Air conditioning

This problem has just cropped up. I turned on the ari conditioning in the PCar. After about ten minutes (regardless of the setting of either dial) I hear a "whirring" which is loud enough to hear when the car is idling. I suspect that it is he fan/blower, since it is coming from the front of the car. Any suggestions or remedies. I also notice that the previous PO had banged the front condenser on something - enough so to mangle the mesh cover/grill. The AC still runs cool.

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Do you have a set of "up fixing der Porsche" books? The volumn 9 has an excellent troubleshooting section on air conditioning.

Sounds like the motor for your "aux" blower for the front condensor may have gone South on you... and there was a later mod that introduced a fuse in the power input line to, we all surmise, prevent the motor from burning up. There is also another update with a revised relay for the system but this does not affect the problem you are describing here. I have an extra fan assy and the motor is seized, so this is a common problem.

Have heard that you can sometimes find a new motor for the front fan at a Bosch dealer for under $50 or so, while the same part from a Pcar dealer runs almost $300 or so.

Run the car until it starts making the noise, and open the trunk and look just forward of the battery and in the middle of the car. There is where the aux fan is located and see if you feel the noise is coming from this area and go from there. Pls make sure that if you idle the motor with the A/C turned on that you DO NOT keep the motor hood open. You can do this with the trunk lid open all day long but in the rear it usually results in either a seal on the compressor or high pressure hose blown.

Losing this fan will not really hurt you this time of year (IMHO) with regards to cold air coming out of the vents, however let it get above 80 or so and the front condensor needs more airflow over the fins. Its time now to make sure its working before summer hits.

JA

i've seen bad fire damage from that front AC fan flaming on. don't use the AC if it's noisy.

As John Walker said,
there is a tech Bulletin regarding adding a fuse to the front a/c blower motor.

Be careful!

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Nick Hromyak
'85 Carrera 7 & 9 Fuchs
Havin' Fun in Sacramento

Just back from Zims Porsche in Dallas. My 85 model had not ever been modified to include this fuse. The fan is wired direct to the system with no fuse protection, only a relay.

The fuse assy and harness is $24.00 and is a one minute installation. They have seen loads of cars either on fire or after the fire burned out after the front fan motor siezed.

For the price of a nice dinner its now protected. Cheap insurance in my book... part number 911 612 077 00.

Could you provide a step by step how you did this installation. Thanks

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Targa88,

It took me as long to sign the charge slip as it did on the installation!

Open the trunk, fold back the carpet to expose the batter/front fan area. Use a light to see the wires coming from the fan motor a bit better and unplug the plug that connect the wiring harness to the fan. My plug was white plastic.

If you are not positive what you are looking for, the fan is bolted to the floor in the very forwards portion of the trunk, under where the car jack mounts but on the far left (looking from the drivers seat) side of the car. It is in a black plastic housing and most people confuse it with a horn for an alarm system. (I did at first when I bought the car! Had never had a 911 with A/C!)

Take the new wire harness that includes the fuse assy and insert either end into the existing wiring, one end going to the fan power lead and the other to the "car" wiring bundle. Restore the carpet to normal, close the trunk lid and you are done. You might want to use a wire tie and secure the unit a bit but it can live without it.

Porsche made it easy, it simply plugs inline into the existing stock wiring harness and the nice thing is that since its using stock plugs and such, it looks totally factory and not some cobbled up mess.

If you could find the correct connectors, I am sure that you could make the same thing for a very good price, however how much is your time worth? For the $24 or so its worth the piece of mind for me to know that if the motor siezes that it will not burn the front of the car.

Drive safe!

JA

Just another warning. Anyone that has AC, and has not had a fuse installed for the front A/C condenser motor - DO IT NOW -! The price is very small compared to a hefty repair bill... or a destroyed car.
One month after buying my car, while driving down the road, I began to smell acrid smoke. I spent about 15 seconds trying to figure out what was happening, and then dark smoke started pouring out the a/c vents into the cabin. I quickly pulled off the road (scared *****less), turned off the motor, and popped the front trunk. It was filled with smoke.
I started pulling things out of the trunk to find where the smoke was coming from. As soon as I pulled out the car cover and lifted the carpet- whoosh- flames! You don't even want to know the thoughts that were going through my mind.
Fortunately I happened to pull into a gas station (smart idea, pull a burning car into a gas station) and they had several fire extinguishers on hand. I put the fire out and then stared sadly into the dark, melted hole, that used to be my front trunk.
The Noah car cover and thick flannel carpet had smothered most of the flames until I removed them, so the damage was "minimal". No harm to the exterior paint or surrounding bodywork. Just a lot of melted wires, A/C stuff and everything within 2 feet of the burnt out motor.
The repair bill from the dealer to my insurance company...$3,631.77. You decide.
The good news is I got a new toolset, A/C stuff, Inflator, Carpet, and front wiring harness.
I also now carry a 2.5lb Halon extinguisher.

