AC blower motor repair/fix (not working or noisy)

My AC blower/fan stopped working. After doing some searching the solution was to either have it replaced or give it a good whack. (aside from checking relay and fuses)

First attempt was pulling the filter and cleaning things up a bit. So with a strong pimp hand I gave the motor a good slap and it starting working again.
I thought that was it. The following day the motor got kind of noisy. This warranted a more in depth inspection.

First I priced the motor.. $120+/- online.

So I pulled the motor. 1 plug and 3 screws. Super simple.

Then I pulled the cover exposing the cap. 4 screws.

Finally I pulled the cap ( 2 screws ) and removed the brushes and the retainer for the brushes.

The motor was really dirty with brush dust. So a quick trip to my local RC hobby shop was warranted.

At the hobby shop I picked up some Electronics Cleaner spray. ( HPI Nitro variety ). This stuff works really well.

After about 20 minutes of cleaning and letting things dry a bit I reassembled the motor.

The AC blower now runs smoother, quieter, and seems like it blows a bit harder now.

My point is... If your blower fails and you're faced with steep repair bill try disassembling it and do some cleaning. It's easy to do and shouldn't take longer than a half hour... If the brushes are still good you should be able to get her working again...

Below is the only picture I took but shows what it looks like disassembled.

 

Great information. THANKS.

 

Thank you for this.

A couple of questions though because my fan blower just started to make a squeaky noise as if a bearing or impeller or something is dying.

When you say "AC/fan blower" are you specifically talking about when the AC is turned on? Because mine is making the noise regardless if the AC is on or off and makes the noise if it's set for dash vents only all the way through the gamut of settings to defrost only.

The noise intensifies proportionally to the fan speed, so if I crank the fan speed all the way up, the noise gets louder.

So I'm assuming your solution above would be a good place to start.

That said. Where do I start?

Where can I find this fan/blower assembly? Mind you, you're talking to a noob who has never taken a dashboard apart/off (if I need to even do that.) As you can see I have a '98 Tacoma.

Thanks in advance-

MM

 

I'm on my 3rd Heater/AC Fan motor. Toyota admitted they have yet to fix the problem and tell me to keep bringing it back once it starts making noise. It's a very high pitched noise. Bearings are failing. Very annoying!!!

 

The blower is directly behind the glove box. Though you don't need to remove the glove box. Look under and behind the glove box and you'll see the wire and plug. Remove the screws and it drops straight down. Though if you have a noise and the AC is off it's most likely something else. Possibly electrical interference bleeding thru the speakers?

The blower uses brass bushings not bearings. Mostly likely cause of the squeal is the dust from the brushes and drying out any lubricant in the bushing. Easy fix. Just needs to be cleaned...

 

Thanks for the information. The last time I had to repair this issue, I dropped the blower motor asm, cleaned it out with spray electrical cleaner and ended up buying a set of brushes at the dealer for under $15.00. The motor blew like new, perhaps better than new.

 

Great info....Thanks!!

 

the dealer sale just the brushes? i look every where and i dont fine the same side with the wire throu the top

 

do you have a part number?
And what exactly are the brushes? Pic?

 

How did you remove the fan cage from the blower motor? The motor rod seems to be a bit rusty on my truck, should the cage just slide off? Thank you.

 

My blower stopped working except on HI setting. Replaced the resistor, without looking first, and it worked for a while. Upon further inspection I found the plug to the resistor was showing signs of heat damage. Dealer wants to sell the complete wiring harness so I let it go. A year later the problem started again more frequently. This time I went to salvage yard and got a plug with 6 inches of wire and replaced. The original plugs clips were loose and showed oxidation which created hi resistance. Asking around, this is a problem with Tacomas. So before buying a motor, switch, or resistor look at that plug.

 

Subd

 

Hi, Thank you for sharing, I have a quick question, I have a '08 prerunner: When I turn on heater or ac very strong cigarette smell, replaced filter etc, still stinks, someone said I need to remove the fan assembly, and clean the fan blades? will your instructions work for removal?

 

To remove the blower all you have to do is unplug it and remove the three screws hold it...



Side note: I have noticed this on my 95 taco so be warned. Look at the plugs going into the motor. If they look BURNED or signs of melting like i did, i will for warn you on this.

Replace motor but watch out here. You need to inspect the blower motor switch ( in the dash) for burn or melting marks also. I also found that also. Also found part of the harness wiring had melted away from the switch about 4 inches so bare wire was exposed.

Wires burned on the switch where 12v in source and high setting 12v out (straight 12v source to the motor). Tho during this the FUSE NEVER BLEW to tell me there was a problem till i smelled something BURNING.

After a look down on the motor i found burn marks from it over amping and dead shorting in the contacts. But the motor still ran..

I have replaced the switch and did a pig tail to the harness. Repaired blower motor wiring.. I did just to be safe replaced the resistor just to be safe.

Motor i was was sent was made in china (O MY GOD) america cant build motors anymore i see. But i will say it does and sound and push air alittle bit better than stock but time will tell.

 

Need help here. I may have missed a post on this so forgive if I ask a question that has been asked before.

I replaced the harness and the resistor Monday afternoon and all was good. Drove home from work Tuesday and everything was still fine. Ten minutes after I got home got back in the truck to go somewhere and it wasn't working. I have checked for voltage at the resistor connector...nothing. Checked it at the switch and I have voltage there. Could it have been the switch the entire time?

 

I've read a lot of posts here on this topic. I probably jinxed myself because I also started having intermittent problems with the AC only working on high. It lasted for several months and now my fan will not work at all. I'm thinking this problem is the motor. My understanding is the resistor doesn't affect anything when you have it set on high. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Bought a new one from Toyota locally 145$ but I needed to change it or I was going to sell the truck it was so annoying. I installed myself only took about 30 min.
It was the newest one, it said made in China part number ended in 04043 or such.

 

Hi, I´m new here and I´m from Venezuela. I´m having the same (noisy) problem with my blower. I have tried to disassembly it, but I can´t take out the "White Plastic Blower" from the motor so I´m writting to you to ask you how you did it.

I´ll be gratefull if you can explain to me how you did step by step. Thank you

 

Hi, I´m new here and I´m from Venezuela. I´m having the same (noisy) problem with my blower. I have tried to disassembly it, but I can´t take out the "White Plastic Blower" from the motor so I´m writting to you to ask you how you did it.

I´ll be gratefull if you can explain to me how you did step by step. Thank you

 

I'm on my 2nd fan. Replaced by Toyota TSB for free. I couldn't handle it anymore. Started out as kind of a "squeak". Then turned into a "tick". Hopefully this one lasts a few years. I drive with my windows down as most of the time so maybe that'll make it last longer since i don't use it much.