Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: firewalk on 12 October 2013, 12:46:15
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My heater fan will some times work, sometimes it don't work at all and some times it will work, but then I can hear the speed goes up and down all the time.. like there's a bad connection somewhere. I took out the glovebox and figgured out that somewhere behind the cd-player area there is a connector going to a box (speed controller?). I wiggled on the wiring a bit and then the fan came to life again and worked perfectly.
It still keeps stoping, i wiggle some more and it works for a while again.. Clarely there is a bad connection somewhere, but I can't find anything. I took out the connector and checked the pins for corrotion, but everything looked good. I don't think it's the wires (I sertanly hope not because there's not enough room to start repairing any wires in there, short of taking out the entire dashboard..).
I've tried to put 12v directly on the fan and it runs smoothly, so I've ruled out the fan itself.
Have anyone else had this problem? I did a search and found various issues related to the heating fan, but nothing quite like this.. :\
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could well be the heater resistor, aka the hedgehog, going wonky.
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could well be the heater resistor, aka the hedgehog, going wonky.
Ok, so this wiring loom that I've been wiggeling to get it working again, is actually going into the heater resistor and not the speed controller? I thought the resistor was behind the glovebox somewhere, this is more like directly behind the cd-player ? Perhaps I've missred something :)
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A picture of the box/wiring might help identify it :-\
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could well be the heater resistor, aka the hedgehog, going wonky.
Ok, so this wiring loom that I've been wiggeling to get it working again, is actually going into the heater resistor and not the speed controller? I thought the resistor was behind the glovebox somewhere, this is more like directly behind the cd-player ? Perhaps I've missred something :)
Resistor, speed controller or hedgehog are all names for the same (or equivalent) component.
Older base model Omegas have speed selector switch (on the dashboard) which passes current through different tappings on a resistor before it gets to the fan motor. The resistor gets very hot so it is mounted in the air duct/fan cowl up behind the glove box so it gets cooled by the air being blown by the fan.
Later/higher spec Omegas have an electronic speed controller that is controlled by the climate control panel. This also gets quite hot so they stuck it on a spiky aluminium heat sink and mounted it in the duct/fan cowl instead of the resistor.
If leaves block the drain hole in your scuttle it can fill with water to the point that water runs into the air inlet to the fan and soaks the electronics in the hedgehog. Electronics don't like water so it usually kills the hedgehog :(
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or check fuse is tight -they can work loose-crap vx fuseboxs :( or maybe the the silver heap is a one off build error from vx
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or check fuse is tight -they can work loose-crap vx fuseboxs :( or maybe the the silver heap is a one off build error from vx
You mean your Friday afternoon special :-\ Still works doesn't it ::)
;D ;D
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Having had 5 Omegas through the tunnie household, not counting project Omegas. Covered well over 300k+ miles easy between them.
Not once have I had to check engine fuse boxes, I popped a 99 relay in the the 3.2 for wipers other than that, never popped, worked loose or anything.
I'd say their engine fuse boxes are rock solid ;)
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I can confirme it's the resistor, as it's in the air ducts, covered with a huge heatsink. Right now I'm driving arround with a little rope twisted arround the connector, going to the passenger fotwell. Whenever the fan stops I phull a little in this rope and thereby wiggeling the wires going into the resistor a bit, and it comes back to life... Must be some bad connection somewhere.. but I don't know if is the resistor itself or just a bad connection between the connector and the resistor, or even some fault in one of the wires.. :\
I disconnected the connector and didnt see any oxidation on any of the plugs.. I tried to give them a good cleaning with a steel brush, but it didn't make any difference.
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Do you have a resistor and rotary switch to set the fan speed?
Or do you have an electronic speed controller with speed selected by the electronic climate control?
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I have the automatic climate control panel with two independent sones and buttons to dial in the set temperature.
Here's a picture of the resistor I have, I wiggle the wires going into it and the fan starts again. Then it might stop after a while, I wiggle the wires a bit more and it's back on.
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/OPEL-OMEGA-CLIMATE-CONTROL-RESISTOR-90566802-90-566-802-/19/!CF6J8IgEGk~$(KGrHqJ,!l4E1FrvjsZ3BNWrHVP8yw~~_35.JPG)
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They do have a reputation for failing (usually assumed to be due to water damage but that might be an incorrect assumption). From your description of the symptoms it sounds like a dry joint on a circuit board inside but I have no idea if it is possible to open one to repair it without destroying it :-\
Omegod is selling a new speed controller for £15 http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=118331.0 (http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=118331.0) I don't know what it would cost to post to Norway :-\ best thing is to send him a PM and ask. :y
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I found a cheep new one on ebay. It should get here within a week, so I'll just replace it and hope for the best. :) I just hope it's not a problem with the wires themselfes. Looks like a real pain to replace... :-X :D
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Cheap new one on Ebay ? Is it a pattern part ? I believe they cost around £160 from Vauxhall for a new one. :-\