Where is the 166 Air con Fan

Does anyone know where Alfa have hidden the electric fan for the Air con, Ive removed bits from under the dash on both sides, I have taken the passenger airbag out and can't see it behind there.


Jim

You get at it from under bonnet, it is behind the false firewall. Mike

Oh dear I better start to put all those bits back. Mind taking the false firewall off looks a long and difficult job.

does anyone know if the fan from a 156 will fit a 166:?

Incase anyone else has to do this, here are a few pointers.
There will be lots of screws e.t.c so get a box to keep them all in.

1. Get the aircon degassed.
2 Remove Wiper Arms, lift arms off glass to release tension to be able to remove the arm.
3. Remove all the plastic trim from under windscreen and the drivers side of wing under bonnet.
4. You will see the fan housing on the drivers side looks like a black plastic drain cover hidden below a clear plastic flap.
5. Disconnect the aircon pipes from the square metal block a bit of a pig to get the 2 alan bolts out the back. Watch as there will still be a bit of gas left in the pipes.
6. Undo all the nuts and bolts that hold the wiper mechanism on and pull this out the way, as it stops the airbox from coming out.
7. Take the 2 pipes that run along the wing out of their clips so the can be layed out of the way over the engine bay, they are on flexi pipes at one end so move easy.
8 Disconnect the wires from the airbox.
9. Undo the bolt on the wing side of the fan housing the one that is on a bracket on the inner wing
10. Next look to the side nearest the heater matrix and you will see a bracket bolted aginst the bulkhead use a 10mm socket to get the top and bottom bolts off don't forget to drop a screw driver and your only long reach spanner down the back as you try to wriggle the bottom one free.
11. Nearly there get someone to hold the aircon pipes that go towards the heater matrix out of the way be careful not to bent them, at the same time they can pull the front plastic firewall cover forward, now you need to wriggle the airbox out it is not easy and you will swear and graze your knuckles but it does come out.
12. Retrieve the screw driver and spanner you dropped earlier and the screws that you also dropped.

This is not in the order that I did it, but it is in the order that it should have been done. So it should take you less that the 2 hours it took me. I'm only hoping it goes back together easier.

thank you crossa ...this looks a good starter for 10.....it looks as if you have been busy....ive still got the task ahead of me and will need to await better weather.

The replacement fan is a whopping £125 but it might be false economy to put a second hand one in unless you know it is from a low mileage write off. Because you really would not want to be doing this job again so a new one is going in mine. I have not order mine as I wanted to make sure there was no relay or register attached to it which might be stopping it from working but there is not the fan motor burns out.
One other thing to check is the fuse for the fan as mine had melted but was still working which meant it could have started an electrical wiring fire.
The fuse is under the relay cover which sit's a top the heater matrix, it is the last one on the nearside (passenger side) it is a standard 30amp.

I think the fan motor is controlled by the Climate Control ECU by 5 wires.There is a 12 volt feed to the motor via relays and fuses and an Earth.There are also 3 wires which come from the Climate Control ECU direct to the fan.These appear to be control wires of some descrption which govern the speed of the fan.To test these properly probably requires the Alfa Examiner Diagostic Tool.However,possibly the easiest option is to eliminate the fan with a new unit and if that solves the problem then OK.Otherwise may need diagnostic check.

Here are some pics post fan removal.
I did loosely re-attach the wiper mechanism so I could close the bonnet.
Pic 1 is with the cover loosly in place.
Pic 2 shows the air con pipes parted from the square connect block the ones that run along the top of the wing can be lifted out of the way. The other white plastic pipe is for the windscreen washer jets
Pic 3 shows the wiper mechanism which is one long bit running from one side to the other
Pic 4 the whole fan casing
Pic 5 the fan casing in bits.

Hi,

sorry to jump in on your thread but I'm having trouble with the fans / aircon on my 166. I think it's the cold as on a morning, when I try to turn the heating on, I can hear then trying to start up and then failing. Then I get the obligatory "contact workshop" etc message on the ICS. If I drive for a while, stop and then start again, the heater comes on no problem. On some of the milder mornings we've had recently the problem hasn't been there, but now and a few weeks ago when it was bitterly cold it just did not want to go until atleast 20 minutes into a journey when everything had chance to warm up.

Any of you guys heard of this before? My motor's going in on Friday for a service and MoT and I'm gunna get them to look at it, but I could do with knowing the cause and solution (ie if it's a big job) as early as possible. Will have a go at it myself if it's DIYable.

Hi Cluffstarr,
This is what my 2.5 one was doing for the last 2 years.Also on a cold morning with frost on the windscreen there were 2 arcs of defrosted screen around the heater vents when all the other cars in the street were well frozen....obviously a source of heat somewhere.I asked local Alfa Dealer for any suggestion but got the usual we'll need to take the car and investigate.Also the climate control is ecu ie computer controlled.As all who know a bit about computers one time it will work next time it wont then it will work again.I don't think that it is a major problem until the fan burns out then you have got to deal with it....then all the experts will tell you the fan is under the dash in the passenger compartment....IT ISNT....is will just be a rhehostat open circuit...NOT USUAL RHEOSTAT IN CIRCUIT.Did you have the the half moon shapes around the vents? Good luck lets know how you get on.

Well I picked up the replacement fan/motor from the dealer (£122.84) last night and fitted it tonight, and it all went back together easier then it came apart. I now have nice warm air blasting thru the vents and no fault shown on the display.
I will take it tomorrow to get the aircon regassed but I'm chuffed I can now use my 166 instead of my old Frontera SWB that I normally use for off roading at weekends.

Well done Crossa...good job....I'll now order my fan as I suspect my fault is the same as yours.

I just changed my fan in my 166. The wiring loom has three plugs local to the heater fan - the fan itself, the air flow flap, and another plug. What is the other plug? After riping out the fan box, this last plug has two wires hanging from it, and I do not know where to connect them too? The fan is working fine.

Sorry I cant remember where those wires are from, I have now sold my 166 and bought a Range Rover P38 which I am converting to use LPG, I need the Range Rover for towing. I was sad to get rid of the 166 and always look longingly at Alfas as they pass buy, one day I might return to the fold.

Sorry to hear that CROSSA .But you could have towed in style with your 166.

Picked up new fan today....Everthing comes to he who waits.

Will need good weather now to get job done.

Ah well another wee wait...At least Laceys is still going strong.

Pomeo

i now see how wise it is to have 2 166's...when 1 develops a problem you can just use the other - wonder if the wife would agree?