Re: [alfa] 164LS low speed fan

["David Jarman" <jarmanhome@xxxxxxx>]

Graham Arlen asks--
"As with some others, I also have discovered that my low speed fan is not
working on my 94 LS, although everything in the system has been renewed and 
both
relays are good. However, I think i know the cause. There are three wires
coming from the thermostat on the radiator lower left, red, white and black. 
The
previous owner for some reason cut the white wire and grounded it so that 
the
fan would run non-stop. To prevent fan motor burnout  I ran the wire to an
on/off switch under my seat so that I could turn it on and off as needed.
However I would like to know where that white wire originally went to in 
case I want to
restore the wiring to its original state and whether or not it does activate
the low speed fan."

The 164LS radiator temperature sensor is a 2 stage thermoswitch, the lower 
point for low speed fan, the upper point for high speed fan (double-pole).  
Therefore, yes- I would remove the tape on the harness down there Graham, 
and resplice the white wire back into the original circuit to restore it.  
Now, what has happened is a very common failure on the 164, the low-speed 
fan resistor has burned out.  Alfa obtains two fan speeds not by a 2 speed 
motor, but by use of a resistor.  Look up underneath the top radiator 
support, on the drivers side (NA models) near the two fan relays, and you 
will see wire leads going to a resistor mounted on the plastic fan shroud.  
Replace that resistor, and you'll have low fan speed.  BTW- the replacement 
resistor currently supplied is an improved unit over the original, per Alfa 
TSB's.

(I'm going by memory from our ex-LS we sold in 2001, so correct me if I go 
astray here, folks!)

Proper fan operation is very important on the 164 because the heater cores 
cannot take sustained high system pressures-- they will blow out or begin 
leaking.  Lowering the relative operating temperatures and  narrowing the 
temperature span were a couple of good reasons why I liked the VW 
thermoswitch conversion popular for these cars.

Dave Jarman
Lexington, KY
USA

_________________________________________________________________
Crave some Miles Davis or Grateful Dead?  Your old favorites are always 
playing on MSN Radio Plus. Trial month free! 
http://join.msn.com/?page=offers/premiumradio
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided