uh-oh. (heating/defrost problem)

[Ursula]

it cot cold all of a sudden. and with the cold came a weird grumbling clatter when i turned the heat on. now there's no air at all coming out, or even weird noises.
So... it's cold, i have no heat, and i have to drive with the windows open to keep the windshield from fogging up.
I'll replace the fuse tonight, but i think it might be the fan?

I'm hoping you all have a suggestion, things to try... instructions on replacing the fan($?)

I am scheduled to drive from the island to winnipeg in a few days, and really (!) hope i can clear this up before i go...

I'll buy a sixpack for the first person to solve the problem?

Thanks so much to the ever omnipotent delica forum.

-Nathan

[thedjjack]

never looked at my heater in the delica.

Pull the fan power plug and test for power.

Has power = fan motor

No power = power problem

Also, usually a resister that does the fan speeds test for power on both sides (typically you loss a fan speeds (sometimes go unnoticed by people until no fan speeds left)..

[Ursula]

Well, it's not the fuse. After much fussing about inside the dash with a handy wiring diagram provided by the previous owner it seems that all the wires are going where they needs to be. (although i don't have a voltmeter to check for sure)
All the mechanical parts of the heater control seem to work fine.
I've deduced that it's either the control switch preventing the power getting to the fan or it's the fan/resistor.
But there was no loss of fan speed control prior to catastrophic failure, (I didn't know that, thank you for helpin eliminate the possibilities, djjack) so i bet it's the motor.
especially because of the grinding sounds.
Either something fell in and jammed the motor, causing it to die, or it just showed it's age.
Regardless, I'm frustrated and i'm gunna bite the bullet and bring it in to a shop tomorrow.
Unless someone has had a similar experience, and fixed it with some bubble gum, a paperclip or duct tape.

If it's going to be really pricey, I'll likely get one of those 12V heater/fan thingies from Canadian Tire, and just run it off of the lighter jack or my Nautilus Battery.

[Luna-Sea]

Hey,
as dumb as it might sound you can try reaching under and
giving the the fan unit a smack.(think bad-dog ate my favorite sandwich smack level,no too hard but definitely firm )
Otherwise you could try bypassing the switch to see if the fan is hooped or not?
Are you maybe missing a pen/parking-pass/crystal/gnome/plastic Jesus or Virging Mary ect.
from your dash? It migh be sitting down in the fan.

I have a whole complete heating and Fan unit you can mess with
if you want, I think the fan might actually twist or screw out come to
think of it. I am in Nanaimo,you could spin it up to CCautos.

Those plug-in heater thingers I generally feel are useless,
but there is a little sponge-type thinger called a "FOG-OFF"
I think. Its used for wiping inside auto window condensation
and work great.(home hardware 6bux I think)

Good Luck

PM u my cell,I am around more or less the next couple of days if you need those parts.

[Ursula]

Thanks, Luna sea! But i already skipped town with one of those 99 dollar POS from crappy tire. you were right. useless.
returning it tomorrow.
I made it to Winnipeg, and having regained feeling in my toes, i can now starting dealing with the MAJOR problem that arose on the way here.
you see, my "uh-oh." was upgraded to "OH F***!" when i was in Jasper.
The day previous i had noticed that my headlights were a bit dim. then, after sleepin in the cold cold parking lot... catastrophic failure... headlights -out, hazard lights -out, blinkers, stereo, clock, interior lights, break lights... all out. my lighters still worked though, and the rear fan (no heat) as well as the wipers and dashboard gear lighting and 4wd light. there on i drove only the daylight hours, all the way to winnipeg. through crazy blizzards and snowstorms. 8 hours at a time. while scraping frost off the inside of the windshield. lots of angry truckers as i went 60 along the highway, despite 4wd ing it, and with chains on. lots of cheap coffee. lots of use out of the nautilus and the 12v heat blanket. yesterday the turn signals randomly started working again.
my question: anyone know of a good automotive electrician in winnipeg? and if so... any one know what to tell them? beyond what happened?

[fexlboi]

Simple question first. Have you checked your fuses?

[Manitoba deli]

Sent you a pm with info on a good shop in Winnipeg, or you can back track to my place (3 hrs) and I'll look at it for you.

Jason

[Ursula]

I absolutely checked the fuses, every last one of them. there was one that may have had a hairline, so i replaced it. no dice.
Thank you "manitoba deli" I'll give you a call in the morning and see if we can arrange something! I'll likely head over to the place you suggested, as i'm very tired of driving in the ice box.
anti freeze on the inside of the windshield huh? why didn't i think of that?

[thedjjack]

Did you check the fuseable links?

Looking at the wiring diagram: R fuseable link includes: brake/backup lights, signals, headlights, instrument cluster, (not sure if the heater is on it since the heater was not on the diagram I looked at). I would start there.

A tester and a few minutes may find your problems.

If you are taking it to the shop I would print of the electrical diagrams as I suspect they will not have them and generally you pay flat rate for the mechanic to find it.

[dfnder]

This may not help clear your windshield but... crank the rear heater :)

Sounds like your fan is hooped, what happens when you try AC? Like you want it any colder hehe, btw I'm saying a prayer for all the little guys in your shoes/gloves

[thedjjack]

If the fan motor went it may have taken out the fuseable link.

[jessef]

One thing I find troubling.

Your front blower motor doesn't work.

Even if your blower motor is shot and you select fresh air/full heat, you'll still have hot air coming out of the vents. Just not with any force from the dead motor.

Second, you say the rear fan/blower works but no heat.

I'm suspecting you have a problem with your cooling system and/or heater hose valves.

Even with the fan motors front/rear turned off, you should still feel hot air coming out of the vents with the temp on hot.

[almac]

The day previous i had noticed that my headlights were a bit dim. then, after sleepin in the cold cold parking lot... catastrophic failure... headlights -out, hazard lights -out, blinkers, stereo, clock, interior lights, break lights... all out.

this reminds me of an issue i had with my old pathfinder. i first cleaned and tightened the battery clamps and this helped(lights came on stronger). then a mechanic friend said that if the headlights are dimming, your charging system isnt working properly. i pulled the alternator, changed the brushes in it, and everything went back to normal.
are the deli alternators rebuildable by the average bear or do you have to take it into a shop?
you might also want to check your battery too; it sounds to me like all the high amp stuff(headlights, fan motors), arent getting enuf juice.
i'm thinking that your alt stopped working/charging and you pretty much ran on your battery til you killed it.

i'm not saying i am a pro at this(i'm far from it), but this is what solved similiar issues i had on a different truck.

[Ursula]

i have brought the van into ace auto electric here in winnipeg. they had never seen a delica before, and were quite amused by it and eager for a challenge. one hour after bringing it in, they called and had found and fixed the problem. apparently there was a shorted out line behind the battery. they simply bypassed that line. hopefully that's a permanent solution. we'll see. $268.80 seem a little steep, but hey it could have been worse i suppose.
Jason, i called the guy you suggested, but he was too busy, and suggested i go elsewhere... thanks though.
I had the heat vent on re-circulated air all the way out here, as i didn't want freezing air trickling in, but that was dumb. on the way to ace, i switched it to fresh air, and lo and behold, heat. not fan driven, but some heat is better than none. i wish i had thought of that along the way. thank you so much for the tip!
I'll ask a bunch of questions when i go pick it up today, and post anything that might be interesting, or helpfull.
Thanks everyone!
-nathan

[jessef]

Glad you got it sorted out.