Please help!! A/c wtf issue

Nissan Navara Forum

Help Support Nissan Navara Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Roadeater

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2014
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Flinders Ranges
I'm sure you've all heard that Port Augusta reached 49.7C on Thursday and because I live around that general area A/C is vitally important!

Jumped in Sh!tbox (has cost me $14k in repairs recently and still counting) today and turned on the A/C which has been the ONLY dependable thing on this tub, only to find the following conundrum.. Tub is '09 Thai D40 King cab YD25.

  • A/C light is on
  • No fan blowing in postions 1, 2, 3
  • A/C motor appears to be running (power draw)
  • Move to position 4, fan starts blowing, but A/C light goes out
  • Max cold air blows for 10-15 seconds before just blowing regular air
  • I'm banging my head against steering wheel and no amount of ripping through all A/C non-A/C settings makes any difference
  • Fuses are fine

I am at a loss and 150kms from my nearest repair shop. Can anyone decipher this enigma machine?
 
Cheers buddy, if it's that cheap and simple I will shout the bar!

...Now where is this little sucker located in the sh!tbox?
 
Last edited:
Cofirmed. Resistor it is. Plenty of videos showing that this is a common issue across the globe to Fronteras, X-trails, Sh!tboxes etc.

Thanks again!
 
It is a common problem unfortunately.

I do recall someone on the forum supplying repaired ones. Or maybe they were genuine but cheaper.

I wonder how well a potentiometer would work for controlling the fan speed. Obviously there would only be one fan speed as far as the switch is concerned (just on and off) and a potentiometer for adjusting the actual speed of the fan. It would mean infinitely variable fan speed adjustments but I don't know how well it would work in practice...
 
I am so close to burning this P.O.S Nav it isn't funny!

Changed out the resistor with genuine Nissan unit. A/C worked perfectly again for 1 ******* day, then went west exactly like the first one.

Any idea why this unpolished turd is suddenly blowing resistors? I've done nothing to the pig-tit electrically lately. Haven't had issues up until now. Why? Why why why why why why why!?!?!?!?!????
 
The cheap blower resistors are made to a price not a standard
My brother used a cheap non branded ebay one in his renault clio and it lasted a couple of days
A friend used an ebay one in his holden rodeo and it lasted a few hours
I know theyre expensive but genuine ones are generally made in japan or germany and will usually last decades not hours
 
Sorry i misread the previous post, didnt realise you used a genuine unit.
Was it new or from a wreckers?
If it was new it was more than likely a manufacturing fault and you will get your money back or a new one under warranty

Its possible theres a high current defect with the fan motor itself but thats pretty unlikely
 
Was it new or from a wreckers?
Well it was new from eBay. Came in what appeared to be a genuine Nissan box with part number, unopened and looked brand spankers.

However, you can get the exact same boxed item from Alibaba for $26 (but you have to wait 30+days for delivery), so who knows if it's the real deal in all honesty.

Anyway, have ordered another already so I'll see how this goes. If it blows I'll take it into the auto-electrician's and be damned. What's another $500 on top of the small fortune that I've stupidly poured into this snot-heap?
 
I don't remember my A/C light misbehaving like that but then again I only lost fan speed 1, speeds 2, 3 and 4 were still ok. If you have it on position 4, and you press the A/C button, does the A/C light come on?
 
When I replaced the resistor the A/C worked perfectly again for one day. So it's definitely a resistor issue.

The A/C light is ON in positions 1,2,3, but NO blower active.

In position 4 the A/C light goes OFF but the blower kicks in again and works as per normal, without blowing cold air of course.
 
It may be a resistor issue, it may also be a ground issue, with the ground for the fan (which means the resistor as well) running through a different source - like the stereo - which overloads the resistors by reverse feeding a ground through the circuit. Since there's no resistor in position 4, that one should always work.


So, specific questions:


1) If you put the fan speed dial to position 4, what happens if you press the A/C button?


2) Have you changed head unit or done any other work on the dash recently (including airbag diagnostic module, body control module) ?


My concern is that you've already replaced the resistor pack and it's blown again, which indicates that it's not a resistor pack fault, but the fault is causing the resistor pack to overload.


It would be VERY interesting to put a 100A ammeter in there, turn on IGN, set fan speed to 1 and measure the current through the appropriate resistor. To measure this, you need to identify the incoming power line and the output line for each resistor. It doesn't really matter if you get positions 1, 2 or 3 mixed up. What you're looking for is a high current passing through the power feed pin to the output pin. When you connect the ammeter to these two pins, you SHOULD hear the fan run at full speed (since you're just measuring current, but letting it flow without resistance).


If you get a high current from that, try again but with the stereo turned off. If that reduces the current, get a cable and connect the body of the stereo to any one of the bolts that hold the dash to the metal bodywork. Try again - if the current drops, it's likely safe to replace the resistor.


I've never heard of this particular problem before, so I'm clutching at straws.
 
In conclusion, this turned out to be a fan motor that was getting very sticky, thus taking way too much current to drive. These fan motors are not meant to be pulled apart but the mechanic who has done all of the work to date on the pigs-tit kindly disassembled it and greased it up.

Problem solved for now.

Thanks for the help, gurus!
 
Ive just started having ths issue myself. Original resistor blew after a big soaking when i got stuck in a bog hole and flooded the poor nav. No surprises as to what caused the resistor to corrode and blow. Then a the replacement oem resistor blew after about 6 months. I just chucked an ebay knock off in and it lasted a weekend. I wonder if i should disassemble the fan and have a look. As this likely got a soaking in the big drink as well. Is the fan and motor in the same big unit under the dash that the resistor slots into?

Just realised this is d40 section. I have an 06 d22 zd30. ...
 

Latest posts

Back
Top