Blower motor or resistor?

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john188971
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Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

Good morning all!
I've only owned my 2006 vibe for a few months haven't had any troubles yet but today I have a strange issue.
This morning I'm driving in to work. Blower on low. Seems like @5-10 minutes nothing coming out of the vents. Turned speed up to high and it started blowing fast. So ok weird. Turned back to low and fan worked for another 5-10 minutes and stopped working again. This continued for an hour. I can shut the fan completely off and wait a few minutes, turn it back to low and it works for the short term again. When it's not working I can turn it through all fan settings and no response, except for high.
No noises coming from blower.
Checking genvibe I've come across connector on blower, blower motor itself, or resistor.
I wouldn't think resistor because it does work on low for a short time. Also any other car of mine would give me some warning the motor was getting ready to go out. Blower making noise.
So I'm a bit puzzled.
Car is a 2006 base. 71,500 miles
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
John
Jbenrod
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by Jbenrod »

It probably is just the blower motor bearings are getting tight/rough and this causes more resistance when turning. I'm a bit surprised since you have such low miles but I don't know what kind of environment you've been operating in.

I think you would have to take it out to be able to spin the fan to check it for sure - however I would first take out the cabin filter and see if you can reach the fan via that access hole.

If you can get the electrical connection off you might be able to check the voltage coming to the fan, at different fan levels, which would confirm the resistor is still OK.
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SeattleJeremy
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by SeattleJeremy »

The last time I had trouble with the blower motor I replaced both the resistor (Acdelco) and the blower (TYC). At Rockauto.com they are $25 and $35 respectively (plus shipping). No problems since.

I hate to suggest the "throw parts at it" method, but in this case it would be effective.
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john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

Well I took a look yesterday evening. Went through the procedures discussed. Blower spun fairly easy. Seemed like a tight motor. I had the ac on and on low while I rooted around looking for resistor and blower plug. I unplugged the resistor and fan stopped of course. Turned swith to high and it worked. Plugged resistor back in and then pulled the plug on the blower motor itself. Read 13.6 volts on all fan settings. I assume I did it correctly. Stuck both probes in the plug?
So that leads me to believe it's resistor.
However through all this time messing with it, it never did the symptoms!!!
Way to work this morning 15 minutes in. Yep no fan.. Slightly different this time. Turned switch to high and it took maybe 5-10 seconds to actually achieve full speed. Weird!
I'd opt for the resistor at this point just because the motor felt like a new electric motor. No play, no grinding when spinning it.
I've never had one act like this. At the end of the day @$75 should buy both parts. Not a huge investment by any means.
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vibrologist
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by vibrologist »

On another car I had the fan switch itself failing. If the contacts are not perfect the switch may heat up. It could bend the metal away and stop the fan, then turn it on again when it cools. On that car the switch burnt out.
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john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

Now that's a strange twist! Didn't think of that scenario at all :cry:
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joatmon
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by joatmon »

john188971 wrote:.... Plugged resistor back in and then pulled the plug on the blower motor itself. Read 13.6 volts on all fan settings. I assume I did it correctly. Stuck both probes in the plug?
So that leads me to believe it's resistor.
The blower motor circuit diagram is at download/file.php?id=2847

You would only get a voltage drop if there was any significant current flowing through the blower resistor. The blower resistor is on the order of one or two ohms. A voltmeter will have resistance of many megohms, to minimize the effect on the circuit being measured. The voltage difference between the various fan settings with only the voltmeter as load would only be microvolts.

I vote for the blower motor.
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john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

Lol! I'll check ohms tonight. How do I check the switch? Without tearing whole dash apart!
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vibrologist
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by vibrologist »

john188971 wrote:Lol! I'll check ohms tonight. How do I check the switch? Without tearing whole dash apart!
You take only part of the dash apart.
Honestly, I don't think it is a likely cause because I have not heard of people having trouble with it. But it is a possibility.

joatmon is damn good. I would trust his judgment: blower motor.
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john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

I didn't get a chance to test with ohm meter. I think I'll just get s new blower motor. Question is. I haven't decided between tyc brand or four seasons. I haven't heard of the TYC brand so for a few dollars more I'll probably go four Seasons.
Pretty straight forward install?
Pull computer out of the way and unscrew the blower motor itself?
Thanks again
john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

I never got a chance to check with ohm meter. However yesterday sitting in rush hour traffic on my way home from Chicago, at 97 degrees outside. .. fan would only work on high. By the time I got home it was barely blowing at all. Still no noises from the fan. So I said heck with it and ordered both the blower motor and resistor! That'll fix it , hopefully! !
Thanks all
Jbenrod
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by Jbenrod »

Sitting in traffic at 97 degrees outside does motivate one to fix it NOW :)
2005 Base - 220k
john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

Lol! Yes it does! It was blowing 38 degrees but on high. So frozen or hot. Thank goodness it didn't start slowing down till 10 minutes from home!
john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

Parts just went in. Interesting, the blower motor had been replaced in the past. Blower motor seemed fine, spun fine, no wobble.
Then went to the resistor. WOW who's the genius that designed that? The back screw is impossible to see, not to mention get back in!
Having said that. I think the resistor was the culprit. Corroded and rusty.
Never seen that before. Tried to upload pic bit too large. I'll take another one later and lower resolution.
Got called into work tomorrow so I'll see how the drive in is!
john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

For some reason I can't attach photo. Says file too large. I turned resolution down from 16mp to 2.4 mp and still no good.
Sorry
john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

Still the same!
Took the car to work yesterday. Experienced the same issue with both new parts installed.
After about a half hour of driving fan only worked on high.
It wasn't that hot in the a.m. so I was freezing with it on high.
By the end of the day it was in the mid to high 90's on afternoon commute, on the highway anyway. So the fan was on high all the way home. It never slowed down like before but the commute was only 45 minutes.
Any suggestions???
Thanks
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Chiadog
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by Chiadog »

Well that stinks!
I can't be positive without a good wiring diagram, but I think the only remaining components of the HVAC blower system are the fan speed switch, Fan Ground, the 12 volt power supply to the switch, and the Fan Fuse. I would start with the Ground. Consider that you may have blown the new resistor. Were the parts you installed brand-new?
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vibrologist
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by vibrologist »

john188971 wrote:For some reason I can't attach photo. Says file too large. I turned resolution down from 16mp to 2.4 mp and still no good.
Sorry
I use "Paint" go to "Resize Image" and choose in the neighborhood of 30 %. Then I save the file with a new name on the desktop. Sometimes I crop the picture.
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'05 Vibe

"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"

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vibrologist
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by vibrologist »

Wouldn't it be ironic if it were the switch?

Taking the center stack out is not hard. Most things just pull out. There is a screw under the center dial. Pull the knob off to find it. I wrote that in bold because that is the one thing I couldn't figure out myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECHAoRYZXJY
Vibrologist
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"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"

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john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

UPDATE!
I HAVE BLOCKAGE!
Got to work today and heard the fan going on speed 2. But nothing out of any vent. Diverted to all other settings. No air. Turned back to vent and turned it on high. Slowly I got air out of the vents. Then full blast.
So something is moving and blocking airflow but whatever it is, it's moving.
Very Weird!
And yes all parts are new. Resistor is oem. And fan is tyc
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vibrologist
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by vibrologist »

Maybe you have a family of mice living in the ducts? Check the cabin air filter first, then check the recirculation door and the blend door. If the blend door actuator fails it usually makes a clacking sound. Once the teeth of the gears are all gone it makes no sound anymore.
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john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

Ok, so. .. no mice! Cabin filter replaced 3 months ago when I bought it. Excuse my ignorance. But blend door and recirculation door are 2 different things. Blend door is cable actuated? Recirculation for is acruated?
Blend door/switch on dash works when fan is blowing. It also deactivates recirculation (max air) button both when fan is working or not.
Now I did notice that my recirculation door was stuck closed . However I pushed it with my finger and it started to work. Cycled it several times without fail.
Even if recirculation door actuator failed
mid way. Or anywhere in its cycle. How would that make no air to come out of anywhere, vents floor, defroster?
This situation is a first for me!
john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

Nothing? No suggestions? A buddy , mechanic, suggested ac condenser icing up and blocking ductwork.
Can I stick a bore scope down vents to see what's going on at the condenser? Or do I have to pull the blower motor?
Thanks again
John
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Chiadog
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by Chiadog »

Nothing that complicated, drive the car with the AC off (first thing in the morning!) and see if the problem still occurs. Mentioning AC usage in your first post would have likely had someone bring up this preliminary troubleshooting step.
john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

It's not an every day occurrence. I did try today with fan on and no ac. However it was foggy and 100% humidity of course so I had to have the defrost on all the way. I turned the temperature to @65 degrees. It didn't do it. However it also didn't do it on the way home either. Fan was on high all the way home.
I was questioning the previous post about damper door and recirculation door statement.
There is no blend door actuator correct? And even if the recirculation door was sticking half way, I've never heard any clicking from the actuator, it still wouldn't stop air from coming out of any vents, correct?

Today I shoved a bore scope down the vent to see if I could see any frost or blockage. But no that was a waste of time. I'll have to take the blower out and check for frost or some sort of blockage from the bottom side.
And yes I'm talking about the ac. It's always been about the ac. It's summer in the Midwest ! I bought the car in early spring so heat was always fine.
I also do notice the the air temp coming out of the vents fluctuates with ac on. Just driving down the road it will be anywhere from 25 to 40 degrees. I have a thermometer in the vent above radio to monitor temps. Now today it was 92 degrees on the highway and the temp stayed consistently @38 degrees.
I need to document, when the temps drop to the 20's and see if the air is still.moving.

Thanks again for all the help
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joatmon
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by joatmon »

well, the symptoms pointed to the blower motor, sorry for steering you wrong, hope you get it figured out
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john188971
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Re: Blower motor or resistor?

Post by john188971 »

No worries! When I took the resistor out and saw the rust I was sure I found the problem as well! Idk, maybe the previous owner overcharged the ac and I am icing up. Darn thing hasn't done it all week! My mechanic friend wants to just vacuum the ac down and put proper amount of freon in to see what happens.
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