Cabin fan or vent pipes off

Maria

my mid-life crisis car
Jun 22, 2016
143
20
South-West
Hi folks, I'm back with my stupid questions after a long while.

Mk1 TDi SE -cabin fan started making a blowing noise but nothing coming out of the vents. With all this rain I ended up stranded tonight barely a mile from home for an hour just because I could not get it to demist at all, until a break in the rain when I could get the screen cleared and drive home safely.

My guess is the vent pipes have come off as I can hear the fan blowing.

Any clues please how to get to it? In the passenger footwell I figured that much!

Thanks in advance.
 

mty12345

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,727
451
bristol
Hi again, yeah it could be anything so you will have to get in there and have a look. I take it you have the climate control model (where you select a temp like 24C) as opposed to the old fashion 'twisty knob' :) version?

If so then i posted a guide on how to do it a while ago (although the images no longer work), it's simple enough really,.

https://forums.seatcupra.net/index....-from-climatronic-fan-guide-to-fixing.426121/

I will try to track down the images for you tomorrow and will post them up if i can find them
 

mty12345

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,727
451
bristol
No worries, i can't find the original diagrams, but this video pretty much covers it if you get stuck removing the glovebox. It's a left hand drive, but from memory ours are pretty much a mirror image.

If it turns out it's not as simple as just being the ducts and you need more help, let me know.

 
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Maria

my mid-life crisis car
Jun 22, 2016
143
20
South-West
Hi Matty thank you, I've got the fan out and although I cna't see the obvious problem everything back there is sopping wet. This might explain a whole bunch of other niggles from the radio not searching stations to the display going gradually, not to mention the soggy carpet. looks like a fun day ahead playing detective.

You're in Bristol? Fancy a job? I wish I wasn't joking but the vets have had all our savings and maxed out all our credit cards!
 

mty12345

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,727
451
bristol
Lol, are you in Bristol too then? If i had any spare time then i would offer to help, but i barely have time to do my own jobs atm, haha.
Sorry to hear about the vets, they're robbing bastards! They know you will pay whatever to help your dog/cat so they charge as much as they can in my experience.

If it's wet in that area then the chances are it's the pollen filter leaking. The usual culprit is the plastic cover for the filter not clipping on properly. With the bonnet open, it's located below the windscreen on the passenger side. If it's not seated properly (or there are leaves blocking the drain holes) then rain often gets in there.

I've attached a couple of links, they are both left hand drive again, but ours are just a mirror image.

https://workshop-manuals.com/seat/l...st_and_pollen_filter_removing_and_installing/

 

Maria

my mid-life crisis car
Jun 22, 2016
143
20
South-West
Yes we are, north end. I just really appreciate the time you take to help here, thank you.

I did trace back through the soggy pollen filter and clear the mulch of leaf litter and goodness knows what. The fan definitely works. Not fully reassembled yet, under the bonnet done, cabin stuff still to do, and fingers crossed. The forecast for the next few days will show if that's enough for now.
 

mty12345

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,727
451
bristol
No worries. :) I'm in north Bristol as well, and I have the full version of VCDS which can scan the aircon for fault codes (including the electrically controlled flaps that direct the airflow). . If you still have issues after it's dried out, then give me a shout and maybe we can meet up @cribbs or similar, and i'll plug it into my laptop for you and see if that sheds any light on the issue.
 

Maria

my mid-life crisis car
Jun 22, 2016
143
20
South-West
Thank you that's a very kind offer. Not sure it will dry out fully anytime soon as there is still the issue of the water coming in the door which I've been reading up on here and seems could be the door card seal. Touch wood though the car isn't steamed up at all just sitting there in this rain which before it would have been. Can't be that simple surely from just mopping up and clearing out a few leaves!

It won't have helped that the washer pipe was off (again) and we have no screws left whatsoever holding the trim panel on under the screen, meaning there is a large and variable gap at the bottom of the screen. I know these are never water tight but it certainly won't have helped the situation.
 
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mty12345

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,727
451
bristol
Yeah tbh it's unlikely that that was the cause, but i believe the wiring that controls the 'electronic airflow flaps' is down there somewhere behind the dash, so i guess there is a chance that water has got in there and once dry it may stop working.

