitting place to post. I am getting low/no flow through my defrost vents which is maddening. I pulled and replaced the heater fan but still no change. I have checked the air intake for blockage but beyond that I suspect that there is a physical block somewhere in the ducting. Perhaps something has come loose and covered the duct inside? Has anyone had a similar issue or do they have any tips? My next step is to pull apart my dash and start getting into it. Would love for there to be an easier fix.

Cheers,

Sam