Step one. Bought the van.

So about a half hour ago I hop into the van to run a couple errands and start pulling away from the house. When I first use the brakes they feel a little soft. When I use them a second time they go to the floor. If you've noticed from my photos I live on a bit of a hill. Luckily when this happened the van was pulled around so it was perpendicular to the slope. Carefully moved it back to in front of the house and saw this when I got out:



Some people might be distressed to have this happen to them but not me. Why? Because I spent last weekend camping at the Monongahela National Forest in the van. So that means it is was a weekend of up the mountain, down the mountain, up the mountain, down the mountain, up the mountain.... You get the idea.
The fact that this might easily have happened while barreling down a steeply graded, no guard railed forest road miles from help but instead happened while I was moving along slowly a few feet from my house means I'm happy as can be.

Seeing how it's a three day weekend and I wasn't planning to go anywhere I'll have plenty of time to work on the problem.

Upgrading the Blower Motor Controls - Post #4

Now that I've installed the new blower motor PWM control module inside the dash I have to decide how to wire this up to the blower motor. Could always run new wires but since there is already wires in place I'll use them instead. The old wiring will need a little reconfiguring.

Start with a look at the original blower motor wiring. This diagram shows how the "Function Selector Switch" is wired. The "Function Selector Switch" is the one on the CCC marked "MAX A/C, NORM A/C, VENT, OFF, FLR, MIX, defrost symbol"


Note how when the switch is in any position except "OFF" power flows through the switch to the "Blower Motor Relay".


The letter "A" in the triangle means this circuit is continued onto another page


This page shows the continuation of the blower motor circuit.


The "A" in the triangle shows the power coming from the "Function Selector Switch" and energizing the coil on the "Blower Motor Relay". The relay makes the connection between the blower motor and van battery through the 50 amp fuse at position number 13 in the "Engine Compartment Fuse Box".


I no longer want the power to go directly to the blower motor but instead want it to go to the PWM control module installed in the dash. The power for the motor will then come from the PWM control module. So I need to bypass the motor. In the above diagram the connector for the motor is labeled as "C160". The wires for C160 are labels as "O/R" and "O/BK". So one wire will be orange with a red strip and the other will be orange with a black strip.

Here is connector C160.




Normally this connector would be plugged directly into a socket in the side of the blower motor but I previously installed a replacement blower motor. The replacement motor came with this externally wired socket that connector C160 plugs into instead.


On the replacement motor's external socket cut both the wires. Then strip and crimp the two wires together at the socket. I'll come back to the wires that lead to the motor.


Double shrink tube the connection to try and make it weather proof.




With the blower motor bypassed the power goes from circuit #515 into circuit #261. There is a splice at S144 where the circuit branches to both the left and the right. Ignore the right branch to the "Blower Motor Resistor" for the moment and follow the circuit to the left. The circuit terminates at the "Front Blower Switch" through connector C207.


Here are details of the blower switch and connector C207.




Connector C207. It plugged into the back of the CCC.


By crimping spade connectors to the ends of wires I can plug directly into the connector. This way I didn't have to cut the wires from the back of the connector.


The spade connectors are on wires that led to the PWM control module. That's how I'll get power to the module and also using it to send the modulated power back to the blower motor.


Same diagram as before. Notice circuit #269 (LB/O) and #260 (R/O). They run from the connector C207 to connector C158.


Here is connector C158. It's plugged into the "Blower Motor Resistor".


In the new wiring scheme the "Blower Motor Resistor" is no longer used so I'm going to take circuits #260 and #269 and use them to deliver the Pulse Width Modulated power to the blower motor. I've already wired it up at the connector C207 end. Crimp spade terminals to each of the two motor wires I cut earlier. Plug them into connector C158 in the appropriate slots. This is a DC motor so polarity does matter.




I'm only going to use two of the four slots in the connector. To make the connection weatherproof I painted on several coats of the Liquid Electrical Tape.


Plug in the bypass to connector C160.


Cable tie wires in place.


In this new arrangement the "Blower Motor Resistor" is no longer used. Will leave it in place because to remove it would leave a hole in the ductwork.


Put the two halves of the CCC back together now with the power LED and pot speed controller installed.


Found one problem when I first tried to use the new blower speed control. It will only turn 90 degrees. I had assumed that the original fan speed selector switch is what restricted the turning arc and once the switch was removed it would turn freely. Not so. You can see this plastic ridge that limits the knobs turning to 90 degrees.


It engages this small clear plastic block on the knob.


A little surgery with a Dremel and no longer a problem.


The knob will now turn through the pot's full turning arc of around 300 degrees.


