Bart-Jan

Actually, for free, well only time.
After looking at my options and seeing prices, I figured there should be a cheaper option. Well there is... Luckily my resistor pack had only one wire broken:

I had all ready opened the tabs where the wires are normally held.

Luckily, the resistance needed is stamped on the frame. With an old speed adjuster for an RC car I had the resistance wire and with a multimeter, I measured the desired resistance by adjusting the length.

As can be seen in top of the image, there's the speed adjuster and in the middle on the left the resulted wire allready wound to make it fit:


With a pair of mole grips, the wire is squeezed between the tabs:


This is the assembled resistor pack:


Checking the pack by installing was the proof of the pudding...


The only thing is that on the lowest setting of the **** on the dash, the blower motor is all ready blowing a tiny little bit; is this normal?

Randy V

Well done.

Yes - the motor never fully turns off.

Mrmerlin

the blower will run at low speed when the HVAC system is on any position other than off on the slider.

FWIW you can also use silver solder to reattach the broken wire it wont melt when in use,
fixed a few of these things like that

the flyin' scotsman

Mole grips.............xcellent, haven't heard that term forever.

Good fix

Bart-Jan

Haha! I guess it's English; Google knows the name, FWIW


Can't remember; I was 12 at that time. It had a huge motor and I figured I'd never use it again in it's original state; Fixing a Porsche with it would make more sense;-)

robot808

What kind of RC car was that?

Bart-Jan

Haha! I guess it's English; Google knows the name, FWIW


Can't remember; I was 12 at that time. It had a huge motor and I figured I'd never use it again in it's original state; Fixing a Porsche with it would make more sense;-)

Alan

Yep - Mole Grips!

Stopped saying it since nobody had a clue what I was talking about...

Actually from the expressions it was obvious they were thinking that anyone who needed 'mole grips' was seriously deranged!

Alan

the flyin' scotsman

I immigrated 30 years ago this year and had never heard of 'vice' grips before..........amazing what our brains retain from all those years ago!

Dont talk about hermatite either but Bill Ball does own a Norton

fraggle

epic fix!

RFJ

Great fix,always wondered how to attach the wire. and no had no idea silver solder would work ,any special alloy?

Cosmo Kramer

Can that wire be found at any hobby shop?

danglerb

Silver solder is a special alloy, typically its used for mechanical issue and it has a higher melting point and sets "hard". Ask for silver solder and you should get something that works, but it may take an iron with a higher than normal heat setting.

Wire from any heating element should work, old toaster, hair dryer, etc.

I might fix an old one to keep as a spare, but too much work to get it in and out not to put in a good new unit. Its also on my list of things I would like to see PWM controllers used instead of throwing away power as heat.

kb

Is there a part number for the blower motor resistor pack? Thanks

Dean_Fuller

I'm impressed. I wished I understood electricity that well. Maybe one day...when I grow up.