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How to fix noisy Fabia ventilation fan


ap0gee1978

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Now autumn's arrived and the leaves are falling from the trees, you might notice that your ventilation fan starts to make humming / vibrating sounds when it's on 3 or 4. This is because leaves get sucked into the inlet of the fan and get stuck in the fan blades. Here's how to get them out. You will need a Torx screwdriver (3mm, I think) and about 10 minutes to do this job:

First, turn on the fan, and set it to re-circ. Once the re-circ's come on and the fan starts to blow harder, turn off the ignition (just to be on the safe side!) Doing this will open a flap on the back of the fan that lets the air from inside the car back into the fan inlet - more on this later:

fig1.jpg

Sorry for the rubbish cameraphone pics -

they should be good enough to do this, though...

Next, open the passenger door and the glove compartment lid, and push off the D-shaped bit of trim down the side of the dash:

fig2.jpg

Close the glove compartment lid again, then undo the two screws underneath the dash, just behind where the glove compartment lid hinges down:

fig3.jpgfig4.jpg

Now, use your knee or foot to support the glove compartment unit, open the glove compartment (again!) and undo the three screws along the top edge:

fig5.jpg

The glove compartment unit will now drop down, and you will be able to see the fan housing in front of you. If you reach right round the back, you can get your fingers inside and pull out any leaves stuck in the fan blades. Turn the blades round a couple of times to make sure you've got everything:

fig6.jpg

Re-assembly is virtually the reverse of dis-assembly, as they say. You will need to be careful of the passenger footwell air outlet (marked by the dotted line), and you may find it easiest to do it with the passenger door open to give you a bit more room to manoeuvre:

fig7.jpg

That's it! Enjoy your quiet(er) fan! :)

(Printer-friendly pdf version attached below...)

fabia_noisy_fan.pdf

Edited by ap0gee
Printer-friendly pdf instructions added
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Good guide but another way of doing it (if you have small hands) is to remove the pollen filter and reach up into the fan that way... with the fan off ofcourse!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Further to the above, I've had to do the same on SWMBO's car, and managed to explode the lamp holder for the glovebox. Here's how it goes together - note the way the spring goes (just in case it happens to you! ;) ) Hope the pics are good enough for you to figure out what goes where!

fig8.jpg

fig9.jpg

fig0.jpg

I've noticed it happens when there are leaves down where the wipers are. If you open the bonnet without clearing away the leaves first, they can drop behind the scuttle panel and then get inside the fan. I'll leave it to you folks to figure out the moral of the story!!!

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  • 2 months later...

I just had a phone cradle changed and the glovebox light now doesn't work.

Whilst unscrewing the glovebox it fell into the footwell no doubt damaging something.

I have taken a look at the light and switch. The car phone place apears to have tried to bodge it back together - the black switch? in the above 2 photos isn't there and the copper contacts have been bent and i can't see where they are supposed to go.

Does anyone have or are they able to take some better images of the lamp holder and switch so i can try and find all the parts and put it back together.

If not any ideas on cost for replacement of the whole lamp and switch assembly

Cheers Rich

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I just had a phone cradle changed and the glovebox light now doesn't work.

Whilst unscrewing the glovebox it fell into the footwell no doubt damaging something.

I have taken a look at the light and switch. The car phone place apears to have tried to bodge it back together - the black switch? in the above 2 photos isn't there and the copper contacts have been bent and i can't see where they are supposed to go.

Does anyone have or are they able to take some better images of the lamp holder and switch so i can try and find all the parts and put it back together.

If not any ideas on cost for replacement of the whole lamp and switch assembly

Cheers Rich

:bump:

New photos above - hope they've come soon enough!

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  • 11 months later...
  • 3 months later...
Good guide but another way of doing it (if you have small hands) is to remove the pollen filter and reach up into the fan that way... with the fan off ofcourse!

I may try this first before taking the car apart (never goes back as it was when I do it)

Where is the pollen filter for me to try this?

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It is were the underside of the glovebox meets the left-hand side of the centre console. There is a long, thin cover running front-to-back, with sliding clips at either end. Move these sliders into the middle, and pull the cover down. You should then be able to slide the filter down and get it out. You may want to put newspaper down or have a hoover handy, as quite a few leaves can collect in there!

HTH :)

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  • 1 year later...
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  • 6 months later...

I actually love you!! :rofl:

Mine exploded, and I had no idea how to re-assemble! It has been sat in a box in a cupboard for nearly a year.. Another job for the weekend :thumbup:

Further to the above, I've had to do the same on SWMBO's car, and managed to explode the lamp holder for the glovebox. Here's how it goes together - note the way the spring goes (just in case it happens to you! ;) ) Hope the pics are good enough for you to figure out what goes where!

fig8.jpg

fig9.jpg

fig0.jpg

I've noticed it happens when there are leaves down where the wipers are. If you open the bonnet without clearing away the leaves first, they can drop behind the scuttle panel and then get inside the fan. I'll leave it to you folks to figure out the moral of the story!!!

