2. Here is the part, with the plug attached. This pic is taken just forward of the drivers seat, which is moved all the way back.

 

3. Here is the part with the wire plug removed... Depress the latch to get the plug off. The plug is pushed up and to the left. Push that plastic bar sticking straight at you to the lower right of the part slightly lower and righter, while turning the part CLOCKWISE about a quarter turn to remove the part. (So the nubs at 11 o'clock and 5 o'clock on the part hit the stops on the duct.)

 

4. Here is the part itself. The heat sink is up in this pic, with the hood laying down. To remove the hood, examine the end of the part without the plug for a little latch that goes through the heat sink. Press that in and raise the hood, latch end first.

 

5. Here's the part with the hood off. The little guy up front with the blue legs is what failed.

 

6. Here's a pic of the solder vacuum I used to desolder the old thermal link.

 

7. Desoldered the old link and pivoted it up to show the legs... This is the clearest pic of the module I got.... You can see the lugs to which the link solders below the leg wires... The are in turn soldered to the board, so don't get the whole thing heated up or they'll move... Just heat the ends with the wires. The reason I used the solder vacuum is that you can't move the part after the solder is melted to remove it, since it's clipped in around the back of the board. If you don;t have a solder vacuum, you can accomplish the same thing by melting the solder and shaking the part, but don't do it in the house! Solder will fly off....

 

8. The new link.

 

9. Here is what you see after you remove the two screws from the connector end, and the screw through the transistor into the heatsink, and remove the heatsink. You can see the link at the end, with the blue insulation sleeves on its legs.

 

10. The old link above, and the new link below. I couldn't get the blue sleeves off the old link. I hate getting thermal paste on my hands because it is such a pain to get off, so I didn't try too hard. I just used insulation from some thin wire I had laying around and made new insulation sleeves.

 

11. I eyeballed the width of the slot for the link and bent the legs to fit it. I pressed the link into the slot here. The bent parts of the legs are a snug fit in the slot.

 

12. Back on the other side, I bent the legs down to hook under the lugs and soldered them. That tube in the background marked NTE303 is thermal paste. I put a liberal amount on the link and the transistor heatsink, then replaced all the screws going into the heatsink, making sure I got the transistor one very tight.

 

13. All that's left is to snap the hood back on by placing the pins into the connector end and the latch through the heatsink. Replace the part in the Pilot and test... Replace kickpanel, etc...

 

Kudoo's to RSeery; I have the same rear transistor problem.
I took it out and "hot-wired" the two end terminals (soldering a piece of wire from one terminal to the other, thus closing the circuit). I hope this will not cause an over heating problem. I would imagine it is very important to make sure that the filter (shown by RSeery in Post #1, http://www.piloteers.org/forums/att...s/attachments/problems/33901d1213462279-rear-blower-transistor-fix-100_5358.jpg)
is kept clean.
The results I have so far is : the dash manual switch does turn the green light of the rear console control panel on, and gives fan control to the rear passenger. Also I now hear the fan in the console blowing and .... most importantly ... there is heat coming out in the rear vents.

 

Very well done. The only reason no one has replied to this yet is because they're not having this same issue. Nice to know it's here when/if other users need it.

I'm going to take this oppurtunity to welcome back a long lost user, RSeery. I, for one, appreciate that you took the time to once again post your experiences and knowledge with fixing a problem in your Pilot.

I hope to never have this issue, but if I do, I'm thankful for your detailed help.

:7:

 

Hi, Rserry: What detailed, excellent work! Thanks! The last post on this thread mentions that they will use the information if they ever have this problem. Well, I do! Honda replaced this modual free of charge about 4 months ago, and it already is broken again! They refuse to replace it again. There is obviously a serious design flaw here (they would charge me $300!!). Anyway, I'd like to order the parts listed in this thread before I pull the module....but I don't see these parts listed at Mouser! I tried to search for the exact parts that Rserry mentioned in the very, first part of this thread. No luck! Could the parts be obsolete now since this was several years ago? Thoughts on what to try?

