Blower motor fuse??

[euphoric85]

So the blower motor in my gf's 2009 Vibe gave out and I'm almost certain it's just the fuse- if I turn the fan control from off to lowest setting, I hear the relay click, but nothing blows out.. then still nothing blows out no matter the fan setting. I'm having a (removed) of a time getting to the fuse! The owners manual and nearly every website I've found says there's a 40A heater fuse under the dash, which there is not. I found a few others who've found it underneath this "bus bar" in the engine compartment fusebox, but after looking at it I can't see any obvious way to take the bus bar off. Does the entire fusebox need to be removed to get to the fuse? ...And aren't fuses in every other car on the planet purposefully meant to be easy to get at? Lol..

Any input would be awesome, I need to fix it fast as the midwestern winter is approaching and the lady won't be happy without heat! Thanks guys

[bluneon]

inspect the blower motor. and/or resistor.

[euphoric85]

Moter and resistor are good.. power applied directly to motor makes it work fine. I know it's the fuse but how do you replace it? This "bus bar" in the fusebox apparently contains it but I don\t see any way to get to it

[joatmon]

In my 03 owners manual, the fuse for the HVAC blower motor is labelled both as "HTR" and "Air Conditioning System".

The 09 owners manual doesn't show anything labelled HTR (maybe it does on the fuse block cover, but I don't have one of those for an 09) However, the 09 owners manual does show one of the larger fuses (#5) in the engine compartment fuse block as being "Air Conditioning System" Remote chance, but could that be the fuse your looking for?

[euphoric85]

Well, after much staring at my engine compartment and banging my head against the wall, the problem is solved. I did end up having to go to a mechanic, who was equally stumped by the apparent lack of a fuse. He spoke with some parts guys at the local GM dealer, who listed no part for any type of heater fuse. So the mechanic completely broke down the engine compartment fusebox and confirmed that the heater fuse is within this "bus bar", a roughly 1"x4" clear plastic box on the left side of the fusebox. But there's no simple way to get the thing out of there- there are two plastic pieces which are molded into the rest of the fusebox, holding the bus bar in.

After disassembling the fusebox they found that that's the only way you could remove the bus bar: from underneath the fusebox. Even then, they called the GM guys with the part in their hand and the GM guys were completely clueless. So I suggested to my mechanic that he call a Toyota dealership. He did, and after a 5 min phone conversation, the correct part was on its way overnighted to him. He noted that every part he removed said Toyota on it anyway. I knew that Vibes are rebranded Matrix's, but neither I nor my mechanic were aware of how deep that relationship goes. Apparently our Vibes are 95% Toyota, and GM literally just stuck their styling cues to the body and interior plastics and called it a Pontiac.

I'd ask the mods to maybe sticky this so people are aware of this idiotic design for a heater fuse. It's my understanding that in the 2009-2010 Vibes, the alternator fuse is also part of this bus bar assembly. Removing that assembly is not the within the scope of a simple handyman home mechanic like myself. Also, if you need any help from a dealer, apparently it's a good idea to check with a Toyota dealer first- it would have saved me some time and money. What should have been a $.50 part and 30 seconds of home labor they made into a $350, 2-days-in-the-shop affair.

I'll post pics as soon as it's a sunny day here in a Northern IL winter (albeit mild thus far, knock on wood!)

[tpollauf]

I'll post pics as soon as it's a sunny day here in a Northern IL winter (albeit mild thus far, knock on wood!)

Yes please post pics of the part itself .. AND the location of it. This will definitely come in handy if/when others here need to replace it. Thanks for sharing this info with us

[jake75]

Also, if you need any help from a dealer, apparently it's a good idea to check with a Toyota dealer first- it would have saved me some time and money. What should have been a $.50 part and 30 seconds of home labor they made into a $350, 2-days-in-the-shop affair.

Obviously a Toyota dealer couldn't have changed that fuse in 30 seconds. Wonder what it would cost to have them do it.
I don't even understand what a "bus bar" is.