Put it all back together.


I wired up one of toggle switches below the radio so I can run the fan from the house batteries. It's wired up similar to how I have the radio so the fan power automatically switches over to the van battery whenever I start the engine.

I've put a thousand + miles on the van since doing the fan upgrade and I really like it. Having more than four speed settings is nice when driving and being able to power vent the van when camping comes in handy. I wouldn't run the fan at high speed for too long when on house batteries alone but you can still get a nice air flow at low speed which isn't too hard on the batteries.

At night the blue LED is a brighter than expected but since it's pointed at the center of the van it's not a distraction to me when driving. In case you forget to set the vent control before stopping the engine it's no problem since there is still enough vacuum left in the system to change vent settings.

OK. That's the end of this project.

Upgrading the Blower Motor Controls - Post #3

Here's the CCC on my workbench.




The two halves are held together by plastic tabs.


This layer of clear plastic is used to spread the illumination from the two light bulbs across the width of the CCC. It will shine out through clear places, like where there is lettering, on the covering sheet.


The next step took a bit of pondering since I'm making this up as I go. Had to decide both how and where was the best place to mount the potentiometer (pot) from the control module to the CCC. Thought of a bunch of different ways to position the pot and power the blower motor but finally decided to replace the current blower motor switch with the pot and install a selector switch in the switch panel below the radio. Since the fan can be powered from the house batteries I'll add a LED to indicate when the fan is on.

The indicator LED will extend through the front of the CCC so need to know the size of the hole to drill. Looks to be 3/16".


I started using a red LED ("Hal's Eye") for the indicator then later changed over to a more benevolent blue LED.

To clear space for the LED do a little surgery on the clear plastic with a Dremel.


Drill a hole through the front half of the CCC for the LED.


Test fit.


Also do some more surgery on the back half of the CCC.




To keep the LED forward enough to protrude through the front half of the CCC once two halves are snapped back together I built a small acrylic base.


Next work on the pot.


The stem on the pot is shorter than on the blower switch so it will be mounted to the inside of the front half of the CCC instead of to the rear of the back half.


To use the original blower motor knob I had to remove the internal metal sleeve and do some filing.


Because the electrical contacts on the pot are exposed I wanted to add insulation. Used Liquid Electrical Tape I bought at Lowe's




Wire up the LED. It's slightly out of focus but there is a resistor connected in line with the LED. The resistor reduces the voltage so the LED doesn't burn out.


Here's where I changed over to the blue LED.


continued -

I wouldn't worry about the computer muffin fans.

This one has only stopped spinnin in the last 4 years, when I goto clean it, and it has been exhausting cooking gases from my roof in the horizontal position.

This about 4 months worth of build up.


It spins much faster when cleaned.

no to sound mean or cruel

Not to worry since you don't.

looking at all that dust build up on the wire harness how long do you think that fan is going to last under there when it is sucking in all that dust

That's not dust as much as dirt. The van is a 1999 so you're looking at 13 years worth of build up. I've been rooting around in the dash for a few weeks now and from what I've seen most of that dirt is stationary. And kind of grimy too.

no to sound mean or cruel but looking at all that dust build up on the wire harness how long do you think that fan is going to last under there when it is sucking in all that dust.

Upgrading the Blower Motor Controls - Post #2

This is the potentiometer (pot) on the Maxx Tronic circuit board. The pot controls the motor speed. After opening up the dash I see that I won't be able to mount the circuit board directly behind the CCC. I'll remove the pot from the circuit board and solder on wires between the pot and the board. This allows the pot to be mounted away from the circuit board.


Here is the power connections on the circuit board. They are labeled "G", "-M", "+M" and "+12V".


I haven't tested the control module yet so after desoldering the pot and rewiring it I temporarily wired up the motor controller to the blower motor.


Here's the plug for the blower motor. The PWM controller board worked fine.


With the exposed electrical connections on the motor controller circuit board I can't mount it directly inside the dash. Have to first make an insulating plastic case. Build it out of scrap acrylic pieces.


There are two large heat sinks on the circuit board so I added a small fan that will draw air through the case to aid with the cooling.


Next add a small latching relay. This relay serves the same purpose as the ones I used in the radio circuit previously posted about. It allows the fan circuit to be switched with a momentary switch.


Vent holes to help with cooling.


Added a relay so the full fan amperage doesn't go through the selector switch. The switch will just power the relay.


The completed unit.


Now that it's been built I know how much space is needed inside the dash. Look around for a place to mount it.


This fits the bill. It's the metal "shelf" that sits above the engine and is directly forward of the dog house. I've already used a spray cleaner on the shelf. It wasn't near this clean to begin with.


