Blower Motor...

[Simbolgades]

Just thought I'd pass this on so soemone else doesn't have to go through the week of frustration that I have.

My blower motor wasn't working on any speed setting. I tried all the usual fixes, i.e. fuses, resistor, blower relay (Which, BTW, is a COMPLETE misnomer. The thing grounds the entire HVAC system, not just the blower...) I broke ou the ol' multitester and went to work...no unexpected resistances anywhere, and the entire system showed it was getting 12 volts.

The motor itself seemed a little stiff, so I made a quick trip to the junkyard and got a new motor and resistor. (Figured it coundn't hurt...) Nothing.

"To hell with it, I'll fix it later," I say to myself, and move on to fixing the power steering pressure hose and water pump, since then the car will at least be drivable.

While pulling the air box, I notice the relay box that contains the accessory 2 relay. I had never looked at it, assuming that if I was getting 12 volts in the cockpit, this relay was working properly. I had The Girl hit the ignition switch, and sure enough, a solid 'thunk' from the relay. Peering a little closer into the hole next to the it, though, I noticed some discoloration on the socket and insulation.

So I dismantled the relay box and found that the relay and socket had been reduced to a lump of charcoal. (See pictures.) Amazingly, even in this state the relay was still operating and supplying 12v, but it wasn't carrying enough current to run the motor. Yet another trip to the junkyard to clip the blower motor relay and socket from a donor car, 5 minutes worth of solder, tape, and zip ties, and I was back in business.

Hope this helps someone,

Chris'92 coupe

[2Fass240us]

Good info. Any idea how this happened?

-Andy

[Simbolgades]

No, I don't know for sure. Old age (i.e. 230,000 miles), most likely. Since the only thing that receives power from the Accessory 2 relay is the blower motor, that's almost certainly the culprit. It's probably just that the motor started to bind up and drew more current over a long period of time than the wires could handle. (This is a Texas car, so the blower is set to '4' sometime in mid-April and usually stays there until well after the World Series is over. ) But the current never actually got high enough to blow the fuses. The FSM doesn't specify the normal current draw of the motor, and I can't seem to find it anywhere else. But even if I could, my little multitester only reads up to 150mA.

But it works now! Now, on to fix the f@#$&%g power steering hose....

Chris'92 coupe

[initial_d_s14]

THANK YOU!! i have the same problem wrong with mine, been trying to find out what it was, sometimes it will come on sometimes it wont, about 99% of the time it doesnt come on in any speed. i have tested everything, im glad that you found out what it was. thanks.

[Ubernoober]

Worthy of a sticky.Excellent info.

[sil80S13]

thank you u are the man.. hey that was the problem with mine too, did u have a hard time getting the relay off? i think mines was melted onto the connector... i just replaced the relay.. i didnt change the plug or anything like that, but it works fine now! thanks man. this should be a sticky!