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Don't know if this would be considered a hijack, that picture Skip posted near the top of the thread is very helpful.

 

BUT...I have an EA81. Are the resistor blocks similar in appearance and location?

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These are not my best work, but might help for a start:

 

It's tricky to get it to focus on the little parts. I can try again tomorrow.

 

 

There is a plastic finger that needs to be lifted away from the metal contact:

 

female9.jpg

 

 

The un modified end works for these:

 

male6.jpg

 

 

The little "finger" is what has to be pushed flat to release the pin from the plastic:

 

pin4.jpg

 

 

The modified end:

 

http://home.comcast.net/~davidtief/Subaru/temp/tool7.jpg

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Don't know if this would be considered a hijack, that picture Skip posted near the top of the thread is very helpful.

 

BUT...I have an EA81. Are the resistor blocks similar in appearance and location?

Pretty much the same for the location; resistors block are the same for EA81 and EA82.
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  • 2 months later...

I had the classic, in both cars actually, the fan worked on 3/4 only.

 

I was able to repair the resistor block to some extent. The wire in the middle coil was broken about 1/2" from the end. I clipped off the short piece, and cleaned up the end of the coil. I was then able to solder the original coil back to the lug where it was originally attached. It did not solder well, and was difficlt to get the resistance wire to take solder, even though I cleaned it quite througly.

 

I'm not sure how long this fix will work, but it is nice to be able to make the repair for almost free. The dealer wants $45 for a new part.

 

The odd thing is that I only got 2/3/4, but not 1 back, even though I am sure that there was no other damage to the coils... still that's good enough for now. I just came in from getting the heater control vacuum line rehooked up - almost ready for winter!

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One more tip about these - In my opinion the bead of ceramic "stuff" on the coils helps them last longer. I figure it acts as a heat sink so the coils don't get quite so hot. The last time I replaced mine (with a used one), I put a bead of DAP High Heat Mortar (left over from another project) on the coils that didn't have the original ceramic "stuff" anymore. The High Heat Mortar comes in a tube like caulk, but is designed for repairing firebrick, so when it cures it is quite hard and very heat resistant. So far it has held up better than any other previous replacement.

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One more tip about these - In my opinion the bead of ceramic "stuff" on the coils helps them last longer. I figure it acts as a heat sink so the coils don't get quite so hot. The last time I replaced mine (with a used one), I put a bead of DAP High Heat Mortar (left over from another project) on the coils that didn't have the original ceramic "stuff" anymore. The High Heat Mortar comes in a tube like caulk, but is designed for repairing firebrick, so when it cures it is quite hard and very heat resistant. So far it has held up better than any other previous replacement.
The ceramic stuff does help the coils last longer but I suspect it's not because it acts as a heatsink.

 

The ceramic keeps the coils apart so that adjacent loops don't touch, fuse together and then upset the current draw for that loop (or cause a hot spot which causes the coil to go open circuit).

 

The primary cooling for the coils is done by placing the resistor coils in the direct path of the blower helping to disipate the heat generated. Plus the faster the blower turns, the more cooling air is generated.

 

Pretty clever those fellows at Heavy Fuji.

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the coating is to protect the nichrome wire from oxidation. at high temperatures when it is working as a resistor to change the fan speed it becomes extrememly hot. like most metals when heated and cooled it oxidizes and corrodes.

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i work at a industrial ceramic shop, and i use a cement that we make, its good for 3500 degrees Fahrenheit, its a sodium silicate base with a fine grain alumina oxide (A 152 alumina), i also used a pencil and made a coil , using nickel chrome wire, and made 9 raps on the pencil. just solder the coil in and than coat it with the cement, let air dry for an hour or so. works excellent

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i work at a industrial ceramic shop, and i use a cement that we make, its good for 3500 degrees Fahrenheit, its a sodium silicate base with a fine grain alumina oxide (A 152 alumina), i also used a pencil and made a coil , using nickel chrome wire, and made 9 raps on the pencil. just solder the coil in and than coat it with the cement, let air dry for an hour or so. works excellent

thats really really really cool!!!

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does anyone also notice it sounding like theres paper stuck in the blower motor fan when you turn it on. I only have the last 2 speeds and it sounds like something is stuck in the blower fan. Just Curious

 

Ben

 

There may be mouse at work here in your ducting system.

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Pretty much the same for the location; resistors block are the same for EA81 and EA82.

 

I must be missing something. After reading this I was going to pull the resistor from my parts ea81 wagon, for use in the xt. And I can find no resistor. Where should I be looking?

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does anyone also notice it sounding like theres paper stuck in the blower motor fan when you turn it on. I only have the last 2 speeds and it sounds like something is stuck in the blower fan. Just Curious

 

Ben

 

Could also be a leaf stuck in there. I've had that happen more than a few times.

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I've made new coils too but don't have coating material

 

Don't worry about coating them. If you have nichrome close in diameter to what was there, it will take years to break again. I usually found some nichrome a bit larger, so low is a little faster than stock, but none have failed after repair.

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On an EA82 it is mounted on the blower housing. The resistors are in the air flow path, so you can't see them. Just a rectangular cover. They have a 4 pin connector.

 

I know where they are on the ea82...

 

I was going to pull the resistor from my parts ea81 wagon, for use in the xt.

 

Edrach said they were the same for ea81 and ea82, hense I was asking where on the ea81.

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Incidentally, the resistor pack is more than the dealer price on Autozone.com, coming in at $57.99.

http://www.autozone.com/N,15201160//shopping/partTypeResultSet.htm

 

The relay is not so bad, at $12.99, for those of you who want a brand new one.

http://www.autozone.com/R,APP1349100/vehicleId,1083601/initialAction,partProductDetail/store,5229/partType,01321/shopping/partProductDetail.htm

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Got my new resistor block today (for my 92 Loyale) from Ironman Subaru in Penticton. Can$45.00. About US$44.00 at todays exch. rate (We're gaining on you Yanks:) :) ) Anyway I noticed it had a bead of some sort of hard white substance laid across each coil and I'm curious if this is a recent mod to improve the durability or what?

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I know where they are on the ea82...

 

I was going to pull the resistor from my parts ea81 wagon, for use in the xt.

 

Edrach said they were the same for ea81 and ea82, hense I was asking where on the ea81.

If I remember correctly, it's in the same place on an EA81. I just looked in my Brat and there you have to remove the small tray that's in front of and under the glove box. On the older wagons I sort of remember a panel under the glove box that you'll need to remove to see it. Skip's picture at the beginning of this thread is accurate once you remove all the stuff in the way.
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Anyway I noticed it had a bead of some sort of hard white substance laid across each coil and I'm curious if this is a recent mod to improve the durability or what?

 

All of the OE ones I have looked at had that. It is to support the wire - it can get very hot. Vibration and temperature cycles break it up over the years.

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