Blower motors removal and refitting advice

So today I started the re vamp of my blower motors, I’ve only had fast speed and defrost since I first bought the car in 2011 so it’s about time :grinning:
I have removed the drivers side motor first, (RHD) when I removed the column bracket the column came crashing down, I wasn’t expecting that, it doesn’t mention it in the Haynes manual, have I removed the wrong piece ? I hope not because it was a mare to get at and I don’t know how I’ll get the two top bolts back in again when I come to refit it, any tips on that would be appreciated. I have cable tied it up so there is no strain on anything while I work on the blower indoors. Once the column bracket was off the assembly came out fairly easily but the two bolts that hold it in were not so easy to access, I used a 12" extension and a universal head, I think it will be a lot harder to refit them !
All the foam on the door flap has mostly disintegrated, what have other members used to replace that ?

I didn’t remove anything on the steering column when I did mine but maybe the RHD is different?

Even though awkward, not as bad a job as many make out IMO. (The oil pressure sender is a far worse job LOL!)

To install the two bolts that hold the blower in place is best done with a shallow socket on a long-ish extension, don’t use a “universal” head or you’ll be at it all day. It’s pretty much a straight shot with the short socket/long extension routine and surprisingly easy to get the bolts started.
I didn’t replace the foam but any soft material of about the same thickness should be ok.
You don’t have a passenger airbag so be thankful for small mercies - and BTW the passenger side will probably be easier. Good luck with it!

Thanks Larry. I think I messed up removing the column support. The Haynes manual said it needed to come out in order to make enough clearance for the blower to be removed. A bit late now but I think there would have been enough space leaving it in place. I wouldn’t mind so much but the two top bolts of that column support bracket were a nightmare to undo and F++k knows how I’m going to get them back in :grinning: I’m aching all over tonight after so many contortions today :grinning: I’ve done the transistor, new diode, and replaced the motor brushes so hopefully tomorrow I can get that side put back together and start removing the ‘easier’ passenger side.

Casso I guess I misunderstood, by “the two bolts” I thought you were referring to the blower mounting bolts …I see it’s the COLUMN mounts you had trouble with …on my 94 the column moves up and down but I know earlier cars it moves in and out …praps ol’ Haynsey was working on the earlier cars??

Yes Larry, although the blower mounting bolts were not easy the two that hold the column bracket were even harder to access, there’s two nuts that hold the bracket to the column, they are quite easy to get at, but there’s also two 10mm bolts holding that bracket to the body and they are recessed into the folds of the bracket and a nightmare to undo, and because they are so high up under the dash and unlike the blower bolts they are at ninety degrees with no space to get your fingers in. The thing that Pisses me off is I probably could have left the f******g thing in place and got the blower out no problem. Sometimes I think ol’ Haynsey just makes it up or guesses :grinning:

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Persevere! you’ll get 'em!!

Pleased to report the column bracket is back in place. I struggled without any success for about 3 hours this morning then had a cup of tea and a rethink. I cut a length of clear plastic fuel pipe warmed the end and forced the head of the bolt into it, after cooling it the bolt stuck quite tightly and I was able to thread the pipe up with the bolt attached under the dash and hook my finger around it to make it bend 90 degrees, I gently twisted the other end and after a couple of attempts I managed to get the bolts to start in the threads, once started I yanked the pipe off and completed the tightening about 1/8 of a turn at a time using an open ended spanner.
Also very pleased to report that the blower for that side is now working sweet on all 3 speeds :grinning: So just the passenger side to do, when I recover from all the aches :grinning:
One slight worry, while my head was buried under the dash I noticed two blue wires that were not connected to anything, they were part of a thick bundle that went to a blue plug, the ends were tinned with solder and my first thought was s**t they must have been wrenched out when the column dropped. they were too short to have come from the blue plug and by counting all the wires in and out of all the other plugs I could see I was able to rule that out, the only place they would reach was the L/H upper part of the column where the indicator switch, dimmer switch etc is located. I decided to reconnect the battery and see what didn’t work but everything is working perfect ? I checked every single function I could think of including the on board computer and the cruise control and everything is working as it should, I went for a test drive without any problems too. Both of these blue wires are thinner than all the other wires under the dash, both are live 12V with the ignition off, and 14V with the engine running but I have no idea what they are for. It’s possible they’ve been like that for all the time I’ve had the car but I don’t know for sure so I’ve insulated them for now and left them as they are.

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Casso …

Don’t you just love working on vintage Jaguar :grinning: :grinning: :grinning:

Literally if it’s not one thing it’s another and the hits just keep coming. I love your perseverance and the clever use of a clear hose to get the bolts started. And of course the Jaguar God’s reward was only allowing you to tighten the bolts 1/8 of a turn at a time. Let’s see 8 wrench gymnastics per turn and how many turns … ah my brain is hurting already!

The bad news … If the wires were tinned and appeared to come out of something they probably did.
Can’t image why there should be two always hot wires just floating around up there.

The good news … If they’re connected to anything important sooner or later you’ll find out.

Put a piece of tape on them and sleep well my friend.

