Heater Fan Wiring - where does it exit the box??

[Mark Olson]

I have been reworking my heater box, and I guess I should have taken more pictures but I can't seem to see where the wiring for the heater fan is supposed to exit the heater box, unless it comes out with the radiator outlets. As you can see below right now it is coming out of the vent hole ...............

 

[Rodger]

It's not very intuitive. Here are some pics of where the wires exit between the halves of the case.

 

[Mark Olson]

Thanks for the response!

I'll have a look there but if there is any chance of them being pinched I will just drill a hole an put a grommet in, then pot it with some silicone. The ground wire on the unit I am working with had been pinched and I cut and soldered on a new piece. I have another box and I noticed all 3 wires had been badly pinched, so the exit spot must be quite specific and easy to get the wires out of place when attaching the bottom. Perhaps I can glue them in place......

 

[carl]

124 spiders are the same and I agree the location is just begging to pinch the wires. I would have no problem drilling a dedicated hole for them and I wouldn't even worry about a grommet.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

Thanks for the response!

I'll have a look there but if there is any chance of them being pinched I will just drill a hole an put a grommet in, then pot it with some silicone. The ground wire on the unit I am working with had been pinched and I cut and soldered on a new piece. I have another box and I noticed all 3 wires had been badly pinched, so the exit spot must be quite specific and easy to get the wires out of place when attaching the bottom. Perhaps I can glue them in place......

I find pinched wires in several places around the car when I strip any X down to its bare chassis. Seems the factory was careless about that. And looking at the pics Rodger posted, those wires look to be pinched also.

Rather than drill an actual hole, maybe "scallop" or "notch" a spot on the lower half at the seam where the two case halves fit together. That way the wire loom can be laid into position as the box is assembled, without having to feed the wires and their connectors through a hole. Crappy depiction of what I mean....

 

[darwoodious]

Hmmm... I do think giving some relief for the wires with grommet makes sense. I was looking at the same as I've been cleaning up my core, airbox and fitting in the one I got from @Mark Olson (thanks again!) and wondered if it would makes sense to run them thru the defrost outlet in the upper section. I marked up @Rodger's photo:

Look anything could happen to have the wires pinched as we seem to see them:
* Terrible design by FIAT/Bertone on this
* Previous owner got lazy and just slipped them thru the half
* Assembly team in Turin got lazy and just slipped them thru the slit

 

[Dr.Jeff]

the wires with grommet

I'd need to have everything in front of me to see it, but would having the wires pass through a grommet - in a hole through the box - make it more difficult to deal with? I'm thinking the wires will need to be loose at one end to pass through the hole. Maybe not a problem the first time you assemble it, but what if you need partial access later? Perhaps not an issue, like I said I'd have to be looking to get a better idea.

This is why I was thinking it might be better to notch one half of the box at the mating seam/joint. So the wires can pass through between the case halves but not get pinched. Maybe you could split a grommet and wrap it around the wires, set it in the notch, then close up the box.

 

[Mark Olson]

Here is where I ended up exiting with mine. I will have spade connectors so the wires can be pulled back through when the bottom needs to come off.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

I will have spade connectors so the wires can be pulled back through when the bottom needs to come off.

That would resolve the issue I was describing in my last post. Basically some means of allowing the wires to be separated so they can be passed through the hole made in the housing.

 

[Bjorn Nilson]

As @Rodger says it is not very intutitive but there is a small opening for cables at the left side of the case and it works good if you get the cables positioned correctly. -No need to drill holes for cables. However, I found it easier to remove the two halfes and snap them together outside the car rather than struggling under the dash. The design of the heater system is a joke and I do not understand why Fiat kept it for so many years, and on a lot of models too.