Fan Blower Problem????

[jones0991]

i have a 1999 ford explorer xlt and there is no air blowing out in the truck. does anyone know what is the cause of this and if you know what it is, then is it easy to fix. i am a do it myself type of guy and just need to know what the problem is so i can fix it myself.
Thanks,
Jessee

 

[marragtop]

Start by checking fuses and relays.

 

[jones0991]

i am going to go check the fuses but if it is not the fuse then does anyone have any idea what else it could be?

 

[gijoecam]

Does it work with the switch set to high? Does the rear blower work?

What could it be? Possibilities include a switch, a relay, a melted connector, a burnt motor, a blown fuse, a burnt resistor pack, or a broken wire... or some combination of them. There is no one single thing that always causes it.

 

[jones0991]

it didnt work set on just high at all. yes the rear blower always worked but it was cold air i am thinking that is cause there was no supply of hot air from the front blower to make it to the rear one. ok well i hit the motor a few times with a rubber mallet and it started up and was working very slowly. i am thinking that that motor is going out. does anyone know any more infomation that would help me out. like if it is just the fan blower motor and i need to replace it.

 

[gijoecam]

OK, that's good information to know. Two things come to mind: First would be the fan motor itself could be shot. It's not uncommon, though not the first thing I would check.

I'd start by taking a close look at the connector on the resistor pack. Living in the great salty north, I would expect your connector probably looks like mine did a couple years ago. If you stand on the passenger side of the hood and look down the AC plenum in behind the coolant/washer fluid reservoir, you'll see a connector about an inch high and two inches wide connected to the blower motor resistor pack. That connector is not sealed to the elements and over time, the contacts corrode... BAD!! Eventually, when they get bad enough, the blower stops working all together. Luckily you can purchase a replacement pig-tail for around $14 (IIRC) at the dealership (best of soldered in and shrink-tubed to seal out the weather) and a replacement resistor pack ($15 almost anyplace).

That's where I'd start.

Now, if that all checks out and looks good, the motor is a little tougher to get out, but not too bad.

 

[Lzwo]

I had a 1999 with wierd intermittant problems with the blower - started last year. Checked the fuses, relays, wiring, everything. Replaced both the blower speed and selector switches. Nothing. Finally gave in and took it to a shop. After 2 hours of labor, my mechanic identified it as a beginning to fail blower motor. Apparently, the motor would run some of the time, not others, hence the problem diagnosing it. Only way mechanic found it was by putting it on some type of machine and testing the resistance of the motor. Don't know if this is your problem, but if you have checked everything else very thoroughly, and still can't find the problem, might want to take the blower motor itself and see if it can be tested. Just my $.02.

 

[Niels]

I am also having problems with the blower motor. It just quit blowing one day. Tapped on it with a hammer and it started. I don't think that it is blowing as much air as it should. I did the checks suggested by the previous posters and found battery voltage into the motor on the pink/white (I think) wires but nothing on the black/orange. So, I am thinking resistor. Would this be correct?

BTW, this is a great site! I belong to a couple others for my other car and bike and I am always impressed by the amount of knowledge out there and the willingness to share it.

 

[Niels]

I just talked with the parts man at the dealership. He told me that if the resistor has failed that I should still have high speed on the fan, unless the wires/connector have gotten so hot that the connector is fried. I looked at the connector in question but it looks fine. Unless just the bottom part has melted, which is a possibility, but not a very good one. Any thoughts??

 

[gijoecam]

I would have to agree with the parts guy. If you're getting power to the fan but it's not running at speed, it's probably the blower motor. Change the resistors (and the pigtail of needed) while you're in there.

 

[Niels]

Thanks for the info, gijoecam. Help me out here, though. I thought that I had read in a previous post that there should be power on both wires going to the blower motor? I could see supply voltage on the pink/white wire and then using the black/orange wire to control the fan speed through resistance. Is that correct? 12 volts on both wires would not allow the motor to turn, I would think. Please correct me if I am wrong!

 

[gijoecam]

I'll have to look at the schematics either later this evening or tomorrow. Let me check and get back to you.

 

[Niels]

I picked up a new blower motor last. Got home and plugged it in and it worked fine. I couldn't really tell if it had different speeds, but it was working at any rate. The local parts store was able to get resistors. They had two different types that were available so they were going to get both. I will remove the components today at noon so that I have the original resistor to compare the new one to. I'll repost with the findings!

 

[jones0991]

thanks guys for your help i got a new motor and it works perfect now

 

[tsacra1974]

Thanks to everyone for posting and replying. My 1998 explorer front blower went out and after googling, I can to this site. After reading all that was written, I was able to determine that my wires did burn out and I took it to the mechanic. I really thought I was going to freeze this winter but with sites like these, figuring out what is wrong with your truck is a breeze! Thanks again guys and keep passing the knowledge around, you never know who you are gonna help!!

 

[normdr]

We have a '99 and the blower motor would work some day and not others... Now it rarely works. Tapping on the blower motor with my hand started it. I am not sure if it is the wiring or the motor....

 

[Gatorsfan]

Check the relay for blower fan in power box under the hood. Once located just replace it. About $20.00 at dealership or $15.00 at auto parts store. Take relay in w/ you to cross reference the stock # on it, so you get the correct one. Just changed the relay in my '96 & working good as new. Also there are relays at the blower fan. ohm them for continuity if you have that knowledge or again..... Just replace. About the same price as the 1 under the hood

 

[tchalm]

Thanks everybody!

The blower quit in my 98 Explorer. At your suggestions I checked the fuses, then the relays, then tried hitting the blower and it worked for a little while, so I replaced the motor and Bingo! The new motor works great... Heater in the morning, AC in the afternoon.

 

[Cduron15]

Heat/ ac problems

let me take you to beginning. One day everything worked just fine blowing cold and heat out then next day switched to only working on high. Went all summer without getting it fixed and now that it got cold stopped working all together. Read what everyone suggested to fix the relay, resistor and was gonna do blower motor but figured I'd try those two first. Changed them and wow it worked. Came in take shower went to go out and bam nothing all over again. Was leaving to come home figured hey I'll tap on blower to see if it comes on for the cold ride home. It came on and half the way home it wasn't getting warm in car. For craps I tried the cold side to see what'll happen my heat came out. Why it worked fine earlier and now its acting up. Is this all from a bad blower motor ? Please someone help its a 98 explorer and its manual v8

 

[vipjeff]

I am having the exact same problem as you Cduron15 and it is driving me NUTS!

My situation is:
***1995 Explorer XLT****
:exp:
Both heat and cool and both front and rear fans worked great when I got the car about 8 months ago.

Then around a month or two later the heat stopped working but fan still blew very cold and it was summer so it was no big deal.

Then winter came and the blower stopped all together. I think there was heat but no fan to blow it at all.

So for 4 months or so I just left the console controls to "A/C" on high and blower on max and heat to all cold hoping it would come back on one day,.

But I think that was a bad idea because with the AC system running and no blower I think it messed something up.

Now just a few day ago I decided I must fix this for once and for all.

Checked all relays and fuses all good, removed fan motor under hood and resistor right next to it. Resistor looked fine and I plugged in motor directly jumped to car battery at 12v and it worked perfectly fine!

I could have sworn it would have been a blown fan motor but it wasnt and I had no clue where the problem was.

So disappointing I put back in the resistor, then fan blower motor, then started car up to check it and BAM THE FAN WAS WORKING GREAT in both back and front WTF?

However the AC was not blowing cold but heat was blowing very hot and good but I want AