Replacing the Final Stage (Blower) Resistor on a L322 Range Rover (MkIII) 2002
Much written and said about this, but could I find any photo tutorials? No. Also, much of the information is incomplete, leading to confusion on my part when the time came to do it. So here we go.
Haven’t really got hands on with the new Range Rover, was quite happy dismantling stuff on the P38 so was time to get stuck in on the L322 at last and start saving a few pennies at the stealer.
One day, the fans stopped working on Big Bob. All the lights were working, and there was some heat, but nothing blowing. So a quick search on the internet revealed that the final stage resistor (FSR) or fan motor resistor unit was to blame, or at least this was the first best thing to try before it became a case of having the whole inside of the car removed to sort the problem. There were several write ups on the net about how to do it so a trip to eBay found me the required part, and I set to one Friday evening.
You can experience a wide range of symptoms from the FSR going belly up: no fans, fans all the time, battery drain, but the most likely cause of all of these is a dodgy FSR.
This howto is for a UK spec Right Hand Drive car.
The advice from a UK based Land Rover technician on Just Answers was to work on the passenger side of the car, along with what was little info there was on the Rave CD about this repair (must have a US/World version), so I duly removed the centre console closing panel (1 tork screw at the rear and two clips at the front - one now broken!) and the footwell closing panel (below the footwell, should have been 3/4 screws but only two present), disconnected the footwell light to remove. Then it was suggested to remove the plastic air vent that took warm / cool air to the feet. One screw on the left hand side and then some gentle tugging and prising to remove. Then I was to look up into the space I had uncovered. …Nothing, nada, rien. The FSR just wasn’t there. Back to the net, and I finally uncovered a post on rangerovers.net from a UK based owner, the FSR was in the drivers footwell! So it seems that for UK (right hand drive) you head for the drivers footwell (under the steering column), for US/Other (left hand drive) cars you head for the passenger footwell (under the glovebox). So I then proceeded to put everything back on the passenger side. The air vent is a right fiddle to get back into place, and this is when I broke off one of the clips putting the centre console back on! So, half and hour wasted already. Over to the other side of the car.
Here we go for real:
1. Remove the centre console footwell panel, which has one tork screw at the rear and is held in place by two clips at the front.
PHOTO 1 - Centre console panel
2. Remove the footwell closing panel under the steering column, by the pedals. I had three tork screws and a funny clip thing at the back behind the brake pedal.
PHOTO 2 - Footwell closing panel
3. Unclip the footwell light connector and prise out the Parking Distance Control (PDC) speaker clips to save having to undo all the electrical connectors, and put the panel aside.
PHOTO 3 - light and speaker
4. Now look up! In behind the centre console over a funny shaped rubber thing, above the footrest you will see some wires, including a thick brown wire, going into a connector block. This is the end of the FSR.
PHOTO 5/6 getting your bearings
PHOTO 6 - first glimpse
Most instructions recommend removing the air vent at this point, but if you can leave it in place do.
5. Take care with the next stage, removing the FSR. Many have suggested having a good look, and then doing this by touch, so that you can work in a more comfortable position. If you are small or a contortionist, then do it lying on your back!
PHOTO 7 The Connector
a. Squeeze either side of the electrical connector to release the clips, and remove the connector. This took several goes and lots of wiggling and sore fingers.
b. At the bottom of the FSR is another clip, press this down, and gently remove the FSR, taking care to not disturb any wires or other connectors. Try to keep the orientation of the FSR the same on the way out, so that you can make sure the new one goes back in the same way. ( I couldn’t! before you remove the FSR have a feel for the alignment of the connectors inside the connector block)
PHOTOS 8&9 Orientation
6. The new FSR. Now my new one looked like the old one so the original must have packed up sooner, so even the new ones pack up! This looks quite different to the original one, no doubt requiring revision based upon the number of failures experienced by RR & BMW owners of the same part!
7. Making sure you have the orientation right, slip the new FSR into place, ensuring it goes right home and that bottom clip goes click. This is a bit weird, because if you feel for where the old one came out, there doesn’t seem to be a “socket” for it to go into. Gently wiggle and fiddle and it will eventually slot into place. Check the bottom clip is holding it. Refit the electrical connector.
