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Rear Fan Upgrade for 1.5 Roadster?

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From what I heard there's a retro-fit kit for the 1.5's and the 2.0's that ended up with the single fan blower in the rear. The upgrade are two blowers, some kit where I believe it utilizes the two screws to hold the blower (must be some bracket to put pressure down even on both fans) as opposed to the four screws that hold the 2.x dual blowers on, and a new rear swaybar to accommodate the blower.

I'm curious if this is a job someone can do by themselves.

jbadger had his 1.5 retrofitted, he'd be a good person to ask questions about. I think this is a good move since keeping temps down on electronics typically lead to longevity of the components.
 
From what I heard, the 2.x's have a dual fan in the PEM and the 1.5's only one. I believe jbadger mentioned his PEM temps did drop after this upgrade. Although it appears the real reason that a dual blower was added was for cold weather climates with salty roads and snow and failures occurring with the single fan.

The original 2.x's had two fans, one for the motor and one for the PEM. They were prone to failure, especially from road salt, and were replaced by a single fan (one motor with two blowers) plus a shroud to protect from debris. The upgrade was only done for cars in cold climates.

PEM, motor gets too hot -- fans failed
PEM, motor gets too hot -- fans failed - Page 17
 
I believe that is under the front hood, not in the rear correct? Is there an upgrade in the rear by the motor and PEM?

There were two upgrades:

1. A shroud was added to the front fans for 1.5 and 2.0 Roadsters to improve AC performance.

Cooling system improvement

2. Rear fans were replaced for 2.x Roadsters in cold climates to prevent failure from road salt. The upgrade added a rear shroud to block debris and replaced the rear sway bar to accommodate the new fan and shroud.
 
Here is a picture of the second fan in the PEM of a 1.5. I think this is a better design and it is nearly impossible to suck up road debris. It is on the underside of the 1.5 PEM. You can see it on the upper left corner of this picture.
PEM_Cleaning_03.JPG


The PEM fan for the 2.x is on the underside next to the motor fan on the 1.5.
 
jbadger had his 1.5 retrofitted, he'd be a good person to ask questions about. I think this is a good move since keeping temps down on electronics typically lead to longevity of the components.
Quick correction, I have a 2.0. Yes, my blower failed and so I took it in for service and got the dual blower assembly. It was a $1500 upgrade through the service department at Fremont.

The original 2.x's had two fans, one for the motor and one for the PEM. They were prone to failure, especially from road salt, and were replaced by a single fan (one motor with two blowers) plus a shroud to protect from debris. The upgrade was only done for cars in cold climates.
To my knowledge, my Roadster was never in cold climate (Sunny California), but yes i've heard they are prone to failure. The service department strongly recommended that I upgrade to the dual blower. I believe in previous threads I mistakenly called it a dual fan assembly, as I wasn't aware of the difference.

A shroud was added to the front fans for 1.5 and 2.0 Roadsters to improve AC performance.

Cooling system improvement
Thank you for this link. I'm going to look into pricing on this as my AC does not provide even cool air.
 
dhrivnak, how hard is it to take the PEM off on the 1.5?
Thanks much.

It is a bit of a job, not impossible but harder than changing an air filter. The PEM weighs about 110 lbs and is bulky so a friend really helps. I think there are only 6 bolts but 7 electrical connector plugs. Unless very handy I would watch a ranger first. I have yet to do one by myself but have watched the rangers in preparation for when I do not HAVE to have an annual servicing.
 
My car was in for some trouble codes and the resolution, as suggested by the invoice, says

DUAL PEM/MOTOR FAN ASSEMBLY RETROFIT

Mine is a 2008 1.5 car. Just FYI I have no immediate way to 1) prove it :) 2) determine if it is a real resolution to the issue I was seeing but I'm glad at least some folks are saying it reduces PEM temps
 
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Reactions: dhrivnak
Throttle position but I think that was a red herring; the car would misbehave in the hot weather with AC on. As for looking under the back of the car, it wasn't light enough to see but I don't think the fan looks double-wide (still looking for good pics online). I'll ask tomorrow what's up with that line item.