Repaired fan blower resistor with aircraft safety wire

[66conv6]

Hey guys, about three months ago I repaired the low fan speed of the heater blower resistor on my 88 Camry LE and my mom's 87 Camry DX. It's still going strong. I wanted to use nichrome wire but couldn't find any.

I used aircraft safety wire of the smallest diameter that I got from a local aircraft mechanic. Ask nicely and you'll probably get it for free. I used less than a foot to fix both cars. I wound about six(?) turns onto a pencil to get some nice loops and then soldered each end on.

This was to replace the smallest coil for the low fan speed setting. Had to make sure to remove all the old solder to expose the slit (or tiny punch out) on the metal tang. Once you do that you slide the wire from one end of your new coil into that little hole and bend it slightly. That way when you go to solder it in place it'll stay in place. When finished attach the other side of your new coil in the same fashion. Don't allow the individual coils to touch each other. When I was finished I used a pencil tip to evenly space them.

I was thinking maybe if I had added a coil or two more the fan speed could come down a tad. Can't remember the original low fan speed but it seems pretty good when I go from low to high and back.

Cheers

[TBayToyotaBoy]

That's a really good idea. Too bad it relies on having a friendly neighbourhood aircraft mechanic though...

[66conv6]

Actually don't need a mechanic. Anybody with a small plane in his hangar will have it. In other words just go to your local small airport.

[TBayToyotaBoy]

So if I ask for some "aircraft safety wire" then they should know what I mean?

[ryan_t888]

What gauge would this wire be similar to?

How much current in Amps is traveling through the low speed resistor setting?

I have to replace low and medium-low.

Ryan

[66conv6]

Aircraft Spruce and Specialty http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...safetywire.php sells it but you don't need a whole roll. It comes in three diameters and even in brass.

You want the Stainless Steel (SS) .020 diameter. It's normally used for securing nuts and bolts on airplanes or race cars. It keeps the fastener from backing off and coming loose.

[Zod]

Do you by chance know the ohms-per-inch on that stuff?

I do have some nichrome, but soldering it is a pain.. Crimps tend to work worlds better..

[Sharkbite86]

GD!! I wish i saw this post a week ago! haha I just spent $70 to replace the whole resister pack and I work at an airport with mechanics!! lol what luck.

[ryan_t888]

I just repaired my low and medium low with a guitar string. My buddy uses it as a wire for cutting foam so I figured it must have some resistance to it and it works quite well.

Since I'm a guitarist I have plenty of old strings as back ups. I used a b string from a pack of Dean Markley light gauge. It measures .016"

The hardest part is coiling the string as it is very springy. I used a torch to heat it up and allow me to coil the strings tightly.


It should be an easy fix for many as music stores are a lot more popular.
Good Luck

Ryan

[WannaBButch]

If I was to ship mine to someone with some $ could you fix it for me?

[66conv6]

Two and a half years later and going strong on the 87 DX Camry. My 88 LE broke a coil on the resistor pack this week and I got some more (thicker) safety wire to fix it again.

Price: free

[Jimnist]

That's good to know. I replaced my blower resistor pack with one i found at the wreckers for $5. If this 'new' pack blows, i can go to work and 'borrow' some lockwire

So did you use 16-thou(.016) or 20-thou (.020)? Can you use larger diameter for the higher fan speeds i.e. 25-thou and 32-thou?

You might be able to pick this stuff up at a motorcycle store. When i was in a workshop for a week, they used it to tie the grips to the bars - even had the lockwire pliers to suit