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Heater Blower Quit - Help!!

F

Flyfisher

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Billings, Montana
'89 XJ Waggy, no mods affecting heater/blower. Blower motor does not work...at all...on any setting on my drive home tonight. It worked this morning. It's cold here (-11*F) and it's tough keeping the windows from frosting!

I've checked blower fuse-OK. Checked for voltage at fuse connection-OK. Got no voltage at blower connector under hood.

Isn't there a relay somewhere? I've replaced all four under-hood relays (passenger side, under hood) with known good relay with no luck. Do I suspect the blower motor resistor under passenger side dash? I've lost all speeds but high before and have replaced the resistor before, but this time I've lost ALL speeds.

Help is appreciated as I have to somehow get to work in the morning.

Thanks in advance!!!!
 
Blower motor could be bad, the brown wire at the ignition switch and switch may be fried that feeds that line, the fan switch and wiring to it may be fried, or all of the above.

If wipers and radio still work, that narrows it down the motor or fan switch.
 
Wipers and radio still work.

I checked...no voltage at weather-pack connector to blower motor. Should I "hot wire" the blower motor to ensure it still works? Then what.
 
Yes on the hot wire test of the motor. My 85 still has a medium clamp on the hot wire to the blower motor, LOL. I just clamp it the + on the battery when I want it, LOL.:clap:

You need to pull the dash front off and get to the AC/Heater control, pull it out enough to replace the blower switch, and be prepared to repair some wire and clips if needed. Get the new blower speed switch first. Note the new switch will not have no attached handle, you reuse the old toggle, roller thumb handle.

Takes about 15-20 minutes to replace. Pretty easy job.
 
OK...I'll hot wire test the blower, then move from there. Maybe I won't be going to work tomorrow...or hitching a ride with the wife in her Yukon!! LOL
 
Well....I'm done for the night. It's -13 now and I had to fix a wiper on the wife's Yukon. It's good to go, so I'll catch a ride from her tomorrow...then tackle the XJ tomorrow night. I'll let you know what I find.

So, you're thinking it's the speed selector switch, huh? I'll pull apart the dash and check electrical things there before proceeding further.

Thanks for your advice!
 
Before you go tearing the dash apart, check for voltage before and after the blower motor resistor. I always check the easiest fixes first and it has saved me oodles of time over the years.
 
Yup...that's my plan. Since I have replaced the resistor before, I know where it is! Maybe I'll get to it tonight. I'll need to run my propane forced air heater in the garage before working on the XJ as my garage was 18* this morning!!! Brrrrrr.
 
In my 1990 the blower motor quit working, I lived without it for a while then accidentally smacked the blower motor itself when working on something else under the hood. Blower motor started working fine after that; I'm guessing there was some corrosion that caused it to stick, smacking it seemed to help. It quit again on me a few times later that winter but I just gave it a tap with the hammer and it would always get going.

Might be worth a try before replacing the blower motor itself if it gets to that point.
 
Well, I've already given it a "love tap", no dice. I didn't get to it last night, but pulled it into the garage tonight. I'll let it thaw a little (if it gets above zero here), then dive in tomorrow. I'll check for voltage at the resistor first, then at the fan speed switch. I've already verified good voltage at the fuse, and no voltage at the fan plug under the hood. I'll keep you all posted...
 
For all those wondering. Looks like the blower motor went and took the switch with it! Since I didn't have voltage at the motor, I pulled the switch. It was sad looking so I replaced it ($13 at the dealer). Now, with voltage at the motor and still no-go, I replaced the blower motor ($36 at NAPA). Now all is good!

Thanks for all those with good advice.
 
I replaced the blower motor with a easy-turning junkyard one for $5.

Mine had burnt out... I believe the slow turning of it caused the resistors to burn out due to lack of (cooling) airflow.
 
Yea, my last replacement was one from the JY just a couple of years ago...decided to splurge the extra $$ so hopefully I won't have to do it again!
 
I am having a similar problem with my blower motor. I accidentally put my battery cables on backwards and fried the alternator. Replaced the alternator and noticed the blower wasn't working anymore. The wipers and radio, windows, lights, etc are all still working.

I checked voltage at the blower motor plug and I'm getting a voltage reading. I'm not an electrical guy, but it was reading 00.5 at the plug on the "200m" setting on my multimeter. I also checked voltage at the resistor and I was reading anywhere from 7 to 1 depending on the position of the switch. So i think the switch is working. The resistor looks good, and all the wires and plugs look good too.

Is it safe to assume the motor itself is bad?
 
Before you rush out and buy a blower motor you need to clarify your meter readings. I'm not sure what a "200m" setting is for (milli-volts ?)but you need to check voltage at the plug with a DC Volts setting of something over 12 volts -- perhaps 30 volts or so depending what the ranges are on your meter. Your voltage at the plug with the switch on high and ignition switch on (or in the ACC position) should be in the neighborhood of 12 volts.

I realize these instructions could be clearer but I wanted to catch you before you assumed that the blower motor is bad based on your readings.

Check the resistor module with your meter set to Ohms. Place your meter probes on the leads for the thermal fuse which is the component that looks like a resistor or diode. The fuse is defective if you get any reading over 0.00. Normally this does not affect the operation of the blower motor on the "High" setting but you might as well check it while the resistor module is out.

Let us know what you find.
 
I have a 99 btw. Ah, thanks for catching me. I set the multimeter up for 20V. I tested a car battery just to make sure it was reading correctly. It was. Disconnected the plug at the the blower motor and tested it. There was 0.00V coming from the plug! I didn't test the resistor yet. But there were volts at the resistor plug when I tested that earlier.

I had a look at the HVAC controls and all the wires are in good shape. The blower motor switch (rotary knob) plug isn't melted. My 95 had a melted plug that looked like hell, but this one is very clean and in good condition.
 
Update: Noticed today that the center selection switch (AC, head, feet, defrost etc) works. It will redirect air depending on switch position. Temperature control doesn't work. Fan speed doesn't work. I'm thinking the hvac control head is bad.
 
Have you tried to hot wire the battery to the blower motor yet, to test the motor?
 
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