My Royal SovereignARP-3012 lower blower fan wheel broke
This is a difficult repair and no easy cake at all. The one internal part you can order from Royal Sovereign is the lower blower wheel. Perhaps this is because it breaks easily.
Begin by draining the unit by removing the rubber plug at lower left. Remove 14 (count them) from the back. Remove additional positioning screws that hold the case side to the metal frame. Take out the two screws on the underside of the outer casing. Unclip the plastic tie that holds a temperature sensor to the rear radiator, and remove the the sensor gently. Spread the casing gently apart and push it away from the chassis a few inches. Reach into the front and unplug the three electronic connectors that link the display panel to the chassis. Note that the two leads that go to the lower part of the chassis go into positions 1 and 3 - the middle connector is not used. Now remove the casing entirely. Take a photo on all sides for reference and get some masking tape ready. You will see an upper blower casing and a lower blower casing, around which are arranged the condenser and two radiators, held in place by four press-formed metal chassis frames and two plastic chassis supports. Do not proceed until you mark where all the screws into the metal supports go. Failure to do this may end up with putting chassis support screws into holes meant for the back panel, making it impossible to reassemble the outer casing. Remove the grounding wire on the right side facing the rear. Tape the screws to the chassis part and note the color of the leads. Mark the location of the screw so you do not put it in wrong place on re-assembly. Do the same with the double green and yellow wires connected to the other side. Disassemble the bracket holding the white metal electrical condenser, noting carefully how the bracket is designed to clamp the condenser in place. Remove all the screws holding all four corner chassis supports, and mark exactly where the screws go. Stick these screws to a piece of tape and label it. Remove all screws holding the upper plastic chassis frame, marking screw locations carefully. Note that some of these screws hold the upper blower casing in place. Stick these screws to another piece of tape and label it. Working from the rear, and using a long phillips head screwdriver, remove two screws that hold the base of the upper blower assembly. Check gently to see if the assembly is now loosened and can be lifted but do not lift it yet. Remove any other screws that impede. Remove the uper chassis support carefully. This is a tricky move, take your time. Remove the tape that holds wiring on the middle plastic chassis support member and put it somewhere you can get it again, you will need it on reassembly. Once the upper blower assembly is removable, lift it EXACTLY vertically to clear the cleats at the base, then carefully rotate it towards you and place it upside down in front of the unit. There is just enough wire to allow you to do this. Remove and tape screws as needed to liberate the middle chassis support member. Remove and tape the two screws that hold the lower blower casing to the deck chassis support.
This is where it gets tricky. Remove the middle chassis support but be very careful to support the upper radiator as you do so. Remove and record the location of any other screws that hold the lower blower casing. Tip the upper radiator as little as possible to allow the lower blower casing to be lifted up out of the chassis floor, and out to the side. tis is a difficult move and it is easy to damage the fins of the radiators. Remove the front of the lower blower casing, and remove the blown-up old wheel. Put the new blower wheel onto the motor shaft and make DAMN sure the nut is on tight. Otherwise the wheel will slowly travel up the shaft, rub against the radiator in front and you will have to do it all over again.
Reassemble in reverse order. When you re-connect the wiring of the outer casing, be sure to connect the lower wires in front into positions 1 and 3, leaving the center blade open.
You will be glad you recorded the exact location of every screw, trust me.
It took me seven days to figure this out, even after worming out the service manual and an exploded view from the company (both useless for this repair except for debugging misplaced electrical connections).
Easy cake indeed.
