Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Blower Issue

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
    #1

    Blower Issue

    Over the past week my A/C blower or switch has had an intermittent issue. Sometimes when starting the car, there just isn't a blower. The switch does nothing. No air at all. Other times it works just fine and all four speeds work without issue. I've been trying to pay attention to trends of when it is or isn't working. See if there is a pattern to the problem, but I haven't found one so far.

    The A/C itself seems to work. When not on recirculate, I could feel cold air blowing when at speed softly coming from the vents.

    I originally I just thought I was the victim of a bad blower resistor. Friday after work I gathered my tools and started to dig into opening the blower up to test the resistor.The fan hadn't been working for a day at this point. Fuse 20 was fine. K7 checked out. I got everything open and was turning the ignition to on to test. And the fan was working. All speeds. No issues. So, I buttoned up the blower. Started the car. Took a little drive. No issues.

    The next day it wasn't working again. I had to go out anyway, so I just ignored it and rolled down the windows. About 20 minutes into my drive, the vents started moving air. I had turned off the compressor, but I had left the fans switch on 3. So it was working again. No bump to jar something into place. Just in the middle of a turn leaving a red light slowly. Weird.

    Next day, working until the evening. Then it wasn't working again. This morning. Working just fine.

    I'm looking for thoughts of the best place to start checking. My forum searches haven't turned up anything similar. I don't want to just throw parts at the problem, but I'm at a loss where to start diagnosing.
    Current - 1991 E30 325i Auto Vert, 2013 F30 335i M-sport, 2014 F25 X3 M-sport
    Past - 1986 E30 325es, 1988 E30 M3, 1991 E34 535i 5sp, 1991 E31 850i 6sp, 1992 E36 325i, 1995 E36 M3, 2000 E46 323i, 2009 E60 535i, 2011 E90 335d
    Tags: None
    #2
    It's fairly common for the motor cover to not be perfectly set and cause binding of the motor. Otherwise I'd say you have a short, bad switch or ailing motor. Test for current at the resistor and switch and does changing fan speeds make any difference
    Seat Shocks....I have passed the baton to John Christy from Ninestitch. Email John or Garrett at ninestitch1@gmail.com

    https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...86#post4944786
    Alice the Time Capsule
    http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=360504
    87 Zinno Cabrio barn find 98k and still smells like a barn. Build thread http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...20#post3455220

    Comment

      #3
      Originally posted by jeffnhiscars View Post
      It's fairly common for the motor cover to not be perfectly set and cause binding of the motor. Otherwise I'd say you have a short, bad switch or ailing motor. Test for current at the resistor and switch and does changing fan speeds make any difference
      I'll check the current. I thought that it might be a bad switch. It's just so oddly intermittent. When it goes out, the fan speed has no effect. It's all speeds or nothing. I'll check the switch, it sounds like that might be the more likely culprit.
      Current - 1991 E30 325i Auto Vert, 2013 F30 335i M-sport, 2014 F25 X3 M-sport
      Past - 1986 E30 325es, 1988 E30 M3, 1991 E34 535i 5sp, 1991 E31 850i 6sp, 1992 E36 325i, 1995 E36 M3, 2000 E46 323i, 2009 E60 535i, 2011 E90 335d

      Comment

        #4
        Mine started out the same way. Ended up being the resistor. It would work sometimes and do nothing others, often times just starting back up at seemingly the most random times.

        Does your fan always work on speed 4 even when the other speeds don't work? That's a telltale sign that it's the resistor. If it doesn't work on speed 4 when the other speeds don't work, then it seems likely that you've got an issue with the blower motor itself (most likely), or the wiring somewhere. It may be the switch, but that's not as likely as a "bad" spot on the motor causing it to stop spinning randomly.

        Comment

          #5
          Originally posted by Cephas View Post
          Mine started out the same way. Ended up being the resistor. It would work sometimes and do nothing others, often times just starting back up at seemingly the most random times.

          Does your fan always work on speed 4 even when the other speeds don't work? That's a telltale sign that it's the resistor. If it doesn't work on speed 4 when the other speeds don't work, then it seems likely that you've got an issue with the blower motor itself (most likely), or the wiring somewhere. It may be the switch, but that's not as likely as a "bad" spot on the motor causing it to stop spinning randomly.
          It's all or nothing. In the 3-4 times it's happened recently, there has been no position 4 function. For the last three days it's been working just fine. So strange, but I guess thats what happens over 25-30 years.
          Current - 1991 E30 325i Auto Vert, 2013 F30 335i M-sport, 2014 F25 X3 M-sport
          Past - 1986 E30 325es, 1988 E30 M3, 1991 E34 535i 5sp, 1991 E31 850i 6sp, 1992 E36 325i, 1995 E36 M3, 2000 E46 323i, 2009 E60 535i, 2011 E90 335d

          Comment

            #6
            Originally posted by Escaport View Post
            It's all or nothing. In the 3-4 times it's happened recently, there has been no position 4 function. For the last three days it's been working just fine. So strange, but I guess thats what happens over 25-30 years.
            Yup. I'd bet you have a bad blower motor winding somewhere. Not 100% but that's my best educated guess. Good luck sorting it out!

            Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

            Comment

              #7
              i do have a switch here if that winds up being the source
              Seat Shocks....I have passed the baton to John Christy from Ninestitch. Email John or Garrett at ninestitch1@gmail.com

              https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...86#post4944786
              Alice the Time Capsule
              http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=360504
              87 Zinno Cabrio barn find 98k and still smells like a barn. Build thread http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...20#post3455220

              Comment

              Previous template Next
              Working...
              X