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  • 1 year later...

WARNING PASSENGER AIR BAG

Hi

I removed the fan motor from my MK1 TDI Estate with passenger air bag because it was noisy. It turned out to be a leaf in the fan; once removed OK.

WARNING PASSENGER AIR BAG

Do not disconnect the yellow wires because these are for the airbag and if removed, the air bag could go off in your face! The air bag is designed to go off whilst you are belted up and sat upright in the chair. :bandit:

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  • 5 months later...
  • 7 months later...

Mine was buzzing on three and four.

 

Couldn't reach any leaves or feel anything in the blades so........ took the entire fan off by undoing five screws, entire fan drops out and it was covered in dust and not spinning to freely.

 

Can of air duster and a face like Ive been up a chimney and the blades now spine fine, quick spray of WD40 and put it back together, now doesn't make a peep

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  • 1 year later...

Further to the above, I've had to do the same on SWMBO's car, and managed to explode the lamp holder for the glovebox. Here's how it goes together - note the way the spring goes (just in case it happens to you! ;) ) Hope the pics are good enough for you to figure out what goes where!

 

fig8.jpg

fig9.jpg

fig0.jpg

I've noticed it happens when there are leaves down where the wipers are. If you open the bonnet without clearing away the leaves first, they can drop behind the scuttle panel and then get inside the fan. I'll leave it to you folks to figure out the moral of the story!!!

 

 

 

Top man these pictures also help me re assamble my glove box light after i took it out in several bits :thumb:

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  • 2 years later...
  • 5 weeks later...

Cheers for this guide :)
My heater resistor packed in and I only had fan speed 4 working, shortly after I heard a proper rumble going on, Sure enough, a big arse leaf was next to the fan blade, got rid of that, emptied the crud on the pollen filter, and all is sounding normal again :)

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  • 4 months later...
On 04/11/2006 at 19:43, ap0gee1978 said:

Further to the above, I've had to do the same on SWMBO's car, and managed to explode the lamp holder for the glovebox. Here's how it goes together - note the way the spring goes (just in case it happens to you! ;) ) Hope the pics are good enough for you to figure out what goes where!

 

fig8.jpg

fig9.jpg

fig0.jpg

 

 

I've noticed it happens when there are leaves down where the wipers are. If you open the bonnet without clearing away the leaves first, they can drop behind the scuttle panel and then get inside the fan. I'll leave it to you folks to figure out the moral of the story!!!

 

 

Thanks a MILLLLLLLION for these pictures.    I just had mine explode on removal, and I had NO idea how to put it back together.   I was resigned to buying a new one until I came across your pictures.  I did work out that the trick is to get the spring onto the black arm first,then tension it and put it onto the body, then put the lens back on making sure that the copper contacts go into their correct places in the lens.

Works a treat now.  Saved me  ££££££££'s.

Another big plus to being a member of this forum.  :biggrin:  :biggrin:

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  • 1 year later...
On 26/10/2006 at 21:40, ap0gee1978 said:

Now autumn's arrived and the leaves are falling from the trees, you might notice that your ventilation fan starts to make humming / vibrating sounds when it's on 3 or 4. This is because leaves get sucked into the inlet of the fan and get stuck in the fan blades. Here's how to get them out. You will need a Torx screwdriver (3mm, I think) and about 10 minutes to do this job:

First, turn on the fan, and set it to re-circ. Once the re-circ's come on and the fan starts to blow harder, turn off the ignition (just to be on the safe side!) Doing this will open a flap on the back of the fan that lets the air from inside the car back into the fan inlet - more on this later:

 

fig1.jpg

Sorry for the rubbish cameraphone pics -

they should be good enough to do this, though...

 

 

Next, open the passenger door and the glove compartment lid, and push off the D-shaped bit of trim down the side of the dash:

 

fig2.jpg

 

 

Close the glove compartment lid again, then undo the two screws underneath the dash, just behind where the glove compartment lid hinges down:

 

fig3.jpgfig4.jpg

 

 

Now, use your knee or foot to support the glove compartment unit, open the glove compartment (again!) and undo the three screws along the top edge:

 

fig5.jpg

 

 

The glove compartment unit will now drop down, and you will be able to see the fan housing in front of you. If you reach right round the back, you can get your fingers inside and pull out any leaves stuck in the fan blades. Turn the blades round a couple of times to make sure you've got everything:

 

fig6.jpg

 

 

Re-assembly is virtually the reverse of dis-assembly, as they say. You will need to be careful of the passenger footwell air outlet (marked by the dotted line), and you may find it easiest to do it with the passenger door open to give you a bit more room to manoeuvre:

 

fig7.jpg

 

 

That's it! Enjoy your quiet(er) fan! :)

(Printer-friendly pdf version attached below...)

fabia_noisy_fan.pdf 15.49 kB · 2,670 downloads

great! very detailed 

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