V50 climate Blower Fan replace?
 

Hi forum!

I have to replace my fan climate blower :( The problem is how to access it! It seems to be a pain in the...
Did anyone manage to change it easily? Any link would be great!
Thanks to all.

Sorry to tell you but theres no easy way really... I had to do it when I bought my v50 and its an entire dash removal and then its on the drivers side. You have to turn it, unplug, and then repeat with new...

Thanks for your reply,

I found an interesting information about this job on a C30, and it "only" involves removal of the glove box + fuse box + everything behind glove box e then we can access the fan...
Can you confirm that? or is it really different from C30.

Best Regards

This is true you can access it that way. But to remove it...its on the opposite side.

Thanks all for your help, I finally get the time to do the job. Really not easy!
Here's my story, hope it will help someone...
As time is not on my side I hope this thread will be clear... If anything's missing or not clear please let me know.
For the job, there is no easy way, you will really have to work on both sides (driver+passenger); for reference my V50 is a LHD auto box...
So here is the big pictures; everything you have to disassemble:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uyfck9t9pfiv5tx/all.jpg?dl=0

Before anything else I strongly advice to disconnect battery cables!
Beginning from the left side (driver side) and in order to get a cleaner access I disassemble the accelerator + brake pedals (I do not have the clutch pedal...)
But first you have to take the panel under the steering wheel off; it has only one T25 screw on the upper left corner and 2 on the bottom close to the pedals. You will also have to remove this small panel on both sides:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hm2a9f1zqf...angle.jpg?dl=0

After removing this small side panel and the one under the steering wheel, you can take the accelerator panel out(3 bolts+connector) and the brake pedal (5 bolts + connector) out. For the brake pedal the job will start to be a little more difficult as 4 bolts are easy to get, but the 5th (upper one) will be more complicate
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mhogf68n7e...brake.jpg?dl=0

After taking the pedals off, I took the opportunity to exchange the pollen filter. You just have to take its box cover off and replace with new filter (after buying it of course :))
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ybne3b0rsj...ilter.jpg?dl=0

Ok, now let's work on the passenger side.
You will have to take the glove box off and everything that is behind and below it...
To do that you will have to take off the small centre panel behind the radio/climate control:


Let's start with glove BOX. Open it and you have 3 screw (T25) on the upper part like this one:

Below the GPS DVD reader (if you have it) you have a rubber mat; take it off
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3698/lk2j.jpg

and you will see 2 more screws (T25) like this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/71h05s6bbo...love2.jpg?dl=0

You will now be able to take the glove box out :) and you will see the next picture where you can unscrew the 4 T25 indicated:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j5g54jv1ms...love3.jpg?dl=0

Ok, it's now easy to take the DVD player out, be careful with the connectors/cables on the back, there are some optical fiber ones!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/joix1u42fmwmq5e/ecu.jpg?dl=0

Above the DVD player and below the airbag you will see an ECU (can't remember for what... ), unscrew 2 bolts indicated below and take it out (be careful with cable/connectors on the back):
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/885/r2or.jpg

Now it's time to go below the glove BOX placement, you will see this fuse panel/box:
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/8792/b96v.jpg

take it out by following those instructions: http://aarnes.me/c30/el.pdf (better than my pictures :))
Once you disconnect all connectors on it, you can take it out (remember: battery cables disconected!!).

Ok, now the way it cleared to take the inside/outside air intake box:
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/153/2m97.jpg

and again better than my pictures here are instructions: http://aarnes.me/c30/vifte.pdf
If you think something was difficult until now, you didn't see the next step: take this air intake out!
As you can see here, it has 3 fixing bolts (T20)...
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/2749/u9qu.jpg
easy you think? well it took me 2h to take it out: the problem is how to access those 3 bolts (T20)! You can't see them (unless you have a small flexible camera...). To help myself I took some close pictures like this one:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/og7wlefea2...paraf.jpg?dl=0

Anyway it's a work to be done with your fingers as your eyes...
Do not despair about it, because it's not the hardest par yet... think you will have to get it back at the same place later! :)

Once the air intake box is out the way is cleared to get the fan motor! Finally!
Now go back the the driver side, lay down "comfortably" on the flor (head up! :)) and get your right arm to the fan... you will have plenty of space now you don't have the brake pedal in its place...
Follow those instructions: http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/2015/jkpb.jpg
no need for two persons, I've done it alone, and no need for special tool: just take the connector out; with your hand search the small clip marked as (1) and with the same hand turn the all fan counter clockwise, and it will be released... now, take it out from the passenger side.

