Cabrio heater motor

[terryrscott]

Hi, can somebody help me out with some advise on how to remove a cabrio heater motor.
not the matrix, just the motor, it keeps blowing a fuse
Thanks

[greyV8pete]

Re: Cabrio heater motor

Are you sure it’s the motor blowing the fuse? I would first check the switch and wiring / connectors. Also there is a big wire wound resistor under the top cover. A wire could have come adrift from that and be touching the frame.

[terryrscott]

Re: Cabrio heater motor

thanks pete
no i am not sure it is the motor, but the previous owner changed the motor because the fuse was blowing many years ago, so i assumed it was the same problem
you mentioned a wound resistor under a cover , what cover how do i find it ?
like all kit cars it has a strange switch for the fan with a rheostat switch as well, i disconnected the switches, wired it up to a 12 volt supply which promptly got warm, so i guessed it was a jammed motor , hence the how do i get the motor out question.

[chris_cussen]

Re: Cabrio heater motor

Can't remember the full details but the heater motor is under a firbreglass cover inside the engine bay just in front of the windscreen and behind the battery. It all depends on how the builder installed it but the cover should be removed to gain access to the motor. As far as I can remember the wire wound resistor is visible near the top of the motor.
You can always test it by removing the connecor and directly connecting it to the battery (through a 20amp fuse) seeing what happens. The motor should run at different speeds on each terminal.
I don't know what your rheostat does... I used the Sierra switch which just had 4 positions.

[A_Hogg]

Re: Cabrio heater motor

If I remember correctly , once you have removed the fibreglass cover as Chris has mentioned you should have access to the motor and the two squirrel cage fans which are housed in a plastic housing. This is split horizontally and held together with two 'saddle' like spring clips. Prise those off carefully and the top half of the housing can be removed and the motor with the fans lifted out. Once you've got that far it's easy to manually check whether or not the motor is free to turn . I freed one off with a good dose of penetrating oil on the shaft bearings. Never had any more trouble!