Heater/AC Fan not working

[digitalskull]

Good Day,It's raining today & I wanted to start my fan to remove the fog off my windows when I noticed it's not working anymore & I was driving!!It's not working at any speed & it does nothing when I tried to star it... Not even an hummmmm. lol. Everything else seems to be working. A/C turns on, defrost, hazard, cruise control. all ok. I didn't check the fuse because I think it's says it's the same as the cruise control & it's working.Any help would be appreciate coz I dont feel like going to the garage especialy when it's just cost me 600$ on my mini-van ** Update. when I turned the dial at the defrost setting it turns on the radiator fan but no air is coming in the car. at the other settings the radiator fan is not turning on.** checked the 40amp fuse in the fuse box under the steering wheel and the 10amp for a/c and all is good there.Could it be the relay in the fuse box under the hood? The FAN no.1 relay or FAN no.2? I removed them but I dunno how to tell if they are still good Thanks!Dan

[joatmon]

The Fan 1 and Fan 2 relays underr the hood are for the cooling fan, the one between the engine and the radiator, so they won't affect the interior blowerPower comes from underhood 100A ALT fuse (if that was blown, the heater would be the least of your worries) then to the 40A Heater fuse under the dash, and then through a Heater relay in a junction block up above the glove box. The relay gets thrown by power from the gauge fuse, (enabled by ignition), then to the fan speed control switch. The speed conrol switch selects what part of the blower resistor to pass though. If the fan is set to the highest speed, it does not go through the resistor, that's why a common symptom of a failed resistor is that the fan only runs on high. Yours doesn't, so it's not the resistor.So, likley would be the 40A Heater fuse, which you said you checked an d it was ok. If the gauge fuse was blwon, enough other things would be not working you'd notice and worry about them before the heater, so assume thats ok. That leaves a few things. It's possible it's the heater relay, which has nott been a failure prone item. http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...s.jpg is a picture of the top side of the junction block above the glove box showing the heater relay. Somne people have had the tail relay in the block work loose, maybe if you're lucky the heater relay isn't properly seated and you can reach up there and pull it back down intot he the socket.It could be the fan speed switch, maybe the connector came off (if you're lucky, because those switches are not that easy to replace)It could be jsut the blower motor itself. People have had those fail. Some have had them be intermittent, a good sharp kick might get it moving again. If you try that and break some plastic something, don't blame me.other than that, not sure what to offer, other than this diagram of the blower electrical cicuit. Its from a 04 Matrix manual, it should be the same for your 2005 Vibe

Attached files 048heate.pdf (24.6 KB) 

[digitalskull]

Thanks for the Info!!How to I check if the relay is still good & where do I bang exactly to kickstart that blower? lolAs for the switch that may have come off... It's hard to see. I looked thru the glove compartment & I saw one (plastic was white) & it seems to be in the middle of the panel. I pushed on it but no success So Far.- When i turn the knob, No air is coming out no matter the speed.- when i put the knob on one of the 2 last settings (the ones with the defrost) it activates the Radiator Fan but still no air is coming out.- The A/C light comes on & I hear the compressor...- I checked the A/C exhaust tube. where the water is coming out under the dash (passenger's side) And it's fine. Nothng is blocking it.- I checked the 40AMP Fuse. Looks fine. The little metalic H desing isn't cracked or separated.So I'm left with the Resistance & the Relay which I don't know how to test ... And the dealer wants 55$ for the resistance & 120$ for the relay. I'm not going to buy either of them until I know for sure

[digitalskull]

** UPDATE **Your "sharp Kick to the Blower Motor" Option Worked!The only problem is that sometimes I start the car and it works & sometimes it's not... I'm I safe to say that the motor needs to be replaced?

[joatmon]

That would be my guess. I haven't had any troubles with mine, or taken it apart, but others here have, they make it sound like not that hard of a job. Some have even taken the blower apart and fixed it, replacing the brushes in the motor. Search here doesn't like three letter words, so "fan" won't work, but there are a number of threads about "blower"

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by digitalskull »** UPDATE **Your "sharp Kick to the Blower Motor" Option Worked!The only problem is that sometimes I start the car and it works & sometimes it's not... I'm I safe to say that the motor needs to be replaced? Gonna say yes..

[digitalskull]

** UPDATE **I took the Blower Motor out & then went to the Auto Parts Store where I had order the part only to find out that it was closed on Saturday I reassembled everything coz I needed the car this weekend for some long rides... So Far, it's working like a new one so maybe something was loose or something! LOL. When I took the Motor out, it was VERY clean as well!I'll post again if there's any changes but for those who aren't sure if they should take it out themself.... It's a very easy job & took me less than 30mins.

[wallyuwl]

joatmonSearched the forum and saw this thread. Maybe you can help me with my problem.I have blower motors constantly go out. They still work, but they make a chirping/rattling noise. I've had OEM, and aftermarket ones. So far I've bought two, the others replaced under warranty. All go out (rather, chirp) after four to eight or nine months (aftermarket, Factory Air brand, on the short end, the OEM were on the high end). Noise is most noticable on low speeds. I have only ever replaced the blower motor, never the resistor or any of the fuses, etc. I was thinking of this next time replacing not only the blower, but the resistor even though it runs on all speeds. Not sure about the 40A fuse or heater relay? My thought is that there is a voltage problem or something causing all these blowers' bushings to go bad.Thoughts on what I should do since you seem to know this system well? Thanks.

[djkeev]

Have you replaced the blower cage / fan??If the fan blade is out of balance it will make noises and ruin the bearings in the motor, how long that takes depends upon the severity of the imbalance.Dave

[wallyuwl]

Yeah, all the blowers I've installed have had the cage attached as part of the assembly.

[kndy]

I just want to say thank you for this forum and years after this post, great to find this one on google.

Checking fuses for this 2006 Pontiac Vibe is such a pain that I feel like I'm going to pull a rib or neck muscle because of where they placed it.

But managed to remove the passenger glove compartment, one hit to the motor area in the center and fan started working.

I know it will probably need replacing someday but mechanics locally want $400+ to fix it and don't have the money on me right now.

But this fixed it and hope it continues to work until I save the necessary funds to get it replaced.