hey everyone out there, with this problem....be sure to check that the wires in your connector are making contact...I just readjusted the wires on mine and its working again....I spent years with this motor not working properly and it was just some wires not connecting well....hope someone else out there gets lucky like I did. Thank you for the video pine hollow!!!
You are awesome! What a great tutorial on how to quickly troubleshoot a failing blower motor. Plus not a lot of unnecessary talking and you provided a perfect example of an intermittent blower. You got yourself a new subscriber!
Wow man, that was pretty awesome. I just used your technique to be 100% sure for my failing honda odyssey blower motor. I was about 80% it was the fan blower because everytime it failed and I went to go check power and grounds at the connector the fan would usually come back to life and I felt I could no longer test it since it was now working. No amount of wiggling things around would get it to fail again it would just happen on it's own. So I figured - yeah it's PROBABLY the blower motor but now using what you've just illustrated I was able to see it with the test light and get it to fail by having it stop on the dead area of the brushes. Thanks for that!
Great explanation, thanks! Been trying to diagnose my MIL's Tacoma intermittent A/C issues, this really helps. I figured it was either blower motor, resistor or maybe the fan switch.
Thanks for posting video. I was searching for something different and came across this by mistake. I have had an issue with the blower motor in my 2009 Jeep for 3+ years. I knock it a couple of times with a water bottle when it doesn't work and it always comes back on. Now I know how to check it if I ever get motivated enough! Obviously not an urgent repair since it hasn't failed over the 3 years I have been "bottle hammering"!
+stuzman52 Hi Terry! The test light is indeed an amazingly versatile tool. I use it for everything from relay testing to finding intermittent shorts in wiring harnesses!! This was an off-the-cuff application; never tested a blower motor like that before...didn't even need a wiring diagram for that one lol
just watched this video yesterday and I got a car In today with similar problems but turned out to be a faulty blowers motor resistor it came on and off when it was wiggled .cool video
Thanks for posting this. It sounds like what my mom is describing with my grandpa's car and he's a retired mechanic and was pretty sure the motor itself was bad. I asked her if it goes in and out with a door slam or pothole and it sounds like that's the case.
Thanks! I skipped all your steps and just hit the shit outta the motor and it worked LMAO. Guess I'll be buying a new one soon. I'm headed to Vegas and it's 100 degrees. Just stopped for some gas and the shit didn't turn back on. You the real MVP with this lifesaver!
Very cool, good explanation of how to use the test lamp to see dead spots in the brushes and commutator. Going to have to try that with my Power Probe 4 and see if the red and green lights flicker when you have a similar scenario.
Thanks for being technical however bring practical, you just solved my a c motor intermittent problems, how about a supercharger with badly worn out bearings Pontiac Bonneville 1990's should I just junk it or is there a practical way to save it ? I am now retired and have the time to spend on it, thanks for being a real honest mechanic you're a dying breed Jay from Phoenix....
I just swapped all my relays and after that my fan still didn't work so just after I saw your vid, smacked the fan with a wrench through a crack and it turns on lmao thanks bro now I know what the problem is hahaha
Thank you, now I know why my GMC Acadia front blower comes and goes. I took the plastic cover off so we can kick it, mild speed bumps may help too. I’ll have my Uber passengers kick it if it goes out😀😀
checked motor blower/fan is good, cold switching and warm switching works I can feel it air changing temperature next to the fan...but the air is still not blowing from the fans - 2010 honda crv ex
Intermittent working of car blower fan is not always loose connection , but a lot of times bad brushes inside the blower fan motor causes that , mine even tapping the blower cover with a long stick while driving , starts it again when quits...below is what I got online : When they first start to go out, switches and carbon brushes can present either (or both) of the following two symptoms : Off-and-On Use. ... Decreased Tool Power. ... Tends to Run Fine After Starting. ... Off-and-On Use Worsens Steadily. ... Off-and-On Use During Operation. ... Shaking or Slapping the Tool Helps. ... Banging Sound.