8. Test. Fire up the car, and check that your problem has gone away. I got immediate fans, telling me I had problem solved. If all is good, refit is a reversal of the dismantling. if not, check all your work, fitting, connections etc and try again. If still no go, you have a problem beyond this howto.
March 13th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
It is highly possible that the wattage of this resistor has been deliberately under-rated by LR to produce a time-related fault. I haven’t actually seen the resistor but it would make sense to increase the wattage which would prevent burn-out. I am presuming that this is a a resistor and not a thermistor. All my experience is on classics and P38’s but I am a professional electronics engineer and what I have see so fat in Range Rover electronics leaves a lot to be desired in poor quality or bad design.
March 14th, 2009 at 01:10 am
This is all BMW kit, they get the same problems on the big Beemers!
May 31st, 2009 at 10:03 am
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY - Ok, Got the part and printed out your instructions. Removed the side panel, the push clips come away in the same direction as the tork screw, towards the door. Removed the under panel FOUR tork screws and the rear plastic clip, which unscrews with a cross head screwdriver. Did not bother to removed anything from the panel, just worked it under the pedals out of the way. Quick glance at the instructions and then felt for the unit at the back. The connector did not want to come away from the unit so had a brainwave and waggled the connector before firmly pushing the unit in place. Turned the key and the fans fired straight up!!! Replaced the panels, job done in under 10mins no parts required. Thanks for your instructions and help, turned out to be nothing more than a loose or poor connection. (L322 2002 Petrol Vogue 80k miles)
June 1st, 2009 at 05:26 pm
@ Mark
Lucky You! Hope you get your money back or will you hold onto it for when it really does blow ?
August 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Thanks for your post. I confirm that for LHD RR MK3 petrol 2003 the F.S.R is in the passenger footwell. I order it to LR for 50 € in France (ref: JGO 000021). It takes about 45 min to fix it.
Cheers.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
These instructions have been a fantastic help. Thank you VERY much for taking the time to publish them.
Anyone else who has had to replace the FSR due to battery drain problems may also want to replace the HEVAC harness. Pt no. YNI500040K
This harness includes a new relay which is sited on the underside of the footwell closing panel.
To replace the cable harness it is necessary to remove both the passenger and drivers side centre console footwell panels, using the method described above, and then prise out the upper and lower control dials from the centre console. Thats the ones with the clock, height control and blower direction controls.
Replacement is a simple matter of checking where the old cable harness connects to and just replacing it. It’s best to thread the new cable upwards through the centre console from the drivers side footwell, assuming a RHD vehicle.
There are a couple of other connections to be made to the parking beeper unit, at least that’s what I think it is, on the underside of the footwell closing panel.
This job takes around 15 mins even for a complete novice like myself.
The reason I post these instructions here is because when I purchased the replacement harness from Guy Salmon Portsmouth I asked them if they could tell me where on the vehicle it actually goes. The reply I got was “We are not allowed to tell you that, but you may like to contact Land Rover and they may tell or SELL you the information”. UNBELIEVABLE!! To be honest I was gob-smacked that although they knew they wouldn’t tell me, they wouldn’t even point in the general direction.
Considering the fact that this harness has to be replaced because the original one is basically not fit for purpose I would have thought the least they could do would be to tell you where it goes. A simple sheet of A4 with a few instructions and a diagram would go a long way to improve customer relations with issues like these.
Rant over. Hope you find the above useful?
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Thank you very much for this write up! I couldnt find anything this comprehensive anywhere on the net. And now my blower works.
December 26th, 2009 at 07:26 pm
My old girl L322 2003 was playing up no blower or heat only lights on switch and flat battery every morning!!!, I orded up a “fsr” and i followed your steps/pictures 30 mins later full heat and blower working again thank you saved me loads of money and lost time with them messers which we call range rover dealers.. got my fsr from:
WELLINGTON AUTO PARTS RANGE ROVER SPECIALIST, KPC HOUSE, CANTERBURY ROAD, SOUTH WILLESBOROUGH, ASHFORD KENT, TN24 OBP tel: 07770806040 Cheap as chips, keith got me a oem Range rover “fsr” item on next day delivery.. Thanks again from Danny Essex Range Rover 4.4 PETROL L322 2003 :o)
February 9th, 2010 at 10:30 am
here is a source you can buy the fsr for this model from www.worldcarparts.co.uk
February 9th, 2010 at 10:31 am
http://www.worldcarparts.co.uk/CarPartsSpares/tabid/144/ProductID/866/Default.aspx
February 22nd, 2010 at 02:47 pm
Wow fantastic, bought the FSR (45euro) followed the instructions to a tee and now all fans are working. Be patient as it very sore on the fingers and neck as very awkward to fit, persevere and you will get there.