My thoughts exactly ! For the time being I have done what you suggested and just insulated them with tape but to be honest it’s weighing on my mind where they could have come from. So far everything I can think of is working, every light including the spots and fogs, both cigar lighters, illuminated mirrors in the visors, puddle lamps in the doors and interior lights including the seat backs all working fine, I’m scratching my head about what else to check. As soon as I find out I’ll be sure to let you know :grinning:
I got the passenger side blower out today, lots more bits and pieces to remove compared to the drivers side but much easier to access in comparison, I managed it all from the comfort of the passenger seat and the only bending I had to do was undoing the two bolts that hold it in place. I’ve soldered the new Darlington in place with the diode, replaced the motor brushes and relays so its ready for refitting tomorrow.

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Regarding the brushes, were they intended for this application or did you modify something else? If so, I would love to know what and where you sourced them. Thanks

Casso …

And the XJ40 (at least my '89) also has things that are powered that you normally wouldn’t think of like heated door locks and … wait for it … heated door outside mirrors :smiley:

Yes ! I never considered the door locks and mirrors Groove. I’m guessing both those items would operate automatically ? That is, there’s no actual switch and they would respond to outside temperature to start working ? Certainly a possibility, especially as both wires are permanently live with 12V. If I don’t notice anything else not working I guess I’ll have to wait until Winter to see if I notice my door mirrors freezing up or the locks seizing up. Your post reminded me of one thing I haven’t checked yet and that’s the heated rear screen but I doubt that would have a 12 V supply with the Ignition in the off position but I’ll check it tomorrow anyway. Thanks for the suggestions, considering you’ve probably done just about everything there is to do to keep an XJ40 running sweet I always really appreciate your advice :+1: :+1:

I used brushes that I already had in the garage. I can’t be sure what they were originally intended for, most power tools I’ve bought in the past came with spare brushes that were never used and tossed into a ‘spares’ box in the garage, I’ve also owned many cars with dynamo’s and had lots of spare brushes for those too. The ones I chose were a little too wide but easily filed down to fit.

To conclude, I refitted the passenger side blower, now I have two blowers that work on all 3 speeds. It took about two hours to refit but about half of that time was spent adjusting the glove box lid so it closed with a nice click, didn’t rattle and was dead central with an even gap each side. It’s taken me 11 years to get around to doing this job but it was worth it in the end. It’s not too bad a job to complete, but to anyone else considering it my advice would be DON’T remove the upper column bracket like I did, there is no need and it made the whole job sooo much more difficult.

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Casso, I know you have everything buttoned up at this point but if you do delve back into this area one way to narrow down the function of the two wires would be to pull fuses one at a time to find out which circuit they are on. Another thought - any possibility they were aftermarket add-ons by a PO, maybe as part of a remote start / alarm / audio system? I had a pretty good look at the wiring schematics and didn’t find any suspect blue wires carrying 12 volts. Were the wires solid blue or could they have been blue with another color tracer?

Mike, although everything might be ‘buttoned up’ those wires are still on my mind and spoiling any feeling of success I have so I’m very appreciative of your suggestions and especially your time spent looking at the schematics. I’m completely hopeless when it comes to interpreting wiring diagrams.
The wires are both solid blue but they are also much thinner than all the other wires in the loom from which they emerge, I’d guess about half the diameter of all the other wires. It is possible they have been added by a PO because the loom is not bound or wrapped say like in an E.Type, but it is also impossible to trace them backwards because of how the loom disappears up under the dash.
I deliberately left them easily accessible with only the knee bolster to remove so your great suggestion of pulling each fuse in turn will definitely be my next step. Cheers Mike.

If you can identify which circuit is providing power to those two wires it may be possible to track down their origin. A PO could have used a ‘quick tap’ like this:

image

or this:

to tap into an OEM wire, or the wires could have been run from the fuse panel itself, perhaps by connecting on the inner or ‘back’ side of the panel. Let us know what you determine and hopefully you can get to the bottom of this mystery!

Today I connected my multi meter to one of the ‘spare’ blue wires and then pulled out every fuse in turn in both footwells and the row of 5A ones under the centre console, none of them affected the 12V reading on the meter ? about halfway through this testing procedure my meter switched itself off, ( I think it is meant to do that in case it is inadvertently left on when stored) so I started again from the beginning just to be certain, switching it off after testing each vertical row and waiting a minute or so before resetting it and continuing. I’ve carefully insulated both wires again and replaced the bolster. As everything is working exactly as it should I’m probably just going to forget about them now but it still bothers me !

Not to scare you but if anything I might be more
concerned about those 2 always hot wires because unless there is an inline fuse somewhere these may be unfused, which is not a good idea. Have you had a peek at the fuse panels to see if you can spot a thin blue wire disappearing behind the panel, in case the wire is connected to the ‘always hot’ (battery) side of the panel?

Casso …

It seems you’ve done just about everything reasonably possible to track down the source of those two wires.

I assume you’re not the original owner (aren’t too many of those around anymore) so there’s no telling what modifications were made over the years especially considering the thinner gauge of the wires. It is strange that both of them are always hot. I’m pretty much of a perfectionist but I’d cap those two babies off and forget all about them. Honestly if they’re of any importance they’ll let you know.

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