CCU Fan Ultimate Solution
09-07-2019, 02:49 AM
#16
Rennlist Member
The original fan fails in several ways, the two main causes are:
1: The needle bearing wears out and causes rattling. This can sometimes be compensated for with careful adjustment of the bearing nut. However, most often is it almost impossible to find the exact spot between overtightening and rattle-free movement. It is also fiddly to remove the plastic fan top without damaging it.
2: The magnets weaken, and the fans fails to start due to degraded motor torque.
After 20 years of CCU servicing, I now never bother to do anything with these old fans. Oiling, cleaning and bearing adjustment takes a lot of time, and will only temporarily postpone the demise of the fan. It may well run fine on the bench, but not in the car with vibrations and multiple starts.
The third-party alternative which looks exactly the same as the original is not good at all. An easy test is to shake the fan a little when it runs, and it will start rattling immediately. We ended up returning over 50 fans to the vendor, and most of these had to be returned to us from customers causing a lot of trouble for us.
Cheers,
Tore
1: The needle bearing wears out and causes rattling. This can sometimes be compensated for with careful adjustment of the bearing nut. However, most often is it almost impossible to find the exact spot between overtightening and rattle-free movement. It is also fiddly to remove the plastic fan top without damaging it.
2: The magnets weaken, and the fans fails to start due to degraded motor torque.
After 20 years of CCU servicing, I now never bother to do anything with these old fans. Oiling, cleaning and bearing adjustment takes a lot of time, and will only temporarily postpone the demise of the fan. It may well run fine on the bench, but not in the car with vibrations and multiple starts.
The third-party alternative which looks exactly the same as the original is not good at all. An easy test is to shake the fan a little when it runs, and it will start rattling immediately. We ended up returning over 50 fans to the vendor, and most of these had to be returned to us from customers causing a lot of trouble for us.
Cheers,
Tore
09-09-2019, 03:28 AM
#18
Rennlist Member
This fan makes the Climate Control Unit able to measure the cabin air temperature.
Cheers,
Tore
Cheers,
Tore
09-09-2019, 04:54 PM
#19
Instructor
I notice that there are two phillips head screws on the fan assembly. It would seem to me that the weak point on these would be the bearing points of the fan. Has anyone ever tried to take the fan apart and lubricate the bearing points as a preventative maintenance procedure? Is it possible to do? Just wondering.
JC 98 C2S widebody
JC 98 C2S widebody
It's not permanent though as the fan bearing design itself is rather weak/cheap for this application, but a little maintenance can help extend the life a bit. It would seem simple to find a replacement from a catalog of electronics/PC cooling, but it's a lot harder to find a match that keeps the CCU happy than you would think. Tore's seems like a good solution to a specific issue - hence the cost, but it's a good almost permanent fix.