It may be worth buying some of these and leaving one or two in the footwell when you aren't using the car, they are very cheap ( roughly £1 each) and work very well for drawing out moisture. https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/6-X-Dehumi...MI9-KmstaC5QIViLbtCh2gZwPWEAQYASABEgJ7r_D_BwE

As for the door seal, yeah that's another very common issue. It's fairly easy to sort it, (maybe 1 hour per door, and probably even less once you have done one) but you need to use the right butyl sealant. Lots have people have attempted it with silicone type sealants and it just doesn't work.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIGH-PER...877658&hash=item4d63f9ec7c:g:HRsAAOSwJwpZx27l

Guide to doing it. http://dubsteve68.blogspot.com/2011/05/seat-leon-leaking-door-seals-repair.html
 
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Maria

my mid-life crisis car
Jun 22, 2016
143
20
South-West
Thanks again - yes I use sachet type dehumidifier things (to avoid the possibility of them falling over as I take roundabouts at 40mph, just because I can) and I found the door card thread and the warnings about bathroom sealant!
 

Maria

my mid-life crisis car
Jun 22, 2016
143
20
South-West
Well it's a good job well done but does nothing to help the problem - seems the issue is after the fan because the fan goes like a puck on a frozen pond but still naff all comes out the vents, any of them - so my guess is a blockage shortly after the fan before all the flaps that go to different vents or possibly all the flaps themselves. Or perhaps the controller of those flaps, it's electronic control I take it?
 

mty12345

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,727
451
bristol
If you have the full climate control then yeah it's all electronic, but if you have no air to any vents at all then yeah, i would suspect maybe a blockage of some sort as well. I had the issue where all the foam from in the pollen filter got soucked intp the fan. I guess the same could have happened with yours, but it's gone all the way through and blocked it. I'm not really sure how the ducting is all laid out tbh with you.
 

Maria

my mid-life crisis car
Jun 22, 2016
143
20
South-West
The pollen filter was soaked through. Blockage before the flaps is possible, jammed flaps would be unlikely if it's all of them (?)

But thinking about it the display has been progressively going since I bought the car so we have one coming from ebay, assured all in working order, from Germany - it was a good price and could do with changing anyway even if that's not our problem. The aircon and recirculate have never worked. The middle bars of the fan speed display don't work and now the temperature display is going and the three symbols on the left have stopped working too.

Thanks again for all your help.
 
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mty12345

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,727
451
bristol
No worries, by the sound of how bad that is then it's worth replacing as that could well be the issue. It may be sending conflicting signals to the flaps. Let me know how you get on when it's done. If you still have issues afterwards, then like i said before, i'm happy to scan it for you with VCDS.
 
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Maria

my mid-life crisis car
Jun 22, 2016
143
20
South-West
No worries, by the sound of how bad that is then it's worth replacing as that could well be the issue. It may be sending conflicting signals to the flaps. Let me know how you get on when it's done. If you still have issues afterwards, then like i said before, i'm happy to scan it for you with VCDS.

Thank you, you're really very kind.
Arrived, fitted yesterday yes in between all that rain and seems all pretty good. Display fully working and more air coming out of the vents than before - not up to the full strength tornado I seem to remember 3 years ago but enough to keep the screen clear. The new unit looks brand new to be honest, not a mark on it, no trace of dirt between the buttons. I wondered if it was a factory surplus maybe? It is stickered up though.

The challenge is that the car is still so sopping wet that it will take a long time to dry out and really see it working as it should, once I can get other work done etc. Is there anything I can do to stop water getting in through the pollen filter? Should I get a new one or is that just likely to get soaked through too? It's not caked up with dirt or debris, just wringing wet. All 6 screws have vanished from the trim at the bottom of the windscreen - that shouldn't allow this much water in on ts own, should it?

And as a bonus I've been able to glue the delicate centre console bit back together where people have been rough with it in the past. And Sorin's DIY on mk1s on you-tube also a bonus discovery, even if he made me go out and buy nail files I didn't need because of course my radio is slightly different!

Thanks again for all your help.
 

mty12345

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,727
451
bristol
Hi again. I'm nut really sure what to suggest on the pollen filter other than maybe trying to see if the plastic screws are availiable from seat. I'm glad to hear you got a good unit for it. Finding one of those that is fully working is also hard these days, so you've done well there.
 
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