A/C Fan on 328

Yesterday I got my A/C system charged and it does put out a satisfying amount of cold air. However, I perceive a problem since the right hand (passenger) fan does not automatically come on when I turn on the A/C thermostat (blue) and fan (yellow) knobs. It's supposed to, isn't it?
On the other hand, both fans do come on whenever the engine temperature gets to whatever the preset is on the fan switches, so the two fans do work under normal conditions.
A clue as to why the pass side fan does not come on may be that the last red bar on the led console readout will not go off no matter what I do to completely turn off the heater.
1) How do I succeed in turning the heater completely off--ie., how do I get the red bar to disappear?
2) How do I get the pass side fan to turn on when the A/C is operating? Is there a dedicated switch, a fuse, a relay? Or will getting #1 solved (red out) will take care of #2 (fan to turn on)?
Sure can use you advice and expertise on this one.
Ricardo

 

Ric, not sure if you received the service bulletin for adjusting the temperature control switch (LED lights) for your heating & cool air on the CD that I sent (courtesy of Carl Rose), but chek that Cd & see if there is a document on adjusting the LED switch. If you don't have it I can burn you one. I had to do the same on my car, but it was NOT because of my fan/ (AC) working. I did it just because I didn't like the LED light. Now it works great.
I can also check my car & see if the R-side radiator fan kicks on when the AC is activated...Hopefully someone here will know already..

 

Mike,
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I do have the service bulletin (80-36) you mention, but I'm puzzled as to how to access the adjustment of the potentiometer in the bulletin. Do I need to remove the console to get to the "D" and the "C" holes? I may also need to access holes "a" and "B". Any hints or pics?
Ric

 

You'll have to pull the unit out of the dash. It's held together by two spring clips. Good luck.

Please check out this thread for further reading.

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96823

 

there's only one fan for the a/c. It's mounted on the evaporator and is controlled by the yellow knob. Output is primarily through the vents below the radio, but it also dumps into the chamber feeding the three circular flaps on top of the dash.

The heat ducting has two different left and right fans controlled by the red knobs, but they only blow outside air...those fans/ducts also feed the dashtop vents, so turning on those fans will push more air...albiet outside air.

there's a picture of the ducting in the owners manual which will make the above make sense.

The a/c airflow output is generally considered to be equivalent to a mouse fart. Some people have removed the coupling tubes between the evaporator shell and the vents to minimize resistance to flow. Problem is that all the air is dumping on your feet if you do that, but it has been reported to help on the 308. Don't recall it being tried on the 328.

 

Phil,
Thanks for your reply. The interior blower fan (yellow knob) does work very well. My question was whether the outside (passenger side) radiator fan, is supposed to come on automatically when the A/C is switched on. If that is so, mine does not and I, consequently, have a problem. Fuses are all OK. Tomorrow I'll try new relays and hope for a bad one.
As I said earlier, both fans work fine when the engine temperature dictates.
Is there a fresh air mode on these cars (328) or are the open windows the only alternative to the A/C?
I'm running parallel threads on 328 and Tech Questions hoping for as many hints/answers as possible.

 

Only one fan will come on when the A/C is on ... the other fan comes on when the temp preset is reached to cool the radiator... normally the fan that comes on with the A/C is cooling the condenser for the AC... So I would think your system is ok, unless for some reason the wrong fan is coming on... I seem to think the evap/condenser is on the pass side? check your owners manual which will show the position & which fan should bo operational

 

oh, sorry :-(

what year and type of 328 (euro or us?)

on the '89 US 328, the radiator fans are controlled only by a coolant temperature switch which closes two relays. Each radiator fan is powered from a separate relay, but both relays open/close at the same time.

The a/c condensor has it's own fan...you can see it right below the passenger side headlamp.

the US '80 308, by contrast, used the passenger side radiator fan for the a/c condensor, and it switched on independent of the coolant temperature when the a/c was turned on. In this case, only one radiator fan runs.

if you don't have a separate condensor fan, and condensor is mounted in a way that uses a radiator fan to pull air through it, and the wrong fan is turning on when the a/c is turned on, then I'd assume the power wires to the radiator fans are swapped.

the fresh air mode is red fan knobs on, and no red led's lit on the temp gauges on the console. Thanks for making my previous post not completely useless