# 2006 2.5 Bonavista Edition Heating Problems



## MikeHJ (Mar 7, 2017)

Just pulled in after 2 hours driving back from skiing.

Last 15 minutes of the drive, the fan was blowing cold air. Changed the temperature level, no effect. After turning off the fan for a minute or so, it would blow hot air for a few minutes, then back to cold.

The fact that I can get hot air should mean that there aren't any problems with the heater core, but rather the controls/sensors? Coolant was changed 6 months ago, no problems until now

Where to start? Interior temperature sensor? Air door controller (which hasn't worked in a long time, won't switch from fresh air)?, Blower motor resister? (seems odd, the fan does work)

I do have the reported blower fan squeal until the engine warms up and have had it all winter. I was planning to deal with that in the spring. You'd think if there was a connection with that, then the fan would stop working not the air temperature would change.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi Mike and welcome to the forum. That is a drag and a bit of a new one. I don't remember seeing anything about a similar problem.
Seems like you may have two issues and possibly three. First one is it won't let you recirculate the air in the cabin, second on is the system ''thinks'' the temp inside the cabin gets warm really quickly, and third is a fan squeal.
What happens when you change the cabin heat settings from 16 to 30? Does the recirculate air switch work on any of the position settings for blowing air? For example it should go to recirculate when you have air blowing through the front heat vents, but not when you have it on windshield defrost mode. As for the fan they have been known to become noisy and when running rough can burn out the resistor, though yours has an amplifier which can also burn out.
If the fan is not too far gone it can probably be saved by doing the bearing replacement fix, but you can also now find replacement ones in the 100 to 150 range. There are threads on how to do this.
I think your main issue is some type of bad temp sensor or regulator, or your heater core is partially blocked. You may want to find the service manual and read up on the climate control section. It will have a diagnosis check list that could help. Good luck.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

https://ownersmanuals2.com/nissan/x...l-automatic-air-conditioner-section-atc-38637

Above is a link for the relevant section of the repair manual for you. You will appreciate the complexity of the system a bit better. A quick peek shows that the system does have a self diagnosis mode and procedure. I don't know how comfortable you are working on your own car. This may be something you want to have a dealer diagnose.
It occurs to me, did you replace your radio, cd player? I am wondering if when the dash panel was removed somehow the connection or wiring for the center dial was damaged.

Also are you sure the squeal is from the blower motor behind footwell passenger side of the dash, and not the serpentine belt in the engine compartment?


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## MikeHJ (Mar 7, 2017)

Thanks for the quick reply.

I'm pretty sure I have 3 separate problems, I mentioned them on the off chance there is a connection between them.

The fan squeak only shows up after the car has been sitting overnight below -10C and goes away when the car warms up. I plan to do the bearing replacement in the spring as it blows fine for right now, even squeaking. I could understand if the fan amplifier overheated and failed because of the extra load from a poor running fan motor, but you'd think that would affect the fan speed or operation, not the air temperature being blown out.

The fresh/recirculating switch could be the switch, the wires, the door motor or the door itself. I could see not being able to achieve max air temperature if the door was permanently open to fresh outside air and the outside air was -20C, but I don't really see how it would completely change the blown air temperature from hot to cold so quickly and intermittently.

To my mind, that leaves poor wiring around the temperature selector, the interior temperature sensor or the "computer" controller as the likely places to start looking. Unfortunately, the diagnostic procedure leaves a lot to be desired: no list of expected voltages, switch operation, etc. I have no idea how to test for bad wires, sensors or switches on an automatic climate control system because I have no idea how these things are supposed to work in the first place.

EDIT: Spoke too soon. Looks like the info I need is buried in the back of the manual


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Glad it helps a bit. Lots of info there. I have a Bonavista as well. I did the blower bearing replacement on my fan 4 years ago and its still working fine. Haven't had other issues with it. Air con and heat are fine. Good luck getting yours fixed. Let us know and share what you learn.


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## MikeHJ (Mar 7, 2017)

Any tips for getting the fan motor out of the plastic fan assembly?

The bearing/bushing swap is pretty straight forward after that point.

