Air con known issue -no fix yet [EDIT: now with official fix]

[Robbierob]

Just came back from my Lotus dealer. They checked everything and found out that the blower resistance seems to be defect. They ordered the part. Lets wait until the part arrives and hopefully it will work

 

[nimbusblack]

Just came back from my Lotus dealer. They checked everything and found out that the blower resistance seems to be defect. They ordered the part. Lets wait until the part arrives and hopefully it will work

im waiting on the same part i think, heater resistor pack? fans kick in for about 20 seconds on startup and then gradually fade to nothing, very occasionally they will start blowing a gale for about 5 seconds while driving and then stop.

 

[JimH]

im waiting

im waiting on the same part i think, heater resistor pack? fans kick in for about 20 seconds on startup and then gradually fade to nothing, very occasionally they will start blowing a gale for about 5 seconds while driving and then stop.

Me too - but waiting for service centre to confirm appointment and parts availability....

 

[Robbierob]

Hope this part will solve the issue. How long did you wait already?

 

[nimbusblack]

ive been waiting a week now, was warned it would be about two weeks for the part to arrive. Apparently its not easy to replace so they want my car for 2 days as well.

 

[Kimmax]

I'm going in on the 14th, complete big heating "box" under the hood to be replaced

 

[nimbusblack]

anyone think this is car washing related and water ingress through bonnet vents? having read the car care part of the manual its pretty clear that we should be being careful with pressure washing around the bonnet areas.

 

[Robbierob]

anyone think this is car washing related and water ingress through bonnet vents? having read the car care part of the manual its pretty clear that we should be being careful with pressure washing around the bonnet areas.

Do not know. My car had the problem since delivary.

 

[JimH]

Do nit know. My had the problem since delivery.

Mine too - except that it had done 245 miles as a dealer demonstrator already....

 

[JimH]

I'm going in on the 14th, complete big heating "box" under the hood to be replaced

According to the service notes, if it's the fan controller module that's attached to the side of the "big heating box" then it's just that part, but the "big heating box" has to come out to get to it...... According to my factory contact they should have first tried software update, then swapping out of the module inside the car with the heating control knobs second, to eliminate the easier fixes before that.....

 

[Robbierob]

According to the service notes, if it's the fan controller module that's attached to the side of the "big heating box" then it's just that part, but the "big heating box" has to come out to get to it...... According to my factory contact they should have first tried software update, then swapping out of the module inside the car with the heating control knobs second, to eliminate the easier fixes before that.....

Software update was done. Seems that the car react better, no start or auto hold errors anymore. But did not solve the problem with the fan.

 

[JClem]

I had the same issue and mine was done by Bell & Colvill a couple of weeks ago. The resistor motor was replaced but in the process they found a problem with the “control unit” which they also replaced. Everything is working perfectly now.

 

[nimbusblack]

I had the same issue and mine was done by Bell & Colvill a couple of weeks ago. The resistor motor was replaced but in the process they found a problem with the “control unit” which they also replaced. Everything is working perfectly now.

mine due to goto B&C as well, how long did they have the car for?

 

[JClem]

mine due to goto B&C as well, how long did they have the car for?

4 days but I timed it nicely with being on holiday. They originally said it was a 9 hour job.

 

[JimH]

4 days but I timed it nicely with being on holiday. They originally said it was a 9 hour job.

From the service notes :

1. Depressurise AC system (1 page)
2. Disconnect Battery (1 page)
3. Drain Coolant (1 page)
4. Remove front fender left side (3 pages)
5. Remove front fender right side (repeat of 4.)
6. Remove radiator Duct left side (1 page)
7. Remove radiator Duct right side (repeat of 7.)
8. Remove pollen filter (1 page)
9. Remove cooling fan (1 page)
10. Remove HVAC housing assembly (8 pages of further instructions including undoing AC pipes, moving fuse box and cables, remove wiper motor, loosen power steering pipe and move, undo and move intermediate chassis crossmember to make space, undo coolant pipes, remove HVAC unit from car )
11. Remove 2 bolts and harness connectors from fan speed control module
12. Swap fan speed control module
13. Reassembly is a reverse of the above......

Not really a "made for service" part, is it?....

 

[nimbusblack]

From the service notes :

1. Depressurise AC system (1 page)
2. Disconnect Battery (1 page)
3. Drain Coolant (1 page)
4. Remove front fender left side (3 pages)
5. Remove front fender right side (repeat of 4.)
6. Remove radiator Duct left side (1 page)
7. Remove radiator Duct right side (repeat of 7.)
8. Remove pollen filter (1 page)
9. Remove cooling fan (1 page)
10. Remove HVAC housing assembly (8 pages of further instructions including undoing AC pipes, moving fuse box and cables, remove wiper motor, loosen power steering pipe and move, undo and move intermediate chassis crossmember to make space, undo coolant pipes, remove HVAC unit from car )
11. Remove 2 bolts and harness connectors from fan speed control module
12. Swap fan speed control module
13. Reassembly is a reverse of the above......

Not really a "made for service" part, is it?....

reading through that makes me think its a recipe to create more problems

 

[Porter]

From the service notes :

1. Depressurise AC system (1 page)
2. Disconnect Battery (1 page)
3. Drain Coolant (1 page)
4. Remove front fender left side (3 pages)
5. Remove front fender right side (repeat of 4.)
6. Remove radiator Duct left side (1 page)
7. Remove radiator Duct right side (repeat of 7.)
8. Remove pollen filter (1 page)
9. Remove cooling fan (1 page)
10. Remove HVAC housing assembly (8 pages of further instructions including undoing AC pipes, moving fuse box and cables, remove wiper motor, loosen power steering pipe and move, undo and move intermediate chassis crossmember to make space, undo coolant pipes, remove HVAC unit from car )
11. Remove 2 bolts and harness connectors from fan speed control module
12. Swap fan speed control module
13. Reassembly is a reverse of the above......

Not really a "made for service" part, is it?....

This honestly doesn't seem that bad. Note they didn't include "remove entire dash assembly, entire center console, disassemble complex 30-piece razor sharp rigid plastic origami hiding behind the dash reinforcement beam with only 3 inches of space to work in, and to access all that stuff you must first remove all surrounding interior trim along the floor and up to the roof, remove the steering wheel and steering column, and remove both front seats"... as is needed in a surprising number of mainstream luxury unibody vehicles when doing this type of thing.

 

[FlashingBlade]

I'm having a problem with my aircon, does this sound related?

With mine, my fan/air con isnt coming on reliably. Take this morning, got in the car and after driving about 50 yards it started to mist up, okay, turn on the demist button - nothing. Turn the blowers up maximum manually using the rotary dial - nothing.

I pulled over and wiped a portal in the windscreen so that I could see and carried on and then after about five minutes of driving, the fans kicked in. It happened like this twice today. I need the fans/demist to work from the minute I get in the car, not ten minutes down the road.

 

[Johnson]

Had our first really warm day in Tassie yesterday — the air conditioning worked a treat. Bit confusing with the controls (it seems to kick back into “auto” by Itself)… but still, no complaints here!

 

[JClem]

I'm having a problem with my aircon, does this sound related?

With mine, my fan/air con isnt coming on reliably. Take this morning, got in the car and after driving about 50 yards it started to mist up, okay, turn on the demist button - nothing. Turn the blowers up maximum manually using the rotary dial - nothing.

I pulled over and wiped a portal in the windscreen so that I could see and carried on and then after about five minutes of driving, the fans kicked in. It happened like this twice today. I need the fans/demist to work from the minute I get in the car, not ten minutes down the road.

That sounds exactly the same as mine. Resistor motor replacement solves it