I am now at the final stage of rigging up some heat for my heap. I would like to have a speed other than just "ON" for my heatbox. My car had nothing to begin with so I was just wondering if any of you fellas have found a clever low-buck way to have multiple fan speeds for the blower w/o getting all fancy and lost in 666 feet of multi colored wire. Running an It's A Snap 12V wiring kit on a 1950 Styline and trying to keep it simple and ugly.......shoot.
You might think check amperage of motor, then buy a resistor to half that (V=IR), and run a double on switch with the resistor wired into one of the ons, but this will fry it sooner. There are a number of pulsed voltage plans on the net that get around this. Try this http://www.4qdtec.com/pwm-01.html
The old 6v systems used a reostat switch (variable resistor) to regulate fan speed, but I don't think you can get away with that on a 12v system. The 12v factory resistor block is always mounted in the air box to cool it off. That leads me to belive that their is just too much amprage and heat to dissipate for the earlier design to work. Electrical fires are a bitch. If the factories could find a cheeper way to control the fan speed they would. I just robbed a donar car of the fan motor, resistor block, switch and wiring for my 53 Ford and it worked out fine.
I've seen a few "universal" heater switches with resistors built in, try Napa, or maybe I could go scrounging thru my crap if you pm me.
Get a simple switch with two on positions, then go to the junkyard and grab the little resistor off of an older GM car--look for a little panel with two screws on the heater duct under the dash. Cost at a junkyard for this piece will likely be a pitying look and a wave out the door...
i used the heater switch with resistor out of a 70's jap truck(mazda/toyota) in our 40 w/the stock heater(ya i know jap shit but it works). the switch, resistor & wiring are all under the dash & easy to take out. ya mount the resistor in the fan housing, wire up the switch & ya gots heat along w/a 3 speed fan. it was cheap, easy & fast....joe
I've been running the same Pep Boys accessory heater fan switch for 13 years. It's hanging under the dash where it can cool off without catching too much on fire. It's regulating te 12v juice going to the 6v '39 Chevy heater so I NEVER run it on the straight 12v full speed. Hasn't quit yet although it's been hit by a few knees and the cheap-ass brown plastic knob cracked and the silly light bulb in it never worked so I took the bulb out and glued the knob on. My ignition ballast resistor is screwed to the top of the heater case, away from the insulation on the firewall and no where near the back of the glove box. It gets hot too...Makes a good bug zapper for the occasional fly, bee or wasp that blows in the always open, unscreened cowl vent
maybe this would work? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Willys-Willys-Jeep-Jeepster-Station-Wag-HEATER-SWITCH_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34197QQitemZ4577125742QQrdZ1
HAHA, That reminds me of something this creep at work had told me to do. He said for me to go down to the hardware store and buy myself one of them "fancy" little round switches that you would use to dim the lights in a house and just mount that in the dash. I had actually thought about it too!! Anyhow, thanx for the link. I'll do that before I use a 110 dimmer.......Any other thoughts?