Blower Fan

[Breezy_Pete]

11 minutes ago, nta16 said:

I don't know where the blower gets its air input from

 

On a mk1 it's like this, and I suspect a mk3 is very similar. You can see the recirculation flap in the centre, horizontally, that turns through about 90° when you want recirculated air, rather than outside air.

 

 

When everything is in place, there's a rubber seal along the front edge of the 'water box' as it's called, which separates engine bay air from the air that's drawn into the cabin through the cover by the wipers. The underside of the bonnet seals against this rubber.

 

 

[Breezy_Pete]

If there's a strong enough stink in the engine bay (like from a major fuel leak...) it'll get through to the cabin air intake no matter how well sealed.  I believe the OP might be referring to when his injector rail came loose due to a broken screw?

 

[rum4mo]

I don't think that there is any issues with the garage leaving panels and the passenger airbag disconnected, that car will have been "loaned back" to its owner as it was required back and passed back with the knowledge that there would not be a passenger in the front probably.

 

Smell of petrol - never a good thing unless you are using it to clean up parts!

 

Due to this investigative work on the blower, there should have been no possibility of them opening up any part of the fuel system as that is where any smell of petrol must be coming from. Try opening the bonnet to see if there is a strong or even any smell of petrol there - there should not be, every part of the fuel systems nowadays is sealed to the atmosphere including the tank venting system, any spillage left over from when the fuel rail leak was sorted out should have gone by now.

 

As usual, there could be other reasons for that petrol smell, especially in warmer weather, like someone in that garage was working on a fuel system and so petrol vapour ended up in your car for a short time.

 

I have said that I've been aware of petrol smells while out and about in this hotter weather - it reminded me of being on holiday abroad, but I'm sure that most of the time it has nothing to do with our own cars.

[nta16]

Sorry I wasn't trying to create a storm in a teacup, I was trying to avoid being alarmist with the intense petrol smell on starting and was just trying to get over this shouldn't be so, also I didn't know this was about a different issue.  So much effort has been put into stopping the slightest petrol fumes getting to the air around us.

 

On the airbag being disconnected fair enough if it's been agreed and accepted that there wouldn't be a passenger there.  Not that I know but would it have taken that much effort or time to replace the dash side/end panel, perhaps more hassle with the glovebox but again I don't know.

 

If the petrol smell was already sorted and the blower due to be fitted it's just short term inconvenience, and of course the bill.

[Eeeekkk]

Happy to report no petrol smell this morning. It possibly was partly caused by starting up and immediately getting stuck at the entrance of the garage for ages due to traffic. I think if I'd pulled straight out I wouldn't have noticed anything.

 

I did notice when clearing out the embarrassingly large amount of litter in my glovebox that there was a black rubber seal lying around in there.

 

I wonder if they assumed I would be leaving it and then when I said I needed it at the crack of dawn they threw enough of it back together that I could take it.

[rum4mo]

@Eeeekkk, I think that you are being spot on, in respect of them thinking customer says there is a problem, we have stripped it out and found the problem, parts on order by not due until the next or next day. I've never been too sure if service areas in dealerships ever understood that most people buy a car because they have a use for it, our cars are for more than allow garages to make a living - rant over!

 

@nta16,  I was not trying to snap your head off or bark or/and growl, I was just trying to put into words that the garage would be hopefully trying to minimise the customer's spend, so what was taken apart was staying apart as it did not affect the intended short term use of that car.

 

Anyway, sorry to deviate but:- my daughter's May 2019 SEAT Leon Cupra was over due its second service, so I suggested that she got going and booked it in, she went online, started booking it into her SEAT dealership (AC) and the website offered her a special new way of doing things that they now offer, maybe Covid-19 started this off, anyway, you can click a box to say that you are willing to drop the car off at your nearest Arnold Clark garage, sounded okay to her so she did just that, they sent her a reminder late last night "your car is booked in for 07:30 tomorrow, please note that we do not open until 08:00"  - she found that message a bit strange to work out, but on messaging me I suggested that maybe the service reception area opens earlier than the workshop. At this point I did not know what the arrangements were, so I asked, "is some scanky young chap going to drive your car across town to the SEATworkshop and back?" as it turned out the answer to that was "no" the car was being serviced at that either car supermarket or Nissan dealership!  When asked if she wanted them to look into anything else or was it just a service " check CarPlay for functioning correctly or apply any S/W updates" their answer was, no we can't do that we are not a SEAT dealership!  So what the F are these AC clowns up to yet again, taking in under warranty SEATs to a Nissan only workshop and probably can't even update the service records on the SEAT database - and of course no access to SEAT oil and pollen filters etc. I asked her why her man who is a petrolhead did not know what she was organising and suggest a better way to do it.  So poor Cupra was due an inspection service and probably just got an oil vac out and refill, oh well such is life!  I wonder if the inspection clock has been reset, I'll need to check it on VCDS soon. Not getting the pollen filter replaced is okay as VW Group prepaid service plans seem to only ever fit a basic pollen filter, cars with auto AC are meant to get a carbon coated pollen filter, maybe I'll hound her to buy a Mann Frecious Plus filter online somewhere.

[nta16]

3 hours ago, Eeeekkk said:

I wonder if they assumed I would be leaving it and then when I said I needed it at the crack of dawn they threw enough of it back together that I could take it.

Who knows what anybody thinks unless they tell you.  I think communicating to and with the customer saves guesswork, misunderstandings and problems on both sides.  Communicated properly most reasonable people prefer to hear even bad news or changes and if done in a timely manner usually a sort around can be found.  Of course this does require that the customer expectations are managed properly and the customer isn't over promised to.  Anyone in a relationship will fully understand the basics and consequences when it goes wrong .  

[nta16]

2 hours ago, rum4mo said:

I was not trying to snap your head off or bark or/and growl,

 

No I didn't think you was, we're both apologising to each other.     Difference between written and spoken words. 

 

 

2 hours ago, rum4mo said:

VW Group prepaid service plans seem to only ever fit a basic pollen filter, cars with auto AC are meant to get a carbon coated pollen filter, maybe I'll hound her to buy a Mann Frecious Plus filter online somewhere.

 

Now I've not thought about this, assuming (and we all know what assume means) that the appropriate filter would be fitted at the dealership, if I remember I will look.

[Eeeekkk]

Good news, the old fan works! That saved me a couple of hundred quid. 

[nta16]

So what was the problem?

 

[Eeeekkk]

I'm not sure they entirely knew. They changed the resistor and it still didn't work the first time they had it. But before they fitted the new one they stripped it all down, cleaned it up, redid the connections and it did work so they refitted it.

[nta16]

If it wasn't working on 4 then that wasn't the resistor but that's not to say the resistor couldn't also be faulty.  Going to the effort of stripping down cleaning and testing  rather than just replacing with new doesn't happen as often as it should nowadays so you at least gained there.

 

I often put that much servicing, maintenance and repairs often just boils down to clean and lubricate and it still apply to modern cars.

 

You've got it sorted and didn't need around £200 (wow) for a new motor so that's good.