Technical Car/Motor Issues > Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch
Thread Author: maltrap Replies: 10
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New Mon 22 Dec 14 11:34 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - maltrap
The heater motor switch on the wife's Polo has stopped working in the number 1 position, the other three are OK. Is this fixable or has the whole switch got to be replaced ?
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New Mon 22 Dec 14 11:52 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - bathtub tom
Heater fan speeds used to be controlled by a network of resistors, don't know if that still applies to yours.

Googling your title brings up an item for an eye-watering hundred quid on ebay and there's a youtube description.

I'd be tempted to remove the old one and get my soldering iron out!

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New Mon 22 Dec 14 12:44 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - maltrap
Cheers Tom, Merry Xmas
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New Mon 22 Dec 14 12:49 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - Zero
>> Heater fan speeds used to be controlled by a network of resistors, don't know if
>> that still applies to yours.
>>
>> Googling your title brings up an item for an eye-watering hundred quid on ebay and
>> there's a youtube description.
>>
>> I'd be tempted to remove the old one and get my soldering iron out!

Doesn't look like the fixable with a soldering iron type.


Probalem is caused, by the way, by not changing the pollen filter, reducing air flow overheating the pack.
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New Mon 22 Dec 14 15:31 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - maltrap
Thanks Zero,you're right about not changing the pollen filter, are you saying the problem is at the motor, not the switch ?
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New Mon 22 Dec 14 15:47 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - Zero
>> Thanks Zero,you're right about not changing the pollen filter, are you saying the problem is
>> at the motor, not the switch ?

No not saying that, the resistor has gone for sure. just saying that normally the reason it burns out is because of lack of airflow caused by blocked pollen filter.
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New Mon 22 Dec 14 18:05 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - carmalade
Very likely to be a fault with the speed resistor found behind the dash/glovebox.Probably one of the wire wound resistances open circuit.Burnt out resistors caused by a blocked cabin filters is a myth,it is usually old age or the motor drawing slightly too much current.
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New Mon 22 Dec 14 18:23 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - Zero
>>
>> Burnt out resistors caused by a blocked cabin filters
>> is a myth,it is usually old age or the motor drawing slightly too much current.

Sorry but its not a myth. Resistor packs are often mounted in the air flow to prevent premature ageing. Reduced airflow = premature ageing.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 22 Dec 14 at 18:25
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New Thu 1 Jan 15 19:33 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - zookeeper
you can get a replacement resistor pack from fleabay... plug n play 2 minute job
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New Sat 3 Jan 15 10:16 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - maltrap
Thanks everyone, i've done a bit of "mooching". The resistor pack is inside one of the air ducts, accessable by removing the glove box. I don't know about 2 minutes. There's even a tutorial on Utube. Thanks again, Happy New Year.
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New Sat 3 Jan 15 12:07 
 Volkswagen Polo IV - 04 1.6 Heater Fan Switch - Simon
>> Sorry but its not a myth. Resistor packs are often mounted in the air flow
>> to prevent premature ageing. Reduced airflow = premature ageing.

I agree. I once kept chucking resistor packs at my (inherited) works Transit Connect, they kept blowing within weeks and sort of coincidentally the fan blower was very poor too. Anyway I took the thing to bits and removed the cabin filter, it was blocked solid and I mean solid, it was a bit like a lump of coal, but then again the van had been running with a blowing exhaust manifold for a while. Plus it had probably never been changed for a number of years. Anyway once the airflow had been sorted out with a new filter, another resistor pack fitted it has been fine since. Hence I conclude that the reason that they are fitted in the cold air flow duct is that they need a flow of cool air in order to stop them overheating under load.
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