Air Con Fans LCR

[Vin-R]

Hi guys, hope your well, just had a quick question about aircon.

obviously i needed to use the aircon in the heat we had, and i noticed that the aircon fans were really loud. now, is this normal ??? or is there a problem?? everythings working ok, nice cold air etc. also, the fans are going off every like minute or so.

is this normal guys ???

cheers

 

[Pabs]

nope, if they are switching on and off, you've got a problem. I think there's quite a bit of info here on it, think it's a fuse gone in the fan unit themselves. Seems to be a quite common issue.


EDIT: with the aircon on, the fans should run at a constant, slow, speed. If they are loud, sounds like they are going at full speed, then switching off.

 

[Vin-R]

ah ha ... cheers mate, will look into it

 

[Vin-R]

guys could it be a fuse ????? or am i looking big bucks ?

 

[icestorm81]

Mine does the same, took it to my local garage on the friday just gone, and they could'nt find any faults with it. They told me it was normal when using the air conditioning. But im pretty sure it did'nt do it when i bought the car

 

[Vin-R]

hmm funny u should say that mate, ive just been reading that on some previous topics around this. dealers saying its normal could be fobbing you off. Its not normal for the fans to be doing this whilst the aircon is on. it is a fault apparently. but thing is it only happens when the aircon is on and not anytime else. I also have have probs with my secondary coolant pump not kicking in all the time.

ah well I have a good mechanic here in coventry and the LCRs due a service, so ill just tell him to sort the fault. thats if HE can find it lol

 

[quattrojim]

if the fans aren't running at a constant speed when the air con is on there is a problem, i think its due to the resistor in the fan, which is either a whole new fan set which costs a fortune, or there are a few cheaper fixes.

i bought a nime box for around £70, although people found this may have caused problems after a while, so far mine has been fine and works great. i would suggest checking fuses first, if not, might want to check out the nime fix.

 

[Vin-R]

hey, without this nime box, is there any other fix for this problem ???

i remember reading something about fuses on the battery ?? is it possible that one needs changing? or would it have to be a new fan assembly

 

[quattrojim]

well i'm no expert, only trying to remember from what ive read before, you might want to try doing a search on here, i think the thread was called LCR twin fans, was a massive thread with loads of info.

I think it does talk of another fix, buying some resistors and wiring them in, but although this was a much cheaper option, it seemed alot more complicated to me.

There are fuses on top of the battery, and i think one of these will blow, and i think that will be if the larger of the two fans keeps pulsing on and off it will blow this, don't quote me on that.

The good news is you can do a fix of whatever sort, as your fans are still working because they do still come on, its just the resistor in the smaller one is blown, meaning the larger fan kicks in and pulses on and off, if the fans didnt come on at all it would have to be a whole new fan set up

i hope this info is all right, please anyone feel free to correct me if its not.

 

[jcborden]

I took my LCR to the Seat dealer to check this today and was told that with AC on the high speed fans will cut in and out. With AC off the slow speed fans will cut in and out... I did query this with the information I have gathered from this forum but he was certain.

 

[matt-drummer]

I took my LCR to the Seat dealer to check this today and was told that with AC on the high speed fans will cut in and out. With AC off the slow speed fans will cut in and out... I did query this with the information I have gathered from this forum but he was certain.

Unfotunately he is wrong, both fans run at slow speed when the air con is on. My fans were replaced under warranty shortly after I purchased the car, they worked fine for nearly a month and then started pulsing on and off at high speed when the air con was turned on, its very noticeable and obviously not correct. Both fans had to be replaced as their slow speed circuit was faulty. It's not always the fuse at fault when this happens, if the fuses are OK it's the controller built into the fans.

Eventually the fuses on top of the battery will blow if the pulsing on and off at high speed is allowed to continue.

The fitted replacement cost at a SEAT dealer is around £500.

The fans use a cheap nasty method to control low and high speed and are prone to failure by all accounts!

 

[icestorm81]

If i dont use the air conditioning i dont get the fans turning on or off, but when ever the air con is on, the fans turn on and off non stop. The next day i have free i will make a film of it and post it on here

 

[GREY 225]

If its any help ive just had my twin fans replaced with new ones as my low speed had just stopped working when air con was on.
As most people have said, despite what the useless dealers tell you if your fans are pulsing on/off every minute or so with a loud noise then your low speed is broken on the fan unit.
With the air con on, the slow speed should run constantly and the high speed only kicking in when the engine gets too hot, you can tell the difference cos the high speed sounds like a hovercraft approaching and really drops the revs on the engine.
The problem you have got if you leave it running on high speed is that eventually it will blow the fuse for the fans, as it is not designed to be constantly running the high speed fans which it will do to keep the air con cool, also the air con can develop faults as the refrigerant gets too hot.
If the fuse blows or the high speed fan fails you are left with a serious problem of no cooling for air con or engine.
I replaced the fans all together, they aint cheap though, somewere in the region of £300 for the 2 fan units.
I think the new fan units have also had the problem fixed now so hopefully it wont happen again.

 

[BoomhaueR]

I replaced the fans all together, they aint cheap though, somewere in the region of £300 for the 2 fan units.
I think the new fan units have also had the problem fixed now so hopefully it wont happen again.

I have this problem and the Nime box isn't working. Where did you get your fans from? Do you have a part number? Cheers

 

[GREY 225]

They were genuine vw ones but supplied by jabba sport, cant think of the part number, ill have a look on the invoice see if its on there, i know they are not both the same size so there will be 2 part numbers, 1 fan unit is bigger than the other.

 

[BoomhaueR]

Thanks. Are these the same fans as on the golf mk4? So one is 345mm and the other is 290mm?

 

[GREY 225]

The part numbers are not on the invoice, all it says is fan small-£124 and fan large-£130, so about £250 total + vat.
Ill have a look on the fans to see if there is a number on it.

 

[icestorm81]

If i dont use the air conditioning anymore, will the fuse still blow? And with regards to the fans, are they easy to replace yourself, as money is a bit tight at the mo

 

[Vin-R]

Hey guys,

Icestorm, exactly the same thing is happening to mine too "only when the aircon is on" and when its not, everything seems to work fine. but i know that thres definitely something is up with the fans. GREY225 is there nothing else garages can do apart from changing the fans ??? is there not a cheaper option ?? like change a fuse or something ??? 300 quid + is alot of money hey

and finally, if i dont use my aircon, is everything ok ? or am i still at risk of overheating??

I know i may have to change the fans at one point, but in the winter u sometomes need aircon to clear the windscreen..

thanks

vin

 

[Jonwm]

I'm jumping on the bottom of this thread, just tried my LCR, and its doing the on off thing, now I read what you are all saying but my old golf did this and also my Focus.
My warranty is not with a SEAT dealer so i'm going to struggle explaining this to a Ford Dealer!
I'll let you know how I get on!