QuestionQUESTION: Hi Tom.
I have a 2002 Chevy Impala LS with the 3.8 V6. My ventilation system just quit working. The fan doesn't blow in any setting. The A/C light won't come on. The light for the Recirculating setting is on and won't switch to the Fresh Air setting. This just happened. I thought over the last few days it was a little flakey; I would hit the A/C button and the light didn't come on and I'd hit it again a time or two and the light came on, but I wondered if sun glare was just preventing me from seeing the light. But now it is just dead.
I hope this is fairly minor but I'm not sure what would cause this. Any help would be appreciated.
ANSWER: HI TOM,,,WELL FIRST THINGS FIRST, DID YOU CK THE BLOWER MOTOR RELAY ?? IF NOT I WOULD DO SO. CK IN THE FUSE BOX UNDER THE HOOD AND FLIP THE COVER OVER AND LOOK TO FIND WHAT IS CALLED A/C BLOWER RELAY OR FAN MOTOR RELAY.. WHEN YOU FIND IT REMOVE AND REPLACE IT WITH ANOTHER RELAY THE SAME SHAPE AND SIZE THAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE FUSE BOX AS WELL...THEN SEE IF THE MOTOR WORKS AGAIN. IF THIS DOES NOT WORK MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALSO CHECKED ALL OF YOUR FUSES UNDER THE HOOD AND UNDER THE DASH IN THE CAR..[[SECOND THOUGHT,, CK THE FUSES FIRST AND THEN THE RELAY SECOND..]] IF A FUSE IS BAD MORE THEN LIKELY THE BLOWER MOTOR IS GOING BAD PULLING TO MUCH CURRENT.. IF ALL FUSES AND RELAYS ARE OK, THE CONTROL HEAD [ON THE DASH FACE] MAYBE THE CAUSE OR THE PROCESSOR THAT TURNS THE BLOWER MOTOR ON..[THIS MOUNTED BY THER BLOWER MOTOR UNDER THE DASH] THIS SHOULD KEEP YOU BUSY FOR A WHILE,IF YOU NEED MORE INFO ON HOW TO CK FURTHER LET ME KNOW,,GOOD LUCK TO YOU,,,TOM..
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Well, I can't find any sign of a blower motor relay on my car model. There is a blower motor resistor. My son and I were out playing with it, I was thinking I would replace it and maybe the motor, too, while I was working on it and motors don't seem to be prohibitively expensive.
But, we disconnected wires, reconnected wires, turned on the ignition to test if we had power, and the fan worked. I turned it off and on, and sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. It worked, then didn't, then didn't, then did, then didn't. Finally it worked 10 times in a row so I put the panels back on and drove the car and it continued to work.
So, I don't know where this leaves me. I didn't really fix anything, but I don't know if it will quit again or not.
If you have any suggestions, let me know. Thanks.
AnswerHI TOM, THERE SHOULD BE A BLOWER MOTOR RELAY IN THE FUSE BOX UNDER THE HOOD. MAY SAY A/C/HEAT OR JUST A/C. IT MAY HAVE A MICRO RELAY,[SMALLER RELAY] OR THE LARGER ONE..BUT THIS DOES NOT SOUND LIKE YOUR PROBLEM ANYWAY. READ ON.. THIS SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A BAD CONNECTION AT THE BLOWER MOTOR ITSELF OR THE PLUG THAT IS SOLDERED INTO THE MOTOR IS BAD. I WOULD SUGGEEST REMOVING THE PLUG TO THE MOTOR AND LOOK AT THE CONNECTIONS REAL GOOD. IF ANY ARE BURNED AT THE CONECTOR ITSELF THIS WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED[PURCHASE AT YOUR CHEVY STORE] IF THE CONNECTIONS LOOK GOOD THEN PLUG IT BACK IN AND TURN THE BLOWER ON AND DO WHAT IS CALLED A WIGGLE TEST. WIGGLE THE PLUG CONNECTOR AT THE MOTOR AND SEE IF IT TURNS ON AND OFF THIS WAY..IF SO THE MOTOR WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED. IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DIAGNOSED THIS YOURSELF, THIS IS HALF THE BATTLE...GOOD LUCK AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED MORE INFO..TOM...
