AC/heater Fan gone on 981 Boxster S

[elliotw]

Hi there

The AC/heater fan on my 981 Boxster S seems to have given up the ghost. Neither the air conditioning nor the heating seems to blow air (and nothing hot/cold seems to come out the air vents). There are no warning lights on the dashboard. I have checked the fuse boxes in both foot wells and the relevant fuses seem to be fine.

I'd add that a garage did some minor repairs to the front bumper of my car two months ago. As part of that repair, they disconnected a dash cam I had previously installed myself and forgot to reconnect it (apparently this was because of the airbag needing to be disconnected to remove the front bumper). I had to return the car to them for them to fix this and a couple of other issues - I received the car back from them a month ago. I am not sure how long I have had the issue with the fan or whether this is related.

I have an official Porsche warranty.

A few questions:

1. Am I likely to be able to fix this myself? If so, any instructions etc?
2. The earliest I can get a local NW London OPC check my car is 1 month away - that is too long to be without heating. Suggestions for getting it fixed by a non-OPC garage sooner using the official Porsche warranty?

Thanks

 

[Terry]

Have a look at this previous thread, it may be a similar issue:

https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=909035

 

[s999sws]

Reach down in the air cleaner box on the passenger side in the front luggage compartment, remove the cleaner pad and you will see the fan blades. Just give them a spin and you may then find all is ok. MAKE SURE THE IGNITION IS OFF!!

cheers

sws

 

[richardjjs1]

When you say the earliest is that them or you If it is them then I think it should be fixed earlier by them as its warranty You have already taken it to a non Porsche garage and they have not fixed it properly so why should they fix the fan Again not really sure why they would disconnect the air bag to remove the bumper. Maybe some one can put me right here!!

Spinning the fan and getting running will NOT fix the problem permanently but will tell you that's wrong and allow you to wait till you go to an OPC Good luck

 

[elliotw]

When you say the earliest is that them or you If it is them then I think it should be fixed earlier by them as its warranty You have already taken it to a non Porsche garage and they have not fixed it properly so why should they fix the fan Again not really sure why they would disconnect the air bag to remove the bumper. Maybe some one can put me right here!!

Spinning the fan and getting running will NOT fix the problem permanently but will tell you that's wrong and allow you to wait till you go to an OPC Good luck

Thanks to all.

That is the earliest the OPC can collect my car. I am happy to have my car collected any time before then. I'd add there is a tiny difference when the OPC collects my car vs me dropping off the car at the OPC. I checked with another London OPC and the wait time was even worse - they couldn't collect the car until mid December!

I think the Porsche Warranty is pretty shoddy in that case...you get to use an OPC with the Porsche warranty - I do not think they permit any other garage - and it takes a month or two before the OPC has availability to see the car!!!!

The point about the non-Porsche garage was that the fan not working COULD be related to the work they did. I don't know. I have had so many issues with that garage I wouldn't be surprised if it was their fault. I was also surprised that they disconnected the airbag to fix the bumper, but that's what they told me. I obviously want this fixed under my Porsche warranty!

 

[s999sws]

Well, it happened to mine about 2 years ago and after spinning the fan the fault has not reoccured. I would suggest that 2 years of normal running could be called a fix.

sws

 

[richardjjs1]

I think you should contact trading standards or REJECT THE VEHICLE as not fit for purpose - bet they would do it then!!

If they offer a two year warranty then it should be fixed within a reasonable time

I guess you paid a lot of money for this car

I agree a fix if its ok after 2 years!!

Regards

 

[elliotw]

Thanks.

I contacted Porsche Customer Assistance to complain about the wait times. They agreed to let me drop off the car at a London OPC this weekend (they actually offered today, but that isn't practicable for me), which is obviously a massive improvement! Annoying I had to contact them to get this expedited, but it seems like this will be dealt with in a timely manner.

 

[agnick]

Reach down in the air cleaner box on the passenger side in the front luggage compartment, remove the cleaner pad and you will see the fan blades. Just give them a spin and you may then find all is ok. MAKE SURE THE IGNITION IS OFF!!

cheers

sws

First post having only recently joined after buying a good, low mileage 981 Boxster S (2015). Just wanted to thank you for posting this. I found it via Google after deciding to have a quick pre-celebration drive with my young son. But having got going, it quickly became obvious the fans weren't working. I checked the fuse and it was OK. So did what you suggested; I could feel a little resistance on the first nudge and then the fan span freely. It worked instantly after that. Having had the car for two weeks and only stood still for a week due to ark-building weather, I'm a bit surprised by this. Not what I expected from my first Porsche. But hopefully a minor gremlin that won't reoccur. Thanks again for the tip!

 

[richardfleming]

it happens - quick twiddle with the fan and it's on again. Only seems to stick if unused for a while in damp/cold weather so maybe yours has been unused for a bit before you got it. Either way, if it happens again it's a 5 minute fix.

 

[GeoffHill]

Thanks Stephen, my fan didn’t work today and fortunately I found your post, followed your instructions and 5 minutes later it was working.

 

[SWigzy]

I suffered this after picking up my 718 Boxster from an airport tonight. It had spent five wet days outside. No demisting, heating, nothing. Fan started after a tedious 50 kms of its own accord. It is 50 years since I last had to wipe the inside of a windscreen.

 

[BlackCab]

Plus one on this tip. Exactly the same problem on my 2014 981 last week. Scouring the forum came up with the solution to a problem that shouldn't really happen. Not good that Porsche haven't fixed it on 718s either....

Tim

 

[SWigzy]

Have now spoken to the dealership tech guru. A sensor detects any resistance in the fan mechanism. This can be caused by leaving the car outside for an extended period in damp weather (yes, really!) as well as debris around the fan or its spindle. He has not known this to have happened more than once to any car. The solution, I was told, is as above: free the fan by hand, then run it for at least fifteen minutes and/or ask the dealer to raise the sensor’s threshold (I detected little faith in this). And, I suggest, carry a windscreen wipe! The beanie I keep in the car for cold days with the roof down came in handy for this!

 

[Wardie69]

Just had this happen, took 5 minutes to fix. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!