fan/heater not blowing on 2008 cupra

GordieC

Active Member
Sep 24, 2012
124
4
Glasgow/Islay
This happened to me and it was the fan itself that had seized. It was an easy fix for me. Remove the fan and move it by hand. Add a good amount of WD40 and silicone grease to the motor/bearings and make sure it spins freely.

The fan is under the passenger side foot well. Remove the screws, twist the whole unit and it comes out. I also used cables to connect it directly to the battery to ensure it was spinning freely. Just be careful if you do this as it's a a torquey motor and can be quite awkward to hold so watch your fingers.
 

stephen1982

Active Member
Nov 6, 2017
6
0
thank you for your quick response, I have been trying to remove the fan today, i was just finding it very difficult and awkward getting in under the glove box. I have removed the heater blower resistor unit from under the fan which I thought possibly could be faulty? I will try again tomorrow to get the fan out as you have clearly explained how its removed thanks again
 

stephen1982

Active Member
Nov 6, 2017
6
0
i have just looked at the video link you sent, i have viewed this video already when trying to remove the fan today. its just my car is slightly different to the video. i have the heater blower resistor unit attached to the underside of the fan and on the video it splits off separate before the fan so that threw me for a while. the heater blower resistor unit is what i struggled getting off today ,as there was a really tricky nut tucked away at the back. I'm starting to think maybe i could have left that awkward unit on underneath and just removed the whole fan now but it didn't seem to be budging i will still try to get the fan out tomorrow and see if it is seized, i will let you know how i get on thanks
 

stephen1982

Active Member
Nov 6, 2017
6
0
i have managed to get the fan out this evening after all and it was seized. i didn't need to remove the unit below it after all so i wasted a lot of time there! i have used wd40 on the motor/bearings like you suggested and refit into the car and i now have fully operating heaters thank you very much for your help you've saved me a costly visit to the garage much appreciated.
 

GordieC

Active Member
Sep 24, 2012
124
4
Glasgow/Islay
Excellent stuff. Glad you got it sorted. Don't be surprised if it happens again as WD40 isn't that great a lubricant and it does dry out. Mine stopped again a few weeks later. Silicone grease is better for long term lubrication but at least you know how to do it now. Mine has been running with no issues for over 2 years since I last removed it and applied silicone grease.
 
Last edited:

Muttley

Catch that diesel!
Mar 17, 2006
4,987
31
North Kent
Just had to do the same thing on my 54-plate Altea, which has Climatronic (so no series resistor). Elsawin is a lot less help than usual in this area, as it describes the process for a LHD vehicle, with the whole dashboard and everything behind it reversed left-to-right. This includes the heater fan motor assembly, which you have to turn clockwise to remove, not anticlockwise. It was a lot easier after that...

Also, it recommends that you take the glove box out. You don't have to, and I don't think it would help very much if you did. I couldn't find out how to get to the screws at the bottom of the glove box, so I'm glad it wasn't necessary.

Once it's out, you find the fan motor is encased in a plastic moulding, and you can't get to the bottom, or at least I couldn't find out how to release the motor without breaking anything. I contented myself with oiling the top bearing, spinning the fan, then adding a drop more oil, spinning again - repeat for as long as you can stand it. I used "3-in-One Professional High Performance Lubricant with PTFE" which I have found to penetrate well into dry hinges and bearings.

I would recommend against using WD-40 or any other penetrating oil. WD-40 was originally used to displace water from electrics, and was also found to be good at releasing corroded fasteners. The fan bearing isn't corroded, and (at least in my case) wasn't even stuck, just stiff. WD-40 gradually loses its lubricating properties and becomes a sticky mess, and is likely to cause the problem all over again.

I'm annoyed that I couldn't get to the bottom bearing, or to look at the brushes, if indeed there are any brushes. Has anyone ever got the motor out of the casing?
 

Big Al

Active Member
Apr 14, 2018
1
0
This is a great forum. I've used it twice now to solve issues on my mk2 leon. I have registered just to say thanks. My fan is now working! !!
 
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