I may take a drive to a u-pull place with an Xtrail in stock to grab a few bits and pieces. If there's a blower assembly on the wreck, I'll probably pull it so I have something to experiment on.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Posted my notes on another forum thread, but here I just copied them for you 

Xtrail 06 blower motor noise - Nissanhelp.com Forums


''Some observations that may be of help to someone else
1) There are 3 clips holding the blower unit electrical connections, that you need to pinch from behind to be able to pop them out. They are behind the black plastic wraps that you will see holding the wiring for the unit to it.
2) All of the electrical wiring connectors are different, but all require you to insert a small flat screwdriver into an outside tab, which you depress and then pull out
3)the highest one up for the electrical door motor connector is a bit tricky and easier to access once you have the ecm completely removed. This is done by undoing the 2 mounting bolts holding it, and then undoing the electrical connectors (Make sure you have disconnected your battery prior to doing this.
4) Getting the blower unit out requires patience, and more than a little jiggling and swearing. Just make sure you are free of all wires. The right side of the blower with its outside tab and door motor gets kind of caught easily in the wires on the top right side of the dash.
5) Don't even bother pretending you can undo the tabs holding the blower unit together, just break each with a flat head screw driver, then undo the screws ( When you reassemble you just use more half inch screws in all of the holes already there)
6)The fan comes off by removing the top bolt and pulling the whole thing straight up.
7) Heat gun on first setting for about a minute around the plastic base will soften it sufficiently for you to put vice grips on motor shaft, hold the unit between your feet, and pull steadily. It will come out. (there is a screw that you need to have removed at the base).
8) Wire brush off soot, shavings, whatever you find. In mine the bushing really didnt seem bad, but there was a fair bit of crap under the bottom one when I got it out.
9) Only do one side at a time with the bearing replacement, and I think doing the front one first gives you a better chance of keeping the shaft in alignment. Also you need to bend back every tab not just the three that stick out the most. You wont be able to seat the bearing unless it can clear all of them . Use a 12mm or 13mm socket head to tap the bearing down until its properly seated all the way. Then I put on 2 8mm washers, though I could have probably used one and then all of the original washers and rubber disks, but the important thing is that you get it to the right height for the clip that locks into the groove on the shaft. Then bend down the clips as best you can around the bearing.
10) Then do the back side. Again all the clips need bending. The brass bushes come out by prying them up with pics on two sides. You are never removing the shaft, just sliding the bearing down it in place of the bushings. To this one I added one 8mm spacer and one of the thin washers that was originally on it. Again rebend the tabs around new bearing.
11) Push the motor back into the plastic housing, reconnect everything and screw it all together.
12) Get a good light under your dash and position the unit back in. Was actually easier than getting it out originally. Probably because I could see better lol!
Total part cost of repair was $15 tax included using 698-ZZ bearings.''


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

The thread I linked to has other info that could be of help as well as some pics. Hope it helps


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## MikeHJ (Mar 7, 2017)

Just an update.

Of course, the next day the heat was fine.

So I ran all the diagnostics and every light lit up and flashed just as described in the manual.

Obviously, there is something intermittent going on.

So I went to a u-pull junkyard nearby that has a single x trail in their yard. It has been picked pretty clean and the dash was pretty much gone, but the interior temperature sensor was still there (exterior ambient wasn't)

I went home and pulled the same one out of car. It was minus something stupid and I was losing feeling in my fingers so I took both sensors inside.

Not wanting to go back out, I pulled out the multimeter and measured the resistance across the terminals. For curiosity (and procrastination) I froze the sensors by sticking them back outside, brought them inside and repeatedly measured the temperature and the resistance on both of them as they slowly warmed up. Everything matched the chart in the service manual the first time I tried, but one of them was significantly off the second time and the third time. 

I put the "good" one back in the car and haven't had the problem since.

Have I fixed it? I dunno
Is this how temp sensors go bad? Again I dunno
If anything it proved the resistance/temperature chart in the manual was dead accurate for one of the sensors.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Good stuff MikeHJ. So your interior temp sensor was going bad. That is a first, but I guess as our X trails get older more of these little gremlins will pop up. For anybody wondering the Bonavistas and the LEs are versions with the automatic climate control that is being discussed here. Not sure if other models have such a sensor to regulate the cabin temp, but both systems are to be found in the service manual section link above.


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