You have now done about 1/3 of the job! :)
I had 2 options at this point, get a new fan (about 530€ for a new genuine one :o) get a used one (found between 50€ and 120€ with the chance to it broken it near future...) or repair mine :)
I like the last one, and succeeded on it! The problem with this fan is not the motor, but a circuit board attached to it.
You can easily open it by taking the back cover out and it will look like this:
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/8075/8ct6.jpg

On the centre you will see 3x2 pins machine welded; you'll need a cutting pliers to separate them (you'll be able to solder them back later), and unscrew one bolt on the corner. You can now take the circuit board out. If you're lucky (as I was) you will have some burned FET transistor attached to the heat sink (big aluminium part attached to the circuit board).
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/7419/v77x.jpg
All this trouble to found this! In my case the problem was all there... I replaced the 6 FET transistors with new ones and took the opportunity to replace with stronger ones: original ones are 2SK3057 and I replaced them with STP60NF06L... the problem with STPxxx is they are not box isolated, so replacement implies using Transistor Insulating Kit for each one... It cost me less than 20€ for all the parts (STPs + kits). Check the diferences on next picture:
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/3508/uu6g.jpg

To replace the 6 FET you will have to take the heat sink out. On the next picture you will see 2 bolts (in RED) with solder on them: you will have to take the solder first and then unscrew them both. After the bolts, come the 6 FETs, each one has 3 "legs" to dissolder. Once done you will take all apart and unscrew the 6 fixing screws from the 6 FETs. Replace them with new ones (with Insulating Kit in case of using STPxxx), and solder it back again to the board with the 2 heat sink fixing screws (put again solder on them...).
Install the circuit board again back to the fan and solder the 3x2 pads together.
Cover back to fan and job done! :)

You now have a repaired fan with stronger circuit board!

You're now half the way of the job, let's start get it back together.
Fan to it's place (rotate clockwise until clip is on its place).

Now the hardest part... get the air intake box to its place :(
Remember the 3 (T20) bolts it took me 2h to unscrew? well that's not all... on the box you will see that you have some "grey isolation sponge" on the side that will be turned to the front of the car. This isolation needs to be in its place to insure a good insolation, but as you will found out it's not easy to do so because of the close space you have to work on. So the only way I found was to disassemble something else! But this time on the exterior of the car...
OK, let's go again; open the bonnet and remove both wipers arms. Next step is to remove all fixing pins of the plastic cover under those arms (except 2 on the middle that you only have to rotate a quarter turn, you do not have to remove them).
After doing it you will have to remove this plastic cover to access the air vent for the air intake box, like this:
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/9463/ohcv.jpg
You can now adjust the isolation sponge from the outside. :)

Now the "easy" part: put back those 3 (T20) screws on the air intake box!!!
I thought about two techniques to do the job:
- use a T20 TIP strongly magnetised, but didn't have one strong enough to insure that the screw would not fall off...
- put the 3 screws in place and on the back of the box (the side that will be close to the FAN) insure that the screws would not fall using a sponge adhesive tape: just cut a small square (6x6mm +/-) with a hole at the centre, and just insert it in the screw so that it will not fall off when putting the box on its place.

I used the 2º technique and I was successful (after more than 1h work just for that...) here again my fingers worked as my eyes.

The rest is piece a cake (compared to that last part) :)
Just put all back together without forgetting any screw :P (like me... one spare T25 screw at the end... upppsss)

Hope you enjoy the work!

Thanks!!!! Wow. I hope I never have to go there!!! Well Done!!!!!

That is a fantastic write up. I hope it can be "stickied" in a permanent collection.

I've just had to do the same on my v50 and this write up has been a real help! I was quoted nearly £700 to change the motor. It ended up just £35 for a second hand motor from eBay.
My car was a manual so I managed to get the motor out by just removing the clutch pedal and the glove box, a lot of work but saves disturbing the whole dash.

Glad to see I could help! :)

V50 blower fan replace - Right hand
 

Tozito.

Many thanks for your excellent write-up for replacing the blower fan and fixing the FET's. My car has a non working fan so I'm looking to do this repair. It is a right hand drive UK model, yours looks a left hand model, is that so.

Would you know if the fan assembly is also different on the RHS model, my question basically is the whole dashboard reversed including the major bits behind it like the heater assembly ?

Regards

Mike.

My car is also a RH drive the fan motor is on the drivers side and the cylinder with the air control is on the passenger side. I removed all the glovebox/ fuseboard but it still proved tricky to get everything to clear. Also if it's a manual the clutch pedal is a major headache and would be best removed if possible.

Yes mine is LHD. I think the assembly is the same and not reversed, except the accelerator/brake pads...you will have to check, but I don't think it will be to difficult!

Good luck, if you need anything just ask :)

Fane replacement
 

Hi,

Thanks for the info guys.

Just before I delve into the job this weekend, whats the reason for getting access to both sides of the car ?. If you have to then so be it, but if it can be done with less work ?. Anything to make life easier. Changing the FETS will be a doddle, electronics is my job anyway.

Thanks.

Mike.

The reason is you have screws (fixing the fan box) on your driver side and the fan box gets out from your passenger side :rolleyes:. That is if RHD is the same as LHD as I think...

Photos for this work...
 

Hi, Can we have the pictures reposted on this thread. It seems that they have expired from host or something. They were good referencing points.

any good host, with no expire date :P?

Photobucket has worked well for me for a number of years...

http://www.dropbox.com/sh/35c5etr6lz...f9Vof2sEeaIa#/

Are those the photos you were looking for? Have to laugh, the linkbacks point to Volvoclub of Italy and the posts were in Italian. When Google translated, it came out sounding just like my grandmother's English :-) ...

No, those are not mine.... :)
Will try to use my dropbox to upload again.