-Sorry I didn't quite get it where you have that test light connected to so that it would blink when the rotor is spinning. Test light between ground and what ... ?- Thank you for replying, found the answer by myself on Eric O's channel.
I am curious if I want to permanently fix the same issue, replacing a new blower motor could be the cure? I don’t wanna keep smashing my blower motor few times a month
Thanks. When I tap my one underneath it starts up again then dies but then died completely. So I just need replace the thing I hit not resistor? Thanks for video.
I think by spraying upholstery cleaner (Woolite Advanced) on the seats messed up the wiring on mine the same day that I used that cleaner and aired it out on a very windy day.
Hi Ivan, good troubleshooting here! We are collegues you know? We both do mobile diagnostic work, like Paul. Tomorrow i am going to visit my first official garage :) wish me good luck if you will
+Andrea Gili That's cool! Where are you located? This field is challenging, but that is what makes it so satisfying. Good luck on your first official call! And don't forget to turn on the camera when you come across those really bizarre case studies :)
+motoYam82 thanks for the encouragement :) , i live in Torino in the nord ovest part of Italy. I have documented a case study with a video but i always think about doing it, it wouldn't be my job if someone else didn't did that before so... i certainly will :) good luck to you and a hug from Italy
Double check me, please. Assuming blower motor brushes and commutator r good, our test light should b bright when connected from control to ground in off position. At low speed the test light should b brightest. Because there is the highest voltage or differential. If blower is on high, light should b off because a full ground is being supplied to motor control and so there should b least potential. When switched off, no light indicates open circuit. Bad brushes/ commutator.
I do the same... also print a before and after picture for the customer. They like graphs and it makes them feel better after spending money on something.
I’m changing mine. How do you remove panels to access? And what what tool and size usually to remove bolts of motor and resistor? Sorry a chica asking. I don’t think a mini wrench will help me in this odd spot. 😜I need to buy tools as I have none in city I’m in now. This is a job I’ve never done before so clueless. Done other work on my car before but this nope.
2006 Chrysler 300 3.5 Touring Blower motor works most if the time and then sometimes - although rarely when I start the car and turn the knob - nothing happens - and there are no illumination/ lights on the control unit. When it is running it blows strong and in all positions and in all different speed selections. Any suggestions?Thank you in advance!
Haha. I would have but when I went into the car today it's working again. What do you think it could be? Do you think the blower motor needs replacing?
I have a 2005 dodge caravan, ac blower was working intermittently , somewhere online I read that low gas in ac system sometimes causes that , I let they add some gas in it ...no more intermittent working blower...mechanic touched nothing , no relay no fuse , no module , just added gas...I don't know if will it work for every case , but worked for me
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics I mean blower fan , but sorry I was wrong , problem came back , my problem is exactly what you show in this video , I am gonna buy a new blower fan...btw my problem is not that severe , about 90% of the time it is running and when quits after about 3 minutes by itself or whenever car falls in a pothole or so comes back by itself...thanks for your response and your video
My blower motor stopped working for 3 days then kicked on suddenly on a 92 silverado c1500. The dealer said it happened alot on those years and even into the early 2000s. Said they see alot of the blower resistor melting or something other. Can anyone confirm this as a possibility?
i have a 2014 chrysler town and country and i think i have a bad blower motor there are times where its delayed coming on when i am driving it it comes on but then goes out it repeats that could it be a bad blower motor?
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics .. Yes...Sir .. I just was wondering if you replaced the motor, or did you replace the resistor .. You diagnostic of the Fan-Motor was great .. I had not heard the word "commutator" for many years, but after looking it up, I understood just what you were talking about ..👍👍👍
Your diagnose is OK, now remove the motor and clean the contacts in the rotor and brushes. And at the end put some oil or light grease on the bearings. Done.
Willem Streutgers you have to pay for a rebuild or repair. This would only fall under the 1 hr diagnosis pay, which he did in 5 min. It’s a pretty good diagnosis too.