PS if you can’t get the old FSR out and decide just to connect the new one to the connector it will only work for a few minutes as will over heat.
The FSR must go back in to its original specially cooled chamber to work correctly. Use the hole on the top right of the FSR with guide to insert. Push it in place till you hear a reassuring click, reconnect the electrical connector and you should be back in business , it also help to remove the piece of dash from the center console that runs from the floor up to the aircon button this helped a lot.
Great post and saved me a tonne on money.
money.
July 20th, 2010 at 05:52 am
The bmw has this problem for almost everyone.
A canonical thread on the fsr (aka fsu) blower motor resistor is here
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5334401
August 16th, 2010 at 07:04 pm
Thanks very much for the Instructions, they were spot on..for sure!!
However after about 10-15 mins the device overheats and this causes my Blowers to run at full tilt…has anyone else experienced this issue…?
I will try replacing the Cabin Air Filter to see if that helps, but I think that this part is just not upto RR spec and I will need to return it, and get one from the RR dealer. any suggestions..?
August 17th, 2010 at 08:16 am
@ RoverLover_Cali
I have not had such problems but blowers do seem to be playing up a bit when using the air con over the summer - on then off, then blowing just a bit. I had the air con regassed then couldn ‘t test it as the blowers just wouldn’t come on! I’ll have to see how they behave once it gets a bit colder outside.
November 13th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Just had to fit another FSR. The broken unit was loose in its mounting when I went to remove it, so this may have caused the overheat/failure. Worht checking occasionally that it is still seated correctly. (Clip broken?)
May 24th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
I’m off on a caravan trip to the Ardenne in a couple of days and wasn’t happy when the fan packed up. My local LR repair shop offered to check it with their diagnostics but could only tell me there was no power getting to the relay so I was delighted to find your site. No time to get a new FSR but I thought I’d have a look anyway and as it turned out, just pulling the plug out slightly got it going for now so obviously a poor connection that’ll need further attention when I get back. Many thanks.
June 20th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
I have just replaced the heater blower resistor as my fan was constantly blowing even when the ignition was off and the key removed - thus leaving me with a flat battery.
The part cost me £ 41.68 from Pentland Land Roved in Edinburgh. The part number on the invoice is “LGJ0000021″ and the description is “520903 switch - heat”.
This guide is very good. It isn’t a difficult job, but it is VERY fiddly. It took me 45 minuted from start to finish.
June 22nd, 2011 at 02:18 pm
I just replaced the FSR on my 2004 RR and wanted to say thank you for the instructions. They have obviously saved everyone here (including myself) a lot of money.
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:10 pm
@ John Patterson: you’re most welcome
January 13th, 2012 at 11:28 am
I have had a battery drain problem for a while, probably since i bought the vehicle second hand.
I had my local garage try and fix it, the local Land Rover specialist had a go, then i had an ex-Land rover distinguished engineer come and install a relay switch behind the dash. Still no joy.
I replaced the ‘hedgehog’ over xmas using your great instructions here. It was very fiddly, i found using my camera phone to video the area behind the pedals helped a lot, because you do have to rely on touch to replace the part.
But two days later - flat battery again!
It is because my battery may be shot from at least a dozen re-charges and jump starts? - this is my third new battery in 3 years. I have heard some people say that you cant re-charge batteries too often, or jump start them as it damages them.
January 13th, 2012 at 03:55 pm
@ Kevin
Sounds like a right pita!
You don’t say how old your FFRR is, newer models do have battery drain issues and needed new firmware to tell the car to shut down properly.
What battery are you putting in?
Best suggestion is to point you to fullfatrr.com/forum lots of helpful folks who may have had the same problem and solved it.