The next job was to sort out the electrics. I didn’t want to put together all the interior panels & dashboard bits until I was sure all the switches & lights were working. Thank goodness I had taken some pictures of under the dash as some of the labels had come off or I was unable to read the labels. Apart from a few minor issues, all the lights & indicators were working but the wipers wouldn’t work. It seemed as if the motor had jammed so, another removal of the wiper assembly, & one of the wiper arms was in the wrong place. After they were refitted in record time, the wipers were working (Well, so I thought so keep reading!). Now for the fan motor & heater. The wiring for the new fan motor was very confusing & I could not see how to connect it. The next day was one of the most frustrating days of the whole project as I spent all day trying to connect the new fan motor with no result. Just a total day wasted! I tried numerous combinations but no go. Next day I went back to the auto electrician and he had it working very quickly by joining two of the wires. I just wish he had done that several months earlier as it would have saved so much time. Back to putting it into the heater box. This had taken a little modification as the area between the supports needed to be slightly larger to accommodate the new super fan motor. Well, I finally got it altogether & put it back in the car & who really can do up that top screw for the heater?
When I turned the fan on, it sounded like a jet taking off. Out comes the heater again & I try to balance up the fan & put some extra washers on. Put it back in the car & no difference – what a racket! It was noisy than the car engine! Not happy, Jan! The only good thing is that is working & blowing air the correct way. The next day I tried a few more adjustments & the fan would either not turn or make the jet noise. I gave up in disgust & did some other external trim jobs.
LESSON 21: Getting modern replacement parts (electric motors) may seem easier but be sure they fit correctly and will do the job. The cost is sometimes the same but recondition the original if possible, especially fan motors.
The fan motor was still driving me crazy & holding all the interior work up so I bought a potentiometer from Jaycar & that is another story in itself. Fortunately, at that month’s club meeting, Ray F offered me one of his spare fan motors if I continued to have trouble. Ray had several such specimens and it was interesting in that they were all different in some ways, especially how the resistor was attached but I was very grateful for getting this. With a fair bit of WD40, the motor was soon working & with two speeds – a win at last!! Just as I was about to put the whole heater box back in the car, the copper wire attached to the resistor broke off – doomed again!! A few words were said! A quick trip to Jaycar & I had another one for $2. Finally, the heater was back & the fan was working on both speeds – what a circus!
LESSON 22A: Nothing is ever easy, especially fan motors.
LESSON 22B: Good club members are very valuable sources of information & spare parts.
LESSON 22C: Don’t assume heater boxes, resistors & fan motors will all be the same.
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