The Test Lamp is flickering because the climate control uses (PWM) Pulse Width Modulation to control the motor speed instead of the old method of just different resistor voltage dividers to control speed. The PWM system uses duty cycle to control the speed by turning the DC Current off and on in different time cycles i.e. 50% duty cycle would be approximately half speed, 75% Duty Cycle 3/4 speed etc. However, the motor can still have issues with its windings or more likely as you said issues with the commutator making bad contact, perhaps moisture over time has caused corrosion in the motor commutator causing poor current flow.
No, not on this car. Actually you wouldn't see the test light flicker even on a PWM system, since the driver frequency is much higher than can be seen with a test light 😉
It's higher freq. / so faster than the eye can notice and our eyes have the property of persistence so its just the opposite, the human eye would see it lit up. However, the sensor of the camera is fsst enough to detect the flsshing of the PWM. And, yes that car would use PWM. It's not old enough that it would be using purely a resistor network for the different speeds. You got to have something from the 70s with those bulky power eating resistor voltage divider systems.
Curious if PWM is the reason for needing heat sinks on the modules? Would older systems using separate, individual resistors still need the heat sinks?
+wysetech2000 Should have popped it out and done a visual inspection ;) I assume that dead spot is caused by the motor/fan being mechanically stuck and being turned on for a period of time, burning out that commutator segment.
My blower motor has a delayed start, which has just started happening. Takes up to 20 minutes before it comes on, - what is likely the cause ? - any suggestion appreciated. Works on all speeds when it finally comes on
So basically if blower motor doesnt work, but if you hit on it and solves that problem its a bad blower.. Mines does that. Already change the resistor thinking it was bad. But no, it still blows air whenever it wants
checked motor blower/fan is good, cold switching and warm switching works I can feel it air changing temperature next to the fan...but the air is still not blowing from the fans - 2010 honda crv ex
hey everyone out there, with this problem....be sure to check that the wires in your connector are making contact...I just readjusted the wires on mine and its working again....I spent years with this motor not working properly and it was just some wires not connecting well....hope someone else out there gets lucky like I did. Thank you for the video pine hollow!!!
You are awesome! What a great tutorial on how to quickly troubleshoot a failing blower motor. Plus not a lot of unnecessary talking and you provided a perfect example of an intermittent blower. You got yourself a new subscriber!
One of the best diagnostic blower motor videos I’ve seen. I will try it on the Acura because I have similar symptoms. Thanks pine hollow
Thanks for taking the time to post this. It made my diagnosis process a whole lot easier!
Wow man, that was pretty awesome. I just used your technique to be 100% sure for my failing honda odyssey blower motor. I was about 80% it was the fan blower because everytime it failed and I went to go check power and grounds at the connector the fan would usually come back to life and I felt I could no longer test it since it was now working. No amount of wiggling things around would get it to fail again it would just happen on it's own. So I figured - yeah it's PROBABLY the blower motor but now using what you've just illustrated I was able to see it with the test light and get it to fail by having it stop on the dead area of the brushes.
Thanks for that!
Wow. Thanks so much for this video. This is the exact problem I'm having on my car, and it was driving me bonkers!
I appreciate the lesson on how the light should work in that system.
Great explanation, thanks! Been trying to diagnose my MIL's Tacoma intermittent A/C issues, this really helps. I figured it was either blower motor, resistor or maybe the fan switch.
Good informative and helpful video. Much better at explaining then most videos on car repair.
Thanks for posting video. I was searching for something different and came across this by mistake. I have had an issue with the blower motor in my 2009 Jeep for 3+ years. I knock it a couple of times with a water bottle when it doesn't work and it always comes back on. Now I know how to check it if I ever get motivated enough! Obviously not an urgent repair since it hasn't failed over the 3 years I have been "bottle hammering"!
Wonderful professional explanation...but the last part about dead spot that was exceptional.....
Thanks...
Great video and congrats on over 2k subscribers!
Good explanation of why it works when smacking it. :-)
Super helpful! Having this exact issue on my 03 accord. Replaced the blower motor capacitor and continued to intermittently stop.
