Fan on Climate Control stays on

Post by **Mike Langlois** » 21 Mar 2020, 17:06

On my 2002 V70 X/C, I just noted that the small fan on the rear of the Climate Control unit is staying on. While trying to track down the source of a whine in my aftermarket radio, I noted that the small fan on the rear of the Climate Control unit is staying on. It has done this twice, even after the car sat for a day or two. First time, I could hear the fan running after the climate control unit was removed from the console; blew on it once and it stopped (who knows?); a week later the fan was on again after the car sat for a day or two. I am beginning to think this issue is related to the radio whine; they sound similar and they started at about the same time. Battery went dead a while back and I think the fan was on and draining it at the time.
The car is not a daily driver and is kept in excellent condition. 170,000 miles, with practically everything renewed/replaced, Any thoughts as to why the fan would stay on? I have another 2002 V70 here for parts and can exchange parts to trouble shoot if necessary; also get the feeling I should not mess with the Climate Control module with out some guidance. Mike

Post by **darrylrobert** » 21 Mar 2020, 19:49

If you look closely there should be a what looks like something stuck in there (temp sensor) between the fan and the grille. I first tried to dig it out thinking it was dirt (oops), since you blew on it and the fan stopped you can try using a vacuum to clean grille or take it apart like i have and given it a good clean and inspection. I noticed mine staying on but not more than a few minutes after engine shutdown.

This maybe the temp sensor for the cabin ambient temp reading, do you have something OBD2 to check this value ?

Post by **Mike Langlois** » 21 Mar 2020, 20:48

I shall try this.

Thunderclap · Post by **Thunderclap** » 09 Jul 2021, 01:52

I’m having a similar issue, I have to pull fan blower fuse to keep my battery from draining. For AC to work it’s a crapshoot. Trying to avoid a dealer throwing parts at it.

TisMe · Post by **TisMe** » 09 Jul 2021, 13:20

I fixed this on my '01 XC70 by replacing the blower motor module. Had to pull the fuse beside the steering wheel to get it to turn off, and the new motor completely solved it. When I researched it before, it didn't seem too uncommon for them to fail after x number of years. The module is very much plug-and-play, so no funny business involved in the swap.

It's pretty inexpensive, and took less than an hour to swap out behind the glove box. If memory serves, it was just a few screws and some interesting clips to pull out. Also there's a little black "shock" you need to pry off to get the glovebox to drop down. Which reminds me, I still haven't reattached it myself. That was the biggest pain to try to apply the correct pressure to reattach. Glovebox swings fine with it detached, but sometimes it gets in the way so I'd recommend following through to reattach it.

Of course your issue could be something different within the electrical system, as every fan in my cabin refused to turn off. But this is a safe bet for a first attempt before you start digging further into the weird parts of the electrical system. I would suspect that once these modules start to fail, they can short out in different ways causing slightly different symptoms.