1 526-NTE303 1 1.770 1.77 (which part is this? Not the grease, right?)
NTE Chemicals
1g HEATSINK COMPOUND (no part number? I'm not worried...I have plenty of thermal grease, just curious)

2 447-XYP2BN109-RC 2 0.400 0.80 (thermal cutoff switch)
Xicon Thermal Cutoff
TCO 114C 2A/250VAC

Thanks,

Steve

 

Anyway, I'd like to order the parts listed in this thread before I pull the module....but I don't see these parts listed at Mouser!

2 447-XYP2BN109-RC 2 0.400 0.80 (thermal cutoff switch)
Xicon Thermal Cutoff
TCO 114C 2A/250VAC

Thanks,

Steve

I have had the same issue with the rear heater since I bought my Pilot. Still not fixed...but I'm seriously considering trying this. I was able to find these thermal cutoffs on two different websites:

Centerpointe Electronics
Xicon Thermal Cutoffs

ELCODIS
Xicon thermal cutoff - electronic parts | Electronic Components Elcodis.com

Hope this helps!

 

OMG i just ran into this problem with my 03 EXL, the summer is here, so my 6 months old new born will be uncompotable when the wheather starting to heat up, awsome, but can you show me where to order those parts? thanks

 

Love to, man! But as my email says: I don't have the information-which is why I asked the original posted of this email to respond.

In addition, the location of the module that is "blown" out does not seem to be where he suggests it is located, which makes me wonder if I mis-read this thread. I have a 2003 Honda Pilot.

I should mention that Honda told me they would fix it....but I'm pretty sure it will break again, so I'd really like the gentleman that originally posted this information back in 2003 to respond if/when he has a chance!

Best,

Steve

 

I would like to thank all of the piloteers.org members who have posted on this topic. Your input has allowed me to fix my problem with spending +-$100.00 at the dealer for a new part.

It has been a learning experience, but has saved me money.

What I have learned:
Radio Shack and Fry's Electronics carry the 128C thermal cutoff required to make this repair, however, they are larger than the original and are metal bodied causing a short on the heat sink if not buffered with a silicon or mica shield.

The Mouser Electronics parts listed in this thread look to be a better option. The part numbers listed by the OP are avialable on the mouser.com web site, however, the part number for the thermal cut off ends with -RC. The other data is extra. The other part he ordered ending in 303 is the heat sink paste.

Again, thanks to RSeery and all other poster who have covered this topic in depth.

 

RSerry,

Thanks for the detailed instructions. I ordered the parts from Mouser and soldered the resistor per your instructions.

Thanks again.

Mike:2:

 

Many thanks for taking the time to share this fix. Worked perfectly on my 2002 Acura MDX!

 

Great thread! This worked perfectly for my '03. Cost less than $10 for the part delivered vs. the $123.00 for the part (double that if installed) that the dealer wanted.

 

I'm not sure if I'm having the same problem but here's mine.

When the AC is on the rear top vents will not push air, but the bottom does. Is that the rear blower problem and if so how would I know if it's this transistor problem?

Either way the resoldiering looks pretty easy. Thanks for the write up.

Also what is the NTE303, is that some auto thermal paste or just something you had laying around? Is it similar the computer heatsink stuff, I have MX-2 and Artic silver 3 and 5 laying around.

 

See (many) other threads on this topic, but it bears reminding that the failure points to a combination of too low a thermal fuse temp and partial clogging of intake screen.

The clogged intake screen lowers air volume, which makes the transistor run hotter, which eventually blows the thermal fuse.

I'd suggest using a fuse with 20 to 30 degrees (F) higher rating and clean the screen once a year for a permanent fix.

 

I just appleid this fix to my 2003 pilot and it work perfectly. Thanks to alll who contributed to this thread. Take care and God bless.

 

Add me to the list.....yeah, the list of the successful sub-$10.00 fixes. :29:
(FYI, I could NEVER be a surgeon...perhaps too much coffee today...holy h*ll. LOL.)

Cold air is blasting again - just in time for the 110 degree heat here in Phoenix. This thread rocks. HUGE thank you!

 

Thanks!!! I just did this repair and it was very easy. The soldering is not pretty but it works!!! I also cleaned the fan screen (seven years of dust we bought new in 12/03) while I was in there and the whole thing took about 10 minutes. I feel like I just saved $100!:29: