Kia Sephia Sporty

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Second Part: The Problems and their Solutions

 

As you have seen in the previous Photos, the wiring is tiny and works pretty Hot, there are many metallic parts that easily gets loose, might get humid and / or corroded, and some parts might get burnt, etc...

 

 

...causing electrical false contacts, which are the root of the electrical problems and fails that these Kias suffers, with age and usage, on their different accesories and parts.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Solving a specific and common problem: The Blower

 
The Blower in the dashboard, for the Air Conditioner, draws more current from the electrical system than the average, and is one of things that fails the most on these Sephias; mainly because it keeps pretty Hot the wiring and the plugs during usage...
 

 
...and as I described before, the materials on the Box and the plugs are not intended for such situation during prolongated periods of time; so firstly, the plug melts, causing intermitent fails of the Blower...
 

 
...finally, the end of the Wire at the plug, gets burnt and stops conducting electricity as it should. So, the blower stops working, despite that the rest of the Air Conditioner system, continues working flawlessly, as it should.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

I will explain this procedure to be easy to understand.

Inside the "Relay & Fuse Box" two parts controls the Power sent to the Blower:

 

A Fuse and a Relay. The idea is that the Fuse provides Safety to the Circuit, and the Relay assures that the Blower will Not function with the engine OFF, so it only provides Power with the ignition; thus prevents battery drains.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

As I wrote before, the Blower on our "KiaStein" started to fail since a couple of months ago; sometimes it worked flawlessly, sometimes it didn't; always the rest of the A/C system worked as it should. Then one day, the Blower completely stopped working.

There was a soft smell like burnt plastic, on the car everytime we used the A/C, since around six months ago...

The A/C is a must here in the Caribbean; not due to the warm climate, but due to our huge downpours: It lets us drive safely, by keeping clear the windshield; so, I had to fix it.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

So, I searched among the Wires on the Relay & Fuse Box:

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

And I found that the wire that goes as Power Output from the Relay to the Blower...



...was Burnt; so I cut it from the Plug.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

I decided to place a new, stronger Relay for the Blower, outside the "Relay & Fuse Box", with stronger wiring; So, I obtained a used but good Relay plus its Socket and also a protective rubber hood, out from a newer Kia Spectra from the Junk Yard; this relay is Bosch style and is rated @ 30 Amps, enough for the Blower.
 

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Closer view of the Relay and its part number:

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

So, to install a new Relay, I needed these Four wires:

► Fused, permanent Power, for relay's input = pin # 30 (+)
► The Blower's wire, for the relay's output = pin # 87 (+)
► The Signal wire, that comes on with ignition, # 86 (+)
► The Ground wire, to be connected at pin # 85 (-)

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The wire for the Blower, was the one found with its end Burnt at the Box:



Now it goes to Relay's pin # 87

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Then, I removed one single-Wire Plug for high current draw, from the Junk Yard's Box which I dissected, as shown in previous posts; and added it to the "B+" Power line of our Kia's Box; so I can use a Big fuse on one of its empty spots, and have a fused source of permanent Power:

 

Now it goes to Relay's pin # 30

Edited June 14, 2017 by Loyale 2.7 Turbo

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Then I searched among the wires on the Box, to find the ones that delivers ignition Power, in order to use one as ignition signal provider; found it among these:

 

Now it goes to Relay's pin # 86

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Added the Black wire with ring terminal, for the Ground:



Now it goes to Relay's pin # 85

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

This is how I solder each wire...



...insulating them properly.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

This is the Final product:

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Found an empty hole on a metal tab, next to the brake's Booster...



...and attached the Relay using a ¼" Screw with locking nut, on it.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The new Relay almost hides itself behind the "Relay & Fuse Box" and...



...it looks like a Factory one!!! 

The great news is that he Blower works Flawlessly again, thanks to God.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The Blower motor spins happy, like new!



Looks similar to the one from my old Subaru, because they're somehow... Generic.
 

Now the blower works for five seconds more, after shutting off the car, like the Radiator's fan does; it is because I used the same ignition signal wire from it; the feeling of having five more seconds of A/C after shutting off the car, is weird, but nice to have, like a "Cool" Feature.

I hope this writeup will be Helpful for other people. If so, let me know by hitting the "Like" button.

I ask this as motivation to continue sharing my experiences, photos, etc... with you.

Greetings from the Caribbean, Honduras.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Despite that the "KiaStein" already reached its Eighteen Birthday...



... it is working Flawlessly, thanks to God.

Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Since we moved to a Rural area where our cars are driven in muddy roads, my wife's car, the "KiaStein" started sounding like an old bed, from the rear suspension... No matter how many times I washed it to remove mud and debris, it still sounded awful; I used a can of white lithium Grease on the rear stabilizer bar, rubbers, etc... and still sounded the same.
 
The salesgirl at one of the local spare parts' Shops, recommended me to use a special "Chassis" oil (as she called it), the Abro's Graphite oil, whose weight is 140 ...
 

 
... Long story short, I sprayed ⅓ of a quart of that oil, in the Undercarriage, after the last washing, and the "KiaStein" returned to be as silent as a new car.

 
Nice idea, girl! ...  ... Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The only other thing I've done to this car, is its regular motor Oil & Filter changes.
 


Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Update:

 

The Chassis oil works Awesome, no more Old bed noise! 
 
In another subject, this new motor oil that I switched to use, (Chevron's DELO 400 with CK-4 / SN Quality class), somehow seems to help to reduce the fuel consumption, the "KiaStein" reached 280 miles with a full tank (11.7 gallons) when it used to barely reach the 240 miles before ...  ...

 
Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Some months ago, our "KiaStein" started to have belts' squealing noise, like if one of the two belts were slipping, increasing a lot if we used the A/C; so I thought it was time for new Belts; after all, those were changed only once, more than five years ago.

For those who wonder, these are the numbers for the two belts on the second gen Sephia / first gen Spectra with the T8D (1.8L) engine, that has power steering & Air Conditioner:

 

I obtained these New, in "Gates" brand.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

But sadly, changin' the Belts, did Not fixed the noise, as it came back the next day after the change; so I investigated further regarding these Serpentine belts' arrangement, and I found that these systems, could generate certain amount of electricity, as a "Van der Graaf" generator, (Click ~► Here for further info on the subject); and since that electricity generation is harmful for the ECU, TCU, etc on the car, the engineers decided to put a rubber isolation on the Main Pulley, in order to prevent that the belts, could transmit the generated voltage, to the cars' system.

The noise was coming from the Rubber isolation, between the two metal parts on the Pulley. The reason is that rubber shrinks with age and exposure to heat; so said rubber was emiting that annoying screech noise, mainly when the system were under load, such like using the A/C.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

So, I obtained a brand new main Pulley. Image with part number found online:




Here is it, as it came from the Local Kia Dealer: