Wanted heater on cool so turned fan to #1 and nothing, same with #2 & 3.  #4 gives a full blast.  I assume its the switch, guessing it’s a rheostat that’s failed for 1,2,3 positions and lets full current through #4.  AC is light on in all positions and working ok on #4

Booked in for next Tuesday but would welcome any info before it goes in.

Resistor, rather than switch, they are separate.

1K0959263A as far as I can see. 

 

If changing it yourself make sure it's fitted securely in the correct place, not getting that right is what causes most of the Vauxhall car fires to start.
They must be in the airflow of the heater to keep them cool as they get VERY hot dissipating the heat from lower fan settings, if not fitted securely they can fall out.

Brilliant, thanks to both.  I wouldn’t undertake replacement but it is nice to have the info. before it goes in, although I will research part prices.

You would think that these days car designers would specify a modern efficient solid state motor controller for the blower motor.  But no, amazingly many manufacturers have stuck to using high power resistors in series with the motor.  An inefficient technology that has been around since the days of the electric tram. They are only viable by air-cooling them to carry away the waste heat, by hiding them in the heater trunking, making them very hard to reach. And if they get too close to the plastic or overheat, bye-bye dashboard or even whole car.  Any condensation causes the resistance wire to slowly corrode, and eventually thermal expansion and contraction finishes them off with an open-circuit, i.e. there is a built-in failure mechanism.  Added to which, all the resistors for different speeds are placed in one block, making them expensive to change. Come on designers - time for a rethink !

26 minutes ago, Austin 7 said:

You would think that these days car designers would specify a modern efficient solid state motor controller for the blower motor.

You will be happy that your Elegance with Climate Control has such a modern system fitted. the air-con is very prehistoric using resistors.

@Austin 7 - Engage brain! If you have the heater "on" you want to heat the car, and "waste" heat from the fan controller will help do this.

And when you want cooling? 😁

Just as you predicted, resistor replaced for £70.  Money well spent in this weather to have cool air blowing on me.

Resistor blown again, only lasted 3 weeks.  Booked in again for next week.  Any ideas for failure ? Is it just replacement then wait and see, or is there anything else that may have contributed.

Pollen filter may be badly clogged, leading to reduced airflow, and less cooling of resistor. 

Either poor quality pattern part, clogged pollen filter or a partially seized motor. 

Thanks guys.  They’re an amiable lot, so I’ll mention the possibilities when I take the car in.

Did the new one smell with fan on low speeds?

No smell that I noticed/recall.  The A/C had been on with fan # 1 for an hour, with nothing unusual. Next day drove off and thought the car was a bit warm,  checked the A/C and found the fan not working unless on 4.

When mine failed on my Fabia it made a really awful strong electrical burning smell, also probably because I bought a cheap replacement it took about a week until the new one stopped smelling really bad.

I certainly would have noticed a smell like that.  Will update when its repaired next week.

Resistor replaced again today, pollen filter checked but not replaced, fan seems free enough.    Garage did mention checking wiring if it blows again.  I saw in another post that chaffed wiring was mentioned in relation to a blowing resistor. Will just have to wait and see.

Last week on my Roomie position 1 is not working 2,3 and 4 are. If the resistor open circuited surely it would only operate of position 4? The switch sounds and feels as it should so could a contact break away? This is a nuisance as I am off on a continental road trips in the next few weeks

Depends on which resistor has blown. 

The pictures of the offending part on the spares sites only shows one exposed linking the first to the last contact. Are there more resistors in the green shrouding?

 

'The' resistor is actually 3 in series. I'd show you the circuit diagram but  I'm on  my phone and that means it's difficult for me.

Thanks for the replies. I need to replace the whole thing. That means removing glove box lid and airbag from the car to access the resistor pack. So silly, on my son's Fiesta only had to remove the plastic cover alongside the gearbox in passenger footwell - a 10 minute job.

Resistor blown again, this second replacement resistor lasted  4 weeks.  As in previous posts, supposedly resistor is genuine, pollen filter ok, fan motor ok !!.  Presume this points to a wiring fault.  I did see wiring fault mentioned somewhere !, can anyone enlighten me on any likely suspects/areas.  Would be nice to be pre-armed with any information before it goes back for a third time.

If you have a multimeter I would be tempted to check what your alternator is putting out when the engine is running.  Measure volts across the battery and see what you get with engine on.