Nice and quick one Ivan. Good explanation of how the light works...
+stuzman52 Hi Terry! The test light is indeed an amazingly versatile tool. I use it for everything from relay testing to finding intermittent shorts in wiring harnesses!! This was an off-the-cuff application; never tested a blower motor like that before...didn't even need a wiring diagram for that one lol
just watched this video yesterday and I got a car In today with similar problems but turned out to be a faulty blowers motor resistor it came on and off when it was wiggled .cool video
Pine Hollow is the BEST..I wish we had a guy like this in Tempe, AZ..
Very nice demonstration, much appreciated man!
Thanks for posting this. It sounds like what my mom is describing with my grandpa's car and he's a retired mechanic and was pretty sure the motor itself was bad. I asked her if it goes in and out with a door slam or pothole and it sounds like that's the case.
Now thats a quick way to spot a dead spot on the motor, thanks a lot !
Excellent Video, Helped a lot!! Thank you for posting this!!
great video! I just had the same problem with my daughters car. She stated the fan would come on when she drove over a bump!
Thanks Ivan. Short video, but I learned a lot from it.
Thanks! I skipped all your steps and just hit the shit outta the motor and it worked LMAO. Guess I'll be buying a new one soon. I'm headed to Vegas and it's 100 degrees. Just stopped for some gas and the shit didn't turn back on. You the real MVP with this lifesaver!
Same goes to my nissan d40 here...after a several punch...its working as usuals.thanks for this video
You and Chrisfix sound alike. Crazy. Cheers to you both.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this video.
My pleasure!
This is very helpful. Thank you.
Thank you for this Video! Very interesting!
Very cool, good explanation of how to use the test lamp to see dead spots in the brushes and commutator. Going to have to try that with my Power Probe 4 and see if the red and green lights flicker when you have a similar scenario.
Awesome dude great explanation
Thanks for being technical however bring practical, you just solved my a c motor intermittent problems, how about a supercharger with badly worn out bearings Pontiac Bonneville 1990's should I just junk it or is there a practical way to save it ? I am now retired and have the time to spend on it, thanks for being a real honest mechanic you're a dying breed Jay from Phoenix....
Thankyou!! I was about to change the head unit, blower resistor, and relays
Ha! That would likely be a parts cannon misfire 😅
I just swapped all my relays and after that my fan still didn't work so just after I saw your vid, smacked the fan with a wrench through a crack and it turns on lmao thanks bro now I know what the problem is hahaha
Great Video! so did you get the job to fix it? Is there a video for the fix?
Thank you, now I know why my GMC Acadia front blower comes and goes. I took the plastic cover off so we can kick it, mild speed bumps may help too. I’ll have my Uber passengers kick it if it goes out😀😀
checked motor blower/fan is good, cold switching and warm switching
works I can feel it air changing temperature next to the fan...but the
air is still not blowing from the fans - 2010 honda crv ex
Intermittent working of car blower fan is not always loose connection , but a lot of times bad brushes inside the blower fan motor causes that , mine even tapping the blower cover with a long stick while driving , starts it again when quits...below is what I got online :
When they first start to go out, switches and carbon brushes can present either (or both) of the following two symptoms :
Off-and-On Use. ...
Decreased Tool Power. ...
Tends to Run Fine After Starting. ...
Off-and-On Use Worsens Steadily. ...
Off-and-On Use During Operation. ...
Shaking or Slapping the Tool Helps. ...
Banging Sound.
Genius! Thanks so much!
-Sorry I didn't quite get it where you have that test light connected to so that it would blink when the rotor is spinning. Test light between ground and what ... ?- Thank you for replying, found the answer by myself on Eric O's channel.
I am curious if I want to permanently fix the same issue, replacing a new blower motor could be the cure? I don’t wanna keep smashing my blower motor few times a month
Thanks. When I tap my one underneath it starts up again then dies but then died completely. So I just need replace the thing I hit not resistor? Thanks for video.