Test fit.


Want to mount the control module in it's plastic case so that it's held securely in place but still be able to remove it if it needs servicing. So decided to make a mounting plate from a piece of the Webasto fuel pump shield. This piece was leftover after I shortened the shield to fit the new greywater tank. Using a vise and pliers to bend it into the shape I want.


Use VHB tape to mount the plate to the shelf. VHB is a acrylic foam tape made by 3M that claims to be strong enough to act as as alternative to screws. So consider this to be a semi-permanent installation.




Use cable ties to secure the plastic case to the mounting plate. I can snug up the plastic ties pretty tight so the case doesn't move and if I ever need to remove it just cut the ties.


continued -

Upgrading the Blower Motor Controls

Last year I did a write-up about HowTo Install New Blower Motor. At the time I noticed that my "Blower Motor Resistor" was in need of replacing. Here's the resistor.


A new resistor was around $25. Instead of replacing the resistor I started doing some research with an idea in mind. Start with a schematic of the A/C-Heater system electrical.


I read that the Blower Motor Resistor is part of the speed control for the blower motor. The Front Blower Switch has four positions. Hi, Med Hi, Med Lo and Lo. The way it works is that when the Blower Switch is in any of the lower three settings, resistors are added to the electrical circuit that powers the blower motor. The resistors convert some of the power flowing through the circuit into heat which in turn means there is less power to make the blower motor rotate so it spins slower.

When the switch is in the "Hi" selection the resistors are bypassed and all the power goes directly to the motor so it spins faster than the other selections. Conversely when the switch is in the "Lo" position then all of the resistors are included in the circuit so the motor now turns the slowest. I'm sure there's a more technically correct way to describe this but hopefully my version is clear enough. It's not like there will be a quiz later, thank goodness.

While this system has it's advantages there is one big disadvantage I can think of. Since the resistors are converting the electricity into heat they must be cooled. This is done by placing the resistors just downstream from the blower fan in the air ducting. This way whenever the resistors are being used they are also being cooled by the fan. But what about when you're using the Air Conditioning? That means you might be burning gas to produce electricity that's being converted into heat inside the ventilation system which is just that much more work the air conditioning compressor has to do remove that heat and again you're burning gas to produce that extra work.

Didn't know this before and if this was a regular van I would have just replaced the Blower Motor Resistor and from now on only run the fan on "Hi" when the A/C is on. But since this is Hal The Van I started looking around for ideas and got one from Erik at BadgerTrek. Erik wrote the he had replaced the stock blower motor control with a Maxx Tronic 30 Amp PWM DC motor controller. PWM stands for Pulse Width Modulation and it's a more energy efficient way of controlling DC motor speed. With this unit in place of the original controller Erik is able to run the blower from the house batteries when camping. This gives him powered ventilation without having to cut a hole in the van for an extra fan.

I don't know how Erik wired his system up so from here on all the ideas, either good or bad, are mine. Here's the unit I bought. I just checked on-line and it looks like it has been replaced with different model. It cost about the same as a new Blower Motor Resistor.


I'll probably mount the Maxx Tronic board within the dash so need to open it up and look around. Here's how to open the dash. There are two screws above the instrument cluster and under the top edge of the dash. Remove these.


Use something thin and flat to pry forward the edge of the instrument cluster from in front of the center cluster.


Once it pops open, pull the right edge of the instrument cluster away from the dash.


Then reach in between the two instrument panels and pull the center panel forward till it starts popping out. Take you time so not to crack it.


Work your way around the center panel.


I also removed the dog house before I started.


Got it all pulled free.


Remove the wires from the back of the cigarette lighter and the power port.


That leaves the sub-panel with the heater and A/C controls. Don't know the the official name is so I'll just call it the Climate Control Console (CCC).


Use a 9/32 socket to remove the CCC.




Then use a 1/4 socket to remove the vent selector switch from the CCC. This switch has vacuum lines attached. Unplug the other three wire connectors from the back of the CCC.




continued -

Some floor work.

I had originally replaced the front floor mat with blue diamond flooring. Over time I've found two problems with it. It's hard to keep clean and worse, slippery when wet.


So out with the old and in with the new. First pull up the blue diamond.

The EZ Cool insulation was installed two and a half years ago but has held up remarkably well. No need to replace it.


Use newspapers and masking tape to make a template.


Use the template to cut out the new front flooring. It's indoor-outdoor carpet I bought at Lowe's. The carpet comes off a six feet wide roll which is a perfect size for the front floor. It cost 62 cents a square foot so total cost was around $23.