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Dan Tolley
1987 911 Coupe
http://www.cheaterswayside.com/911/gallery.asp?sort=0&userid=294

Joe
Well, I did as you suggested, pulled back the carpeting. Sure enough the noice was coming from the small cone like shape (front and near center). Quite a loud noise when you are up and close with the hood open. I suspect that this needs to be replaced?
You mention a Bosch replacement motor - where to procure such an item? My understanding is that the full replacement part (Porsche) is $300 plus.. Help!!!
Although riding without the top is fun. There are some occasions where A/C is warranted.

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Targa88,

I am out on the road now and no access to my "spare" front fan motor, or would dig into it and get you a part number.

If you have time, take the puppy out and see if you can get the plastic housing open, to get at the fan motor. Once there I would take the fan motor alone to a Bosch shop (look in the yellow pages for a shop that overhauls or sells auto ele motors) and see if they can come up with something that will fit.

I have heard several people who have done this and come away for less than $50. My motor in the extra fan assy is siezed as well or I would sell it to you. If you are successful, please post your finding here so that we all can save the part number. Agree with you that going to the dealership could be very expensive.

Also... now is the correct time to put a fuse inline to the power on the fan. Its noise is telling you something and before it catches fire is better than later! Glad that you caught it now!

Take care,

JoeA

The Porsche part # for the front A/C blower motor is 911-624-013-01 the price from my dealer was $232.30.
I believe I've seen it for 1/2 that (not sure).
You might want to call Pellican and ask what they can do for you, or you can check http://www.**********.com They've usually got good prices.

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Dan Tolley
1987 911 Coupe
http://www.cheaterswayside.com/911/gallery.asp?sort=0&userid=294

Found one for you... $25 currently on Ebay...

Hope it works out for you...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=588728985&r=0&t=0

Randy



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Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HOLD ON!

1978 911 SC

Joe,
Thanks for the detailed explanation, I will try to find a Bosch dealer up here in Canada. In the menatime I have order the fuse/harness.

Dan,
I suspect that PP and vertex are in the same price range. So I would really prefer Joe's suggestion. Incidentally the dealer price in Canada is $360 CAD.

Randy,
I emailed the guy @ Ebay. The problem is that he knows virtually nothing about the part - age, condition(new rebuilt), what car vintage or geographic location(assuming that a car in the South uses A/C more than one from the North.

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I just looked this up in last years Vertex Catalog (p34).

Front Condenser Motors

911(through '89) Motor only $75 (US)
911(through '89) Complete assmb $189(US)

I realize you are in Canada, but the $75 price seems very good. Their # is (305)442-2727. Have you called Pelican to get a price on just the motor?

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Dan Tolley
1987 911 Coupe
http://www.cheaterswayside.com/911/gallery.asp?sort=0&userid=294

Consider me appropriately warned. Does Pelican carry this part? (the fuse assembly for the front condenser)

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Roger
'85 Carrera 3.2 Coupe aka "Sputterbug"
http://sputterbug.com

What amp fuse should be installed?

83Cab,

Forget which amp was in the fuse holder, but 5 amp seems to stick in my mind. Can check when I get home in 3 days if someone else has not already chimed in. You could make this inline fuse holder for a cheaper price, but the factory part looks... well... factory and not something done in the field. Either way, its worth putting the fuse there and protecting your motor and the car.

Targa88,

See what you can find in the North country and let us know. I work for Bombardier and get up to Montreal from time to time and could bring you a motor if it would help.

Let us know but its good to know that JDaniel was able to find the motor separately in the Vertex catalog. I would wonder if you could not find the same motor in a "non-Porsche" shop/catalog for less.

Stay in touch,

JA

Update:
Porsche dealer in Montreal will order part if I want to shell out the approx.$400 CAD.
I told him that I did not want the whole assembly, just the small motor. According to him, it is not sold separately. He has suggested a independent shop that refurbishes small motors. When I called they said that there is no such thing as a Bosch motor in Porsches - but if I brougth the part in the would see what they could do.
In the meantime, one of the local PCa member, heard of my plight. Since he had a spare assembly he is going to sell it.
The counterpart is that he was not aware of the fuse /harness add on. Which is a great precaution.
WE obviously don't have the breadth of availability and service in the great white North.

Go for another independant shop. Virtually every motor in a Porsche car is from Bosch (except the engine).

Jens

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