Hi, newbie here. First post.

I'm not new to this format. I recently completed a 427 Cobra replica and could not have done it without the forum that went with it.

My question is the low speed fan resistor. I know enough to use search and it seems there are two options. Replace the fan and its components or wire in a module that contains the resistor. I'd like to ask if folks would share their experiences with each. At the moment, I'm not sure I want to put my '06 R53 into service mode although it's probably within my ability. It also seems that the new fan has the same heat sink problem and will probably fail pronto. Is the wired in module a better solution?

Many thanks.

 

Buy the resistor that is listed on variour threads and put it in yourself. Will cost less than $50. and will take about an hour to do without taking the car apart. I and many many others have done this and it does a good job of fixing the problem and should not let the problem crop up again in the future.

 

Or for $75 and an hour and a half you can just swap out the whole fan unit - mine went 89k miles on the oem fan - if it goes another 90k on this one that'd be fine with me.

 

My solution was to use an exact fit aftermart fan...no issues.
Was the tyc version....about 100$...bet it is a slightly different desgin than the oem to acclomplish the same thing. Was pretty quick and easy.
And if you built a car, taking off a few bolts to remove the bumper cover is very simple and quick...same for the rest of "service mode"...very basic tools, no real skill involved.

 

My fix was to simply bypass the resistor all together, yes I now only have a high speed fan, but it does still come on when the low speed fan should. The extra noise just doesn't bother me and it didn't cost me anything, and will never go out again. (the resistor that is)

Or as mentioned above, get something like this:

http://www.detroittuned.com/shop/?productID=530

Will last longer than the stock replacement.

 

Thanks fellas. I bought the resistor and will do it myself using Vito's method.

 

Where'd you get the resistor from? And do you have a part number by any chance??

Thanks!

 

The resistor came from Mouser Electronics. www.mouser.com. As recommended here, I bought a 100W 0.33 OHM 5% Arcol resistor. Mouser's part number is 284-HS100-0.33. It cost $15 and $10 to ship it. It was here (Illinois) the next day.

I mounted it just about where Vito put his but I made my own bracket. Works perfectly. If you send a PM with an email address I'll send pictures.

 

You have the link to the thread that you followed to install? Pm'ing now for pics. Thanks!

 

Alright so I have a quick question, just because I think my low speed fan is not functioning, but just to make sure before I buy a resistor or fan.

The low speed fan is suppose to only turn on when the A/C is on?

If the high speed fan comes on at all (the loud one) then the low speed one is not working, right? i.e. the high speed shouldn't come on?

thanks!

 

The low speed fan should always come on if the A/C is on. For further info
see Frenchie"s post (number 497) on page 20 of this thread:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-solution.html

 

But will it come on at any other time, or only when A/C is on? and high speed shouldn't come on as long as the low speed is working right?

 

I know you already bought the part, but when mine "went out" it ended up being a fuse. I replaced the fuse for $1.39 and the fan started working agin....so I guess what I mean to say is, check the fuse!!!

 

I checked my fuse with wishful thinking... not so lucky...

Just ordered the resistor... I'll try to wire that in when I get it!

 

Alright, so I bought the above mentioned resistor, made myself a nice little aluminum plate, wired it into the fan connector and bam, low speed fan kicks on as soon as I turn on the A/C.

Now question, my A/C still isn't really that cold. Today it was 95+ degrees outside and so I had the A/C on, nothing out of the ordinary, it is cool, but not COLD by any means. Well when I get back to where I'm going, before I shut the car off, I'm sending a text and the RPM's at idle kick up slightly and I'm pretty sure the high speed fan kicked back on.

With the low speed fan functioning properly, should the high speed come on at all? Should I have the A/C system recharged to fix the Cool air and hopefully make it Cold?

Thanks!

 

As far as the temp of your a/c, yes check your freon level, even if it's a little low it will make a difference. (mine was about 1/3 into the good range, added just a little, brought it up to 2/3, it made a world of difference. *JUST DON'T OVER FILL IT* )
As for the low speed -vs- high speed, the low speed fan is designed to come on under 2 different circumstances, one is if you turn on the a/c, it does this to blow warm air over the a/c compressor to help to keep it from freezing, freon gets very cold when moving/circulating, ever notice that a can of freon isn't very cold untill you shake it?
The second reason is as an early cooling feature for the engine, the low speed fan is set to turn on with an engine temp. of 200* and the high speed @ 210* (I think thats right, don't quote me on the temps, but you get the idea)

Honestly it's designed that way for more of a non-nuisance thing than anything else, just because of how loud the fan is @ full speed, that's why bypassing it all together doesn't really hurt anything, just makes it come on @ high speed only when it turns on, either with a/c or temp. Also just bypassing it doesn't cause any heat in the wiring, the only reason they use the 10 and 12 ga. wire that they do for the fan is because of the heat being created by the resistor, not because of the fan motor itself, it would run on 14 or 16ga. easily with no problems. (electrical 101: The gauge of a wire is determined by the current draw, the current draw is determined by the resistance. The more resistance the more heat, therefore needing a larger diameter/ga. wire to dissipate that heat.)

 

Can you please post how to bypass the low speed fan BlwnAway?

 

+1

 

Thanks for this post guys I was going through the same thing.

 

As far as if the system is still completely intact (still all together) there are directions in an old "low speed fan resistor" thread that will give you the exact colors of the wires to jumper just beyond the fan plug in. (I don't have time to look it up now, I'll try & link it later)

But in my case I already had everything (the fan) out so it was really basic, just pull the cover off the ressistor, pull the resistor and just solder a jumper wire between the two points that connected the resistor. I used a small piece of 12ga wire that I had laying around and put a dab of silicone on each connection to insulate it, and just replace the cover, your done, simple as that.
The resistor is what causes the low speed of the fan by simply limiting/bottle necking the amount of current to the fan motor, it's not a two speed motor. And as I said earlier no resistor, no extra heat, no extra heavy wireing needed, one of the main contributors to those resistors failing is the amount of heat they generate added to the poor mounting position design.

 

Can someone please PM me and let me know which fuse is responsible for activating my phase 1 engine cooling I just found out mine is not working on my 06 MCS JCW.

 

I recently did my whole fan replacement for my 2003. I had the fan for awhile and did it a few days ago. Took me about 2 hours taking my time. From pulling off the whole bumper to reasemble. I would say replace the fan than doing the cheap fix of the resistor.

Saved 400$ on the OEM fan and a few hundred at dealership labor cost.
Overall i am happy and everything is working to a T!

Thanks for reading.

 

Just a quick question. I have read the other threads about the resistor fix. I have the resistor and installed it. It didn't fix the A/C. One thing I noticed is that there is no power to the wires where the resistor is wired into. Should there always be power on those lines? If not, what causes them to have power? Thanks for any help.

 

Blwn... would jumping make the power steering pump fan work again. neither my low speed or pump fan work and i replaces the pump fan. cuz mine was garbage. hoping it would work again.

 

There is only power to those wires when the coolant temp and/or the a/c pressure
is above a certain level. (one temp/pressure for power to the resistor (thinner red wire) and a higher
value for power straight to the fan via the larger wire that bypasses the resistor.