I’m going to try this, my mk1 ranger blower will work if i hit a speed bump hard enough or a pothole. It’ll start blasting air at me. Thankyou
I think by spraying upholstery cleaner (Woolite Advanced) on the seats messed up the wiring on mine the same day that I used that cleaner and aired it out on a very windy day.
So what needs to be replaced now?
Hi Ivan, good troubleshooting here! We are collegues you know? We both do mobile diagnostic work, like Paul. Tomorrow i am going to visit my first official garage :) wish me good luck if you will
+Andrea Gili That's cool! Where are you located? This field is challenging, but that is what makes it so satisfying. Good luck on your first official call! And don't forget to turn on the camera when you come across those really bizarre case studies :)
+motoYam82 thanks for the encouragement :) , i live in Torino in the nord ovest part of Italy. I have documented a case study with a video but i always think about doing it, it wouldn't be my job if someone else didn't did that before so... i certainly will :) good luck to you and a hug from Italy
thanks for uploading good video
Thanks. I'll try this.
Nice I thought for sure you were going to find a harness wire chewed from beavers :)
LMAO :)
Double check me, please. Assuming blower motor brushes and commutator r good, our test light should b bright when connected from control to ground in off position. At low speed the test light should b brightest. Because there is the highest voltage or differential. If blower is on high, light should b off because a full ground is being supplied to motor control and so there should b least potential. When switched off, no light indicates open circuit. Bad brushes/ commutator.
+Bill Rimmer Yup that's an accurate description. That's why they call it "scope on a rope" ;)
I'd like to see a current ramp on that one! definitely some bad brush to commutator contact.
I do the same... also print a before and after picture for the customer. They like graphs and it makes them feel better after spending money on something.
+Thomas EXOVCDS You mean whip out the scope for a blower motor diag? lol I like graphs too! Got some cool graphs coming up in the next case study :)
Awesome diagnosis! That's what mine is doing! Thanks! Can you rebuild using brushes, or is it best to replace...14 years of everyday use! Ha!
Thank you so much!
Simple but Nice !
I’m changing mine. How do you remove panels to access? And what what tool and size usually to remove bolts of motor and resistor? Sorry a chica asking. I don’t think a mini wrench will help me in this odd spot. 😜I need to buy tools as I have none in city I’m in now. This is a job I’ve never done before so clueless. Done other work on my car before but this nope.
I think it’s Allan key. Forget it. Lol parts person said bolt. Doh!
2006 Chrysler 300 3.5 Touring Blower motor works most if the time and then sometimes - although rarely when I start the car and turn the knob - nothing happens - and there are no illumination/ lights on the control unit. When it is running it blows strong and in all positions and in all different speed selections. Any suggestions?Thank you in advance!
did you try kicking it in the pants like I did in this vid? ;)
Haha.
I would have but when I went into the car today it's working again.
What do you think it could be?
Do you think the blower motor needs replacing?
I have a 2005 dodge caravan, ac blower was working intermittently , somewhere online I read that low gas in ac system sometimes causes that , I let they add some gas in it ...no more intermittent working blower...mechanic touched nothing , no relay no fuse , no module , just added gas...I don't know if will it work for every case , but worked for me
Do you mean the blower fan or the A/C compressor?
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics I mean blower fan , but sorry I was wrong , problem came back , my problem is exactly what you show in this video , I am gonna buy a new blower fan...btw my problem is not that severe , about 90% of the time it is running and when quits after about 3 minutes by itself or whenever car falls in a pothole or so comes back by itself...thanks for your response and your video
My blower motor stopped working for 3 days then kicked on suddenly on a 92 silverado c1500. The dealer said it happened alot on those years and even into the early 2000s. Said they see alot of the blower resistor melting or something other. Can anyone confirm this as a possibility?
Sure, anything can melt! Do a wiggle and bump test, should be easy to track down :)
Punch for the win!!
bonito video grasias
So did the customer buy a new blower motor or a hammer?