It's been installed for a few weeks now and I've really taken a liking to it. To help it hold up I bought Husky Liners from JC Whitney for $79. When the package arrived I found it didn't come from JC Whitney but was drop shipped.


They are a molded style with high sides




I specifically bought this style since it's molded to fit this hump in the drivers side foot well.




At first I thought the high sides would be a problem but I'm getting used to them. Might still do a little trimming.


With the cargo area flooring in place and now a new carpet for the cockpit floor it's time to add a transition piece to cover the difference in floor levels.


Use cardboard to make a couple templates to find what looks to be the best fit.


Get out my sheet of 16 gauge steel.


Cut strip of steel 4 foot long by 2 inches wide.


Clamp the steel strip to the edge of my work table.


I can't add a 90 degree angle to a piece of 16 gauge steel this long but I can do a lesser angle. Use a welding clamp to work my way down the strip and start a bend. Keep going back and forth with the clamp.


Checking the angle as I'm bending.


Test fit. I made the strip wide enough so I could easily run wires under it.


Add a notch so it will clear the back right edge of the drivers seat. Then paint.


After a couple coats of paint screw it into place. The screws that hold it in place only go into the wood flooring. Not the metal layer below it.


That's it.

Lately I've had an audience while working on the van.


But not to worry since Tiger never takes his eyes off of them.


If they get too close he'll have to take them down. After all his name is "Tiger".

After I installed a new radio I wanted to add a switch so I could choose to run the radio from the house batteries or the starting (van) battery. I've set it up so there is a singe SPDT momentary ((on)-off-(on)) switch that selects either power source. Once switched the radio runs completely off the selected source and draws no power from the other source. Not only does the radio not lose it's memory setting when switching between the two sources but if it's playing a song there is no audible clue that anything has changed.

To do the actual switching I'm using two 12 volt relays. These relays are rated for 16 amps while the radio is only fused for 10 amps so they should be robust enough. The relays are a dual coil latching type. Since they are latching, no power is required to keep them in the selected position after being switched which is different from a regular relay. That saves power usage and it's why I only need a momentary switch to activate them. I bought the relays for $4.66 each from Digikey. Here's the link.

The relays are made to be mounted to a circuit board. So I first drew up a schematic then soldered the relays to a small piece of stripboard which is type of prototyping circuit board. After soldering on the relays I added connecting wires.




After finishing with the soldering I was thinking of a how to protect the exposed wiring on the circuit board since it will be installed inside the dash. Thought about building a small plexiglass box when I had a "what if" idea and went looking for an old prescription bottle.


Son of a gun. It fits as if they were made for each other. I'll have to remember this idea. I added a couple vent holes to the bottom of the bottle.


Add connectors to all the wires. The connector is male or female depending on if it's hot or not.


For the circuit to work as planned I'll need a "hot on start" power source. According to my Ford EVT manual the plug that goes to the back of the stock radio should have such a wire. I looked and it doesn't. So trace the circuit back to the next connector which is number 201 located in the right kick panel of the passenger foot well. There are other connectors in the same area.


To work on the connectors use pliers to remove this black plastic pin.


That allows the connectors to swing out.


This must be connector 201 since it's the only one with this shape.


I'm interested in circuit #1000 which is a red wire with black stripe. Must be this one.


Cut the wire then check that it's hot on start. It is. The circuit dead ended at the connector so I wasn't too worried about cutting the wire free.


Put all the connectors back like I found them then run a new "hot on start" wire into the dash. Integrate the wiring into the radio plug adapter (right white) I used to plug the stock radio plug into the new radio plug (left black).


Here's the diode I use to stop switch selected coil voltage from back feeding to the starting circuit.


Here's how it works. When the van is sitting and not running the radio is dark. If I flip the switch down to "House" the radio lights up now being powered by the house battery. It's a momentary switch so the toggle snaps back to the center. The radio will stay powered from the house battery until I either flip the switch to "Van" or start the van. When I start the engine the radio automatically switches back to the van battery. That way I don't have to worry about switching the radio back to van and since it's a momentary switch I can never leave it in the wrong position. A rather bad habit of mine.

After I got everything wired up it actually worked right the first time. Surprised the heck outta' me. Well almost right. I'd wired up House and Van backwards on the switch but that's easy to fix. Just rotated the switch 180 degrees.

In practice I've found a neat use I hadn't planned on. When pulling into a parking spot and there is a song on the radio I want to hear the end of I just flip the selector switch to "House". Then after I turn off the ignition the radio keeps playing without missing a beat. It's now become a gas saving feature.