Blower fan not working, possible hack job

[Northern_Nissan]

A week ago I needed to replace the rear springs and shocks in my 2001 Pathfinder, so I added in rear airbags as well as I was moving back south to the lower half of BC from way up north. The truck handled a roughly 800 kilo load (SportRack on ball hitch as well as loaded inside) with no problems. Was extremely impressed !

Got where I was going, unpacked and the next morning I get in it after it had been running for a while and the was no fan blower working. Heater was throwing heat but no air push behind it. Not what I wanted to happen after the repair bill from only a few days previous.

I followed a guide from this site to diagnose the issue and it showed me how to disassemble the dash. Got into the guts behind the glove compartment and where the power amp or resistor ? should be there is nothing but an empty mount spot.
(I'd show pictures but I can't figure out how to do that here)
When I pulled the kick panel out, I found what appears to be a hack job. A positive and negative wire coming out of the firewall and had butt connectors (which pulled apart with a touch) then led straight into the fan blower. Looking at how easy they separated and the fact there appears to be a part missing, I am lead to believe this fan has been hack wired in by someone at some point.

Well, of course, now I have no idea what to do

My parents say they never did any blower fan work with it, and it had one previous owner before them, so my guess is that person or their mechanic modded/hacked this to get it going.
I am trying all I can to avoid more costs on this thing. Since being up north in oil country, the poor girl has taken some lumps from terrain and weather up there (bulge in tire sidewall, seized power antenna, shocks/ coils shattered ~fixed!~, some rust, and trim around windows needs replacing, blown rear door stiffeners, badly spidered windsheild ) and I'd prefer to put money towards those things if possible.

The fuses are good, so how can I test this to see what's going on ? Can I hot wire pos and neg leads to those wires going directly into the blower and see if the fan blows ? I am somewhat mechanical but the thought of cooking the blower when it wasn't already cooked doesn't appeal to me. While only 70$ for the blower fan from Napa AutoParts it adds up especially if it's wasted.
What should I do if it is the blower fan? Replace and repair as it is now, or try and get the power amp/resistor thingy into the mix ? I always seem to find the real strange ones lol !!

Also if someone can help me show pictures, it might make this easier so others can see what I mean with the missing part and crappy butt connectors.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[EdBwoy]

Man, sorry to hear of the new headache coming after all your work. It does indeed sound like someone wired the blower to run and bypass the amplifier - full speed all the time. I'll have to look at the manual to figure out how you'd get the signal to trigger the fan on, working with a hardwired connection.
Do you recall if your blower could change speeds at all before this failure?

I would try to jump the blower motor. I don't immediately see how this would be bad for a very short time. That's how I test a blower to know if the bearings are bad before installation.

For pictures, here's something I posted in the past

To know to post pics, try this:
howto-post-your-images-in-threads-t573706.html
or how-to-post-pictures-using-photobucket-t521110.html
I've posted posted photos for other members who didn't intend on posting many pictures and didn't want to go through the process of setting up accounts in photo hosting sites, so if you're interested I can do that for you...

[Northern_Nissan]

Solved (sort of)

I tried a new fan blower motor relay but that didn't fix it, so I pulled the blower fan out, gave the basket a spin and then fed it pos and neg leads right off the battery and it started spinning. Has a bit of a tick when spinning though.
So, I figure it's on it's way out like an oscillating cooling fan you might have in the living room, and if you take the cage off and spin her she starts going again for a while.

Probably could have found this out by smacking the fan housing but now I know.

I have no idea why the one white piece (amp or resistor whatever it is) is missing, but it's working for now and I can pick up a new blower fan on Monday relatively cheap.

Thanks for this forum or I wouldn't have found the way to get in there, especially that one screw behind the one skinny panel.

[Northern_Nissan]

Man, sorry to hear of the new headache coming after all your work. It does indeed sound like someone wired the blower to run and bypass the amplifier - full speed all the time. I'll have to look at the manual to figure out how you'd get the signal to trigger the fan on, working with a hardwired connection.
Do you recall if your blower could change speeds at all before this failure?

I would try to jump the blower motor. I don't immediately see how this would be bad for a very short time. That's how I test a blower to know if the bearings are bad before installation.

For pictures, here's something I posted in the past

To know to post pics, try this:
howto-post-your-images-in-threads-t573706.html
or how-to-post-pictures-using-photobucket-t521110.html
I've posted posted photos for other members who didn't intend on posting many pictures and didn't want to go through the process of setting up accounts in photo hosting sites, so if you're interested I can do that for you...

Sorry, I missed your reply, I never refreshed the page.


Thanks for the info on the pics. Its been a while since I've used this type of forum.

What's weird though is I have fan speed control ! How, I have no idea. I can control the fan speed from the dash and always have been able to. The fact that piece is missing is just blowing my mind. And it looks like its never been mounted there. The screw holes in the mount are still 'virgin' if ya know what I mean

I am baffled. Maybe because its a Canadian model ?? Very weird !!

[atraudes]

Somewhat off topic, but get that bulging tire fixed as soon as possible. It could blow at a really dangerous and inopportune time.

[EdBwoy]

...


Sorry, I missed your reply, I never refreshed the page.


Thanks for the info on the pics. Its been a while since I've used this type of forum.

What's weird though is I have fan speed control ! How, I have no idea. I can control the fan speed from the dash and always have been able to. The fact that piece is missing is just blowing my mind. And it looks like its never been mounted there. The screw holes in the mount are still 'virgin' if ya know what I mean

I am baffled. Maybe because its a Canadian model ?? Very weird !!

No worries, you got it sorted out and that's cool learning for me too.
Since you had speed control anyway, then it makes sense. I mean, typically a failed blower amplifier will make your fan run at full blast all the time. The amplifier in my armchair expertise, is a component whose resistance changes with air temperature and thus allows the Auto system to self-adjust. I haven't messed with the manual systems enough to make an educated guess on how they work.

[Northern_Nissan]

Somewhat off topic, but get that bulging tire fixed as soon as possible. It could blow at a really dangerous and inopportune time.

10-4 on that. Couldn't avoid a rock from a gravel truck the first day on trip back, came out of his duellies, and caught the sidewall. Waiting for Monday to take it in for a bunch of repairs.....windshield, tires and the fan I'll grab and install myself. The windshield is bad, covers entire passenger view so I'll get stopped soon enough if a cop sees it.

No worries, you got it sorted out and that's cool learning for me too.
Since you had speed control anyway, then it makes sense. I mean, typically a failed blower amplifier will make your fan run at full blast all the time. The amplifier in my armchair expertise, is a component whose resistance changes with air temperature and thus allows the Auto system to self-adjust. I haven't messed with the manual systems enough to make an educated guess on how they work.

Yeah I am not very good with electrical when you start talking relays, or resistors. Car steroes and that type of wiring I know pretty good but that's plug n play wiring really.
Just following every guide I've seen they all refer to that amplifier. Not seeing it and the way the connectors separated I knew it was not Nissan that did that. Their work tends to be tip top.

Thanks again for the replies and the help

[yeldogt]

I have not heard of a Pathfinder needing new springs?

Do you have the electronic climate control or the manual ? All three of mine were 2002 LE's -- so they all had the climate control and they all needed the amp/ controller located behind the glove box ... it's a $!00.00 part and getting a used one is a waste of time IMO .. unless free. The manual systems uses a different controller -- much cheaper ($30) .. I think the blower is only about $40

I do remember a good write up someplace on fixing the manual system -- so google is your friend. It's not unusual for the manual one to fail as well. For whatever reason they have weak fan controls. I have seen the whole dash control panels for very little on e-bay