AC Fan Speed Issues After Audio Install

Misnomer

NOTE: I tried searching the forum for this issue, a couple of different ways -- including reading the Problems and Fixes After Car Audio Installs sticky -- but I didn't find it. I hope there isn't a recent related thread that I somehow missed.

Last month I had a Kenwood eXcelon DDX6902S professionally installed, and everything is awesome except that I swear the fan doesn't blow as hard as it used to. [Insert BJ joke here.] Air does come out, but I have to turn it up past the midpoint to get the same amount I used to get well below that. I've owned my Z for 2.5 years and have never had to turn the fan up as far as the midpoint before. Only the dashboard vents are affected: the door vents are unchanged, which means I have to deal with a freaking hurricane coming out of the door vents in order to get any significant blowing out of the dash vents.

When I took it back to the installer he said the temperature controls are just simple connections, if they hadn't been reconnected right the A/C wouldn't be working at all, and that there's no way anything could be partially blocking the dash vents (which was my only guess). He also didn't agree that different amounts of air are coming out of the door vents vs the dash vents.

I have no way to prove that the fan was different before the install, and everything else is great, so I shrugged and didn't press the issue. I mean, it's not like the A/C doesn't work. But every time I use it, I notice the thing with the fan...I'm starting to wonder if I'm just totally losing my mind.

Anyone ever have this issue after an audio install? Any suggestions?

SouthArk370Z

Just because the connectors may look like they are plugged in correctly, that doesn't mean they are. Very easy to bend a pin, get things a little cockeyed, &c.

It could be that some of the ducting was not reinstalled properly or something was introduced that is partially blocking the fan.

The FSM may have a procedure to check fan speed/output. Maybe not. Worth a look.

Buy or rent an anemometer to check output at vents. Most electrical and HVAC suppliers will sell/rent you one.

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Misnomer

Thanks, SouthArk370Z!

Jayhovah

Were you able to figure this out?

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Nixin

I hope you don't have to turn the volume knob to change the fan speed?

Misnomer

Not yet: I haven't had a chance to take her anywhere to have the connections checked. She'll be due for her 45,000-mile service soon, so I figure I'll have the shop check everything then. It's annoying on really hot/humid days, but I guess we've had enough "windows down" days that it isn't a priority. Now it's July in DC, though, so I'm sure it will start bothering me more and more...c'mon, 45K miles!

No. Heh. All of the knobs/controls work properly, there simply isn't as much air coming out of the dashboards vents as there was previously.

NecioVato

So not to change/hi jack the thread but I was wondering - how do you like the HU? I know this is one that I am thinking about but would love to hear a review of the HU itself and how you are liking it so far? Also, I hope you get the fan issue figured out - I think that would drive any of us crazy (in particular since an issue like that is hard to prove that it was the installers mess up)

Also, I ask bc when I did a search for the kenwood model - this thread was the only that came up

Misnomer

So far I really like the Kenwood. I mostly use it for SiriusXM and CD playback, though I've also set some HD Radio presets. I don't know when I'll try the DVD playback, because I hardly ever have passengers in my car. The display is good (with a customizeable background image), if difficult to see in direct sunlight just like any other.

One small thing I like is the ability to change the color of the backlight on the side buttons (it's mostly touchscreen, but on the left there's a power button and something else). In the showroom the backlight was blue, but I was able to change it to red to match my interior. Minor, but I appreciated it.

Getting the steering wheel selector to work properly took some doing: the "scan" function can either go by station or by preset, so I had to put it in the right mode to get the selector to cycle through my presets. I also had to disable the audio recording function that's available with SiriusXM: if you change stations or something, you can start a song from the beginning because it's always recording a certain amount of whatever station you're listening to. Sort of like a DVR for the radio. Anyway, the steering wheel selector tended to start songs over instead of going to the next station, but once I turned that feature off (I didn't care about it) the selector worked just fine.

In short, after two months I have no regrets about this unit.

Hope I'm not too late to be useful!

Misnomer

Figured it out!!

Short Version: There was a rodent nest. The timing with the stereo installation was apparently just coincidental -- though it's possible there was some debris in there as early as May, and the install knocked something loose that partially blocked the vent(s).

Longer Version: Last month I took my Z to the shop for her 45k-mile service, mentioned the airflow thing, and asked them to check it out. The guy said there was no blockage they could see just by looking in the vents, and we were both reluctant to have them pull the dash apart, so I just chalked it up to early dementia. Then, around the middle of last week, a horrible noise and vibration started in the dashboard whenever I turned the fan on. I park under a tree, so I figured a big acorn or something had dropped in there and gotten stuck in a bad spot. I brought her in yesterday, and -- in addition to an impressive acorn collection -- they found evidence of a rodent nest. I told the guy it was nice to know that I wasn't crazy, after all (at least this time)! They cleaned everything out, replaced the cabin air filter, and replaced two fuses that had been damaged (there was evidence of some chewing under the hood, but luckily all of the wiring is intact).

Everything's back to normal now.

I don't think there's anything I can really do to keep this from happening again, short of moving to a place with a garage. I could put a bait station next to the house, but there are so many critters in the neighborhood that I can't imagine that being very effective. There is no other place for me to park. It's the first time this has ever happened to a car of mine, though I'd certainly heard of it happening to other people.

JARblue

Absolutely there is!!

Just drive it more often
You won't find critters hiding up in there if you get it nice and warm on a regular basis. Let it warm up to 180F and then take it out and redline it a few times to get it up to 220+ Every other day or two should be sufficient to deter any animals from setting up shop again.

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Misnomer

It's not possible for me to drive it more often...I drive it every day...plus the guy at the shop said that the engine warmth is what attracts the critters.

SouthArk370Z

Glad to see to figured it out and got it fixed.

IIRC, the only way for a critter to get into the HVAC ducts from outside of the car is to go through the inlet located behind and below the battery. You may be able to fab up a grille for the inlet (some hardware cloth* might work - it will be ugly but well-hidden).

*Just an example, not a recommendation.

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Misnomer

Great idea; thanks!