Need A/C Help for 96 Q45

[Sailtap300]

Help! My 96 Q45 A/C is not blowing out. I ran the HVAC self-diagnostic and it showed all was fine.

Background: I keep the unit in "Auto" and the temp on 68, the outside temp is consistently in the 90's (I live in south Florida). The other day, the fan speed was erratic - varying (almost surging) from low to high to low to high, and so on. Then, the fan stopped although the display readout showed all 4 fan blades lit up. I switched to "Econ" mode and ice cold air came out of the dash vents if I drove above 40 mph, any slower and no air came through. Nothing came through in "Auto" mode. The compressor works and is fully charged.

One final note, the number 21 briefly showed in the display when I was frantically pushing buttons - I believe this indicates a bad ambient sensor. But this evening the self diagnostic did not show the 21 again but that all was ok.

Any help I truly appreciate. Thanks!

[elwesso]

My guess is your blower and/or amplifier went out. I would personally try and find both used. I actually have a blower I can sell you pretty cheap, just send me an email.

You may need one or the other, but honestly I would try the resistor first, but IMO you may want to replace both. Usually when one wears out, it causes the other to wear out, causing this nasty spiral until it goes out completely like yours did.

[Sailtap300]

Hi Wes:

I am interesed and will email about the blower motor. Thanks.

[maxnix]

There also is an article about blower motor repair you may wnat to research. At least I think the post was made into an article.

[Jesda]

You can remove the blower give it a few taps to make a few clumps of dirt fall out, then reconnect and see if it spins again. If it still spins at all, you can disassemble and clean it entirely.

Enjoy the ride.

[Q45tech]

Unfortunately the ~~3/4" brush length only allows a certain number of hours of life [depending on rpms].

Used may be better or worse than what one has as miles cannot be translated to hours [city hours vs highway hours].

10 year or 200k seems to be the life....................look for low mileage wreck donors.

I just put in #3 in 315k/17 years, my 7 year old used replacement lasted ~~ 4+ years.

[elwesso]

Tom i forgot to tell you in the emails, but you may want to take the blower apart and make sure its cleaned and lubricated really good. I dont remember if I did it before I put it in storage.

any questions just hit me up. It shoudl only take about 5-10 mins to get it ready to go in the car.

[Sailtap300]

Thanks very much to all of you.

Wes, I received the blower motor today,I appreciate it. I already removed the squirrel cage and cleaned it as well as removed the rear motor cover and wiped the shaft and bearing race. I put a few drops of SAE 30W on the shaft end and bearing race before putting it all back together. Should I do anything else? Thanks, Tom.

[Sailtap300]

Me again...I forgot to ask, is the old blower motor rebuildable to save for future use or is it not worth it? Your thoughts, please....

[maxnix]

Me again...I forgot to ask, is the old blower motor rebuildable to save for future use or is it not worth it? Your thoughts, please....

Unfortunately the ~~3/4" brush length only allows a certain number of hours of life [depending on rpms].

If the brushes and bearings can be replaced as needed and the windings are good, it is rebuildable.

[qship96]

If you can source the brushes,repair would be quick and easy!Maybe try a vacuum/sewing machine type of repair shop that rebuilds small motors all day-everyday? I found it easier to order from Joe,spend the $,and wait for UPS to drop it at the door and tackle the removal & replacement at one sitting and never worry about it again{original motor lasted almost 180,000 miles,new one will outlive my ownership of the car}

[Q45tech]

Dang another economically [for manufacturer] wasteful over design of a component...........making things last 180k+ [3 x 60k warranty] when they could have gotten by with half that life like US manufacturers do.

Amazing how much of this wasteful overdesigning the orginal Q received.

[qship96]

problem is, if they designed parts to all fail at 90,000 like the American cars,we wouldnt be buying so many jap. cars-in effect,their slightly overengineered parts is what allows them to enjoy the fruits of the market share they have today! stupid american companies still cant figure this out?

[Sailtap300]

...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...recirculated air......

Thanks all! Ice cold air in the southwest FL summer - life just got a whole bunch better. It was in fact the blower motor...Wes, thanks again!

When I disassembled the dash/glove box area, I was pleasantly surprised to find that all of the duct work and other parts were very clean - like new in fact. No dirt, twigs, leaves, etc. or build up of any kind.

Wes, the part that looks like nuclear fuel rods looked like new. Should I still replace it? The system works great now. (By the way, when I removed the old blower, I turned on the system and it ran for a few seconds on high speed, then died out, then high, then out, etc.)

Thanks again for all of your great advice.

[elwesso]

if it works good then dont F with it, its fine!!

glad it worked out good for you.