Update: Heater Fan Problem.

[transglobal]

Spoke to Murray's. They are 99% certain that its not a fuse but a resistor as its a well known fault.

Cost of repair? £482 + VAT.

£482 + VAT to have your heater fan working???? A 5 hour labour job. Front clam off and its a pig to fit. Its a 3 speed fan for goodness sake. How difficult can it be?

They are raising a claim to Lotus as my warranty ran out on the 31st of August. I'm not hopeful as these things tend to go against me. I've just forked out £450 on a service 2 months ago!

[Shug]

If the claim fails, call Ali. He's done a couple of these recently - although I totally agree, 3 years to kill it is taking the p*ss. There is a mod, from memory, where they basically drill a hole to let the water out that kills the electronics.

[tenkfeet]

Its £30 odd quid for the resistor pack.

[transglobal]

Was through at MMC today and spoke to Service re what Lotus' response was to the resistor issue. I was told that they had rejected the out of warranty claim. When I asked why I was told that the manufacturers warranty is only 2 years and that ran out last August (07) and the further years warranty was provided by the dealership and not Lotus. Therefore as far as Lotus are concerned the car has been out of warranty for a year as they do not take into consideration the years cover by MCC or the fact that this is a known fault and replacement resistors are continually being replaced at Lotus dealers across the country.

I was told that it is such a common fault that the parts department when down to 6 parts in stock bring in another 6, such is the demand for them.

I have been given the name of the Customer Services Manager at Lotus and have been encouraged to write to him.

In fairness to Graeme, he's going to try MMC warranty people as the car is only a week and a half out of it. O don't see any joy there as these warranties are only an insurance policy so when it runs out it runs out. Tough.

To top it all the parts guy informed me that when he quoted me £482 + VAT last week that he had been wrong. Its now up to £570 + VAT. I'd sooner buy a battery opperated hairdryer than pay that senseless amount. Beyond belief.

[j2 lot]

To top it all the parts guy informed me that when he quoted me £482 + VAT last week that he had been wrong. Its now up to £570 + VAT.

Ouch

[Shug]

Ouch indeed. Elaine's went last night, although she's still inside the used warranty, thankfully...

[j2 lot]

Faark - think mine has gone this morning - can hear a clicking from engine bay when fan/ air con turned on but fan / heater does nowt. Take it this is the dreaded resistor problem?

[Shug]

More than likely - how old is the car? If it's older, then the dials are connected with levers, so it's an easier (read DIY) fix, but as soon as they go to solenoids, it's probably this...

[j2 lot]

More than likely - how old is the car? If it's older, then the dials are connected with levers, so it's an easier (read DIY) fix, but as soon as they go to solenoids, it's probably this...

2005 111R - hoping it is covered under extended ( non Lotus) warranty.

[dezzy]

My fans on the Elise went (inside warranty) and exact same thing has now happened with the Exige (still in warranty). They're doing the usual intermittent working some days and not other days thing at the moment and I know they'll go completely. Booked in to get it fixed in November. It's a pain wiping the windows all the time to clear them!

The thing that annoys me is that this is a well known fault. It's happened on both my Loti and to several other people on here. The resolution for the new unit is to drill the holes in the bottom as Shug says, so why don't Lotus just do that in the first place?!

D

[transglobal]

Dezzy,

The reason they don't is because its a £500 job to fix it. Good money in anyones book. As I understand it there's two fixes:

1) Fit the same unit and drill holes in the bottom to hopefully prevent water building up again.
2) Fit the new resistor pack which is fully insulated and will not let water in anyway. I've gone for this route as it gives peace of mind for the future although this pack is almost double the price of the standard one. I'm just not happy about drilling holes in places where there shouldn't be any holes as at some point something else is going to go as a result.

My R is with a guy off here, being done this weekend. Many of you know who he is but I'm not saying.

I reckon someone should start a wee business in this line only. Supply and fit.

£100 for the part; £200 for the labour. Do 2 a day = £2000 a week = £8000 a month.

Having spoken to MMC and the stocks they carry of this part and the way they go through them, the above figures are not fantasy. Having floated the idea, I expect 15% commission from anyone who starts it.

[dezzy]

I wasn't meaning for Lotus to do the repair job . .. I was meaning why don't Lotus sort the issue so it doesn't happen in the first place? They know this happens, so why not sort the root cause and either fit these fully insulated resistors or drill the holes in the unit when they fit it to the car in the factory.

Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems pretty simple to me . . . put in prevention before the car is built rather than sorting it everytime it happens!

D

[meatball]

When it goes pop, you take the car to MMC to get it fixed, Graeme works at MMC! Next thing you know you have bought a new car!
Thats why!

[tenkfeet]

They could remotely fit the resistor pack and Robert's your Father's brother .

[transglobal]

Of course its easy fixed before cars leave the factory but thats not the point. Its the money its generating at the dealers thats the reason they don't fix it.

Its like light bulbs. Philips announced 25 years ago that they had the technology to make a bulb that would never blow. Whats the point in that re a business proposition? Bulbs blow, we buy more bulbs, they blow we buy more bulbs etc, etc. Or you can now buy such a bulb for mega money. Same principle. If a resistor pack needs replaced, its money in the dealers pocket. Why would they want to fix it?

Anyone who's owned an Elise for any length of time knows that the guys who designed the layout must have been high when they did it. Have you ever tried to replace a headlamp bulb on an S1? I still have the scars on the back of my hand to prove I did it. And the same with this. An electrical resistor pack stuck in a place that collects water and then when you need to replace it at £50 you need 5 hours labour to remove the front half of the car! Brilliant.

But then you get a summers night with the roof off on a wee back road and all is forgiven.