[on-one]

Hi, I have a 2009 3.2 vitara, this morning the air conditioning didn't come on, all of the gauges and lights seem to work but there is no air flow coming from the vents (hot or cold). Is there a fuse somewhere that controls whatever fan or fans circulate air - anything else I should check before taking it to the mechanics?

[kenn]

The blower fan motor in mine died once, so I got it replaced under warranty. Other than that check the fuse box it's under the dash on the drivers side from memory, on the lid will be a list of which fuse is which.

[MacDaddy]

Could also be the the Fan resistor, it controls the fan speed... once you check the fuses, try putting the fan on Full/Max speed, it may work that way, but, if the resistor has shorted out completely, it will just keep blowing fuses...

[on-one]

The fuse appears to be ok, I'll buy another on the way home and swap it to see what happens but absolutely nothing happens whatever the fan speed. Can anyone recommend somewhere in Brisbane to get it looked at?

[murcod]

At a guess, a 3.2l Grand Vitara would be a Prestige with climate control? I don't think climate control systems use the older style resistor banks to control the fan speeds, it would be some sort of semiconductor device varying the speeds.

[kenn]

Have you still got warranty ? If so take it to a dealer and get it fix for free.

[murcod]

Here's some stuff that might help:
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... -help.html
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... r-fan.html
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... lower.html
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... -help.html
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... -come.html

(It seems like Suzuki had a bit of a design problem slip through the cracks!)

[MacDaddy]

murcod wrote:

Here's some stuff that might help:
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... -help.html
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... r-fan.html
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... lower.html
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... -help.html
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/2g-2006-gr ... -come.html

(It seems like Suzuki had a bit of a design problem slip through the cracks!)

Yeah sure does, putting a 2005 Mitsubishi fan/blower motor into a NGV, what were they thinking, of coarse the NGV would reject that part, but yeah, once the motor fails, it takes out the speed controller module with it... doesnt look cheap to get a replacement from Suzuki either, but there are cheaper ones out there, if you can find them...

[on-one]

Thanks everyone. Today I pulled the blower fan out and it was seized. I pulled it apart cleaned it up and it now works ok on the bench. Put it back in the car and nothing, measured the plug from the climate control and I'm getting between 8-12.5 volts so it should work. Any thoughts?

[on-one]

Just in case someone else experiences the same issue, with the resister replaced everything is working as it should. I'm a complete novice and it took approximately 5 mins to change both the blower and resistor.

[murcod]

Speed controller

(If someone decided to replace it with a resistor, it would be sure to end in very expensive tears. It's most likely a MOSFET type device.)

[losfer]

i would call it a resistor myself .. it has huge arse heatsink fins on it ...
as for the motor itself yes they are known for failure . i have 4 wrecks and all the motors have been sold out of them ..

also APV van thermo fan motors , same issues . its strange how some of the older cars (ie front wheel drive with thermo fans) are still running around with the original motors running fine , yet later model cars with a shitload more technology advances have a lot of similar failures . yes they are built to a price , but you would think they the quality would get better ...

[murcod]

It's normal for high powered semiconductor devices (transistors, diodes etc) to require large heat sinks. The climate control system ECU would most likely be outputting variable frequency voltage pulses to control the fan speed (Pulse Width Modulation.) It isn't capable of directly driving the fan motor due to the high currents involved- hence the use of the heatsinked transistor device. It would be acting like a relay and switching the high current load to the fan motor.

So it's not a resistor of any type. Gone are the days where a big arse assembly of resistors are used to control fan speeds.