Heaters not working! (winters coming!!!)

[ndt1993]

Hello I am new to this forum/volvo ownership. I am 20 years old and last week I purchased a 87' 360 glt in white. She had been sat for two years but I am happy to say with a jump pack she started first time. I'm having a few problems the main one being getting it through an m.o.t. as a previous owner has split the passenger sill, I presume by using a trolley jack.
Now all these kind of problems occur with most older cars. However a few niggly bits I can not figure out but im hoping I can find help here.
1. When I first got the car the heater blowers only worked on the 0 setting but not on 1, 2 or 3.
But it has now stopped completely. Ive done some research and found the most common problem is the resistor pack. But these symtoms are different to those on other forums. So my question is....
If it is the resistor pack is there any known person on this forum that can repair my pack? But if this doesn't sound like a resistor whats the next thing to check?
2. One of the headlight washers never worked but on the mot it worked but wouldn't stop. I switched off the igntion then on again. It had stopped but it now constantly sounda like the motor is going.
3. Temp guage doesnt seem to work (any known faults?)
4. I have put £40 pounds of fuel in the car when I got it. Now I know the car was completely dry when I got it. But my fuel guage hasnt gone above the min. Line. I dont know how much the tanks take on these but I would have thought 40 pounds would be atleast a quarter from completely empty.

I know this is a heavy read but I would appreciate any advice and help as I'm frustrated with head scratching and staring at the car hoping it will repair itself.
Many thanks, Nathaniel

[360beast]

Hello

Now then I can only speak from my experience with the fan. These heater fans are the same style as the early Renaults, these used to snag on the casing and stop working. Spin the fan a few times and remove any debris, this is how I got mine to work. It could also be a blown fuse as these tend to blow.

As for the petrol check under the rear right wheel arch, there you will see a fuel pipe. The clip that goes around it tends to rust causing it to leak petrol. If this is the case, remove the old clip and fit a new stainless steel one. I can't remember the exact name for the clip but there is a video on youtube of how to do it, definitely worth checking it out if not only for future reference.

Is the temp gauge for the engine or the ambient air temp? If it's the latter then mine was a bit temperamental at times. It could be a dodgy sensor (on the front right bumper turret, you will need to remove the bumper to get to it) or perhaps someone has fitted the gauge but not the sensor and there isn't one at all.

Hopefully some of this is helpful

[volvomania]

It most likely is the heater resistor that has packed up.
It is fairly easy to replace. I know that some people on Volvo300mania are busy working on a replacement. No idea how far testing has progressed but Mollusk (this forum) should know more.
The temp gauge can be the sender that has packed up but as your fuel gauge is also playing up I have a feeling that the fuse or the voltage switch (Smiths) or stabiliser(VDO) has packed up.

[mollusk]

Hi Nat,

On an 87 car the heater blower should have three speeds with 0 being off.
Speeds 1&2 are fed via resistive coils to give slow and medium speeds - position 3 on the switch feeds a relay giving direct feed to the motor for high speed.

I have heard of fan jamming on up to 85 cars but I know of no motor or fan problems after the heater box redesign for 86. The most likely problem is indeed the resistor pack (a failure of the thermal cutout) and this is verrrry common.

It is commonly found that the pack has been bypassed, bridged, or bodged to get some function and this may be why you seem to have had the fan working on position 0. Unless there has been an internal failure within the fan switch (or the wiring has been changed) there should not be feed on 0.

You need to go through a process of elimination - checking first the motor. You can see the fan through the air inlet in the under bonnet casing and see if it turns by hand. You can then use bridge wiring to feed 12v+ directly to the motor. There are two motors used - yours should have a twin contact plug in the wiring about 2ins. from the motor (accessible in the engine bay) the other possible motor has a single 12v+ terminal on the motor itself (again in the bay).

Assuming the motor/fan works ok the next suspect is the resistor pack which is found inside the air inlet casing "downstream" of the motor. The casing halves must be separated to access (12 spring clips around the join line). You will find the resistor pack has four wires connected to it - white, yellow, red, and orange.

Disconnect the wires from the pack and using a meter or test lamp check that with the switch on position there is no power on any wire. With the switch on position 1 power should appear on the White wire. On position 2 the Yellow wire should be live, and on 3 the Red. The Orange wire is the motor feed from the resistor pack.

The heater blower switch is fed from fuse 19 (8A)
Position 3 feeds the trigger coil of a relay which is fed power from fuse 12 (25A)

If the above checks are OK then the failure is almost certainly the resistor pack.

I am currently researching methods of refurbishment for these packs and I suggest you visit the 300 enthusiasts forum V3M ( www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/) there are a number of threads there covering this issue and you can contact me there if you need further info or help.

Mollusk.

[OvlovS70]

Hello,
I was ill advised to purchase a new blower motor when this happened to me, J plate. All that was needed in the end was cleaning up of the resistor - if I recall it looked like a spring type affair inside the black plastic heater box housing.
Cheers

[mollusk]

The resistor pack and it's wiring,



Dismantled, showing the failed thermal cut out,



One of my trial refurbished units,

.

Mollusk.

[OvlovS70]

Hello,
That's a superb looking job mollusk
In the end I gave away my blower motor to my local garage, it was living in a Safeway carrier bag in the garage. No idea if they ever used it!
Cheers

[Chris_C]

The effort Mollusk has put into chasing a electrically sound replacement for the cut out is nothing short of awesome. The current pack isn't just a man in a shed bodge, it's an engineered solution that is receiving thorough testing and puts certain third party manufacturers to shame.

(Realistically, there is no way a manufacturer could put the effort into testing this has seen, given the size of the market)

[mollusk]

and Chris doesn't even owe me money!

Mollusk.