+Rick Anderson Just ask the passenger to give her a kick :)
Problem solved! :)
Hhhhhhhh nice one
+motoYam82 Ah so no video. Kind of a cheezy deal if you didn't get the job to fix it.
Actually it's a pretty good deal to get paid for an hour and then find the problem in five minutes :)
Nice One Thanks
i have a 2014 chrysler town and country and i think i have a bad blower motor there are times where its delayed coming on when i am driving it it comes on but then goes out it repeats that could it be a bad blower motor?
Sounds like a bad controller or resistor, not the blower motor itself.
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnosticsi changed the reistor still same problem i am at a loss
Well there goes my resister theory"
.. FAN MOTOR RESISTOR .. DID YOU CHECK THIS...? 🥰.. HOW DID YOU ULTIMATELY REPAIR THIS FAN-MOTOR PROBLEM...?👍🙏😇
DID YOU WATCH THE VIDEO?
@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics .. Yes...Sir .. I just was wondering if you replaced the motor, or did you replace the resistor .. You diagnostic of the Fan-Motor was great .. I had not heard the word "commutator" for many years, but after looking it up, I understood just what you were talking about ..👍👍👍
Nice one-----easy peasy
+Tom OConnor haha I got a break on this one :)
Your diagnose is OK, now remove the motor and clean the contacts in the rotor and brushes. And at the end put some oil or light grease on the bearings. Done.
+Willem Streutgers That's extra charge! If it was my own car of course I would have torn the whole thing apart :)
So I understand the Q was only diagnose instead of Fix it ?
Willem Streutgers you have to pay for a rebuild or repair. This would only fall under the 1 hr diagnosis pay, which he did in 5 min. It’s a pretty good diagnosis too.
The Test Lamp is flickering because the climate control uses (PWM) Pulse Width Modulation to control the motor speed instead of the old method of just different resistor voltage dividers to control speed.
The PWM system uses duty cycle to control the speed by turning the DC Current off and on in different time cycles i.e. 50% duty cycle would be approximately half speed, 75% Duty Cycle 3/4 speed etc.
However, the motor can still have issues with its windings or more likely as you said issues with the commutator making bad contact, perhaps moisture over time has caused corrosion in the motor commutator causing poor current flow.
No, not on this car. Actually you wouldn't see the test light flicker even on a PWM system, since the driver frequency is much higher than can be seen with a test light 😉
It's higher freq. / so faster than the eye can notice and our eyes have the property of persistence so its just the opposite, the human eye would see it lit up. However, the sensor of the camera is fsst enough to detect the flsshing of the PWM. And, yes that car would use PWM. It's not old enough that it would be using purely a resistor network for the different speeds. You got to have something from the 70s with those bulky power eating resistor voltage divider systems.
Curious if PWM is the reason for needing heat sinks on the modules? Would older systems using separate, individual resistors still need the heat sinks?
Diag flat rate done right haha
The Hondas here in Canada tend to get Polar Bear fur in blower motors. {;-)
+wysetech2000 Should have popped it out and done a visual inspection ;) I assume that dead spot is caused by the motor/fan being mechanically stuck and being turned on for a period of time, burning out that commutator segment.
+motoYam82 Yes Ivan, you could be right.
👌👍
What!?!? A 2098! Wow.
What!?!? A 2098!?!? WOW!!
My blower motor has a delayed start, which has just started happening. Takes up to 20 minutes before it comes on, - what is likely the cause ? - any suggestion appreciated. Works on all speeds when it finally comes on
Test the blower motor
@@deerhunter8533 Yes, did that, - turned out to be the relay
is it just me or does he sound like ChrisFix?
A 2098 Honda in Canada! LMMFAO!
So basically if blower motor doesnt work, but if you hit on it and solves that problem its a bad blower..
Mines does that. Already change the resistor thinking it was bad. But no, it still blows air whenever it wants
I think you should have taken the blower out and looked for a dead mouse...lol
checked motor blower/fan is good, cold switching and warm switching works I can feel it air changing temperature next to the fan...but the air is still not blowing from the fans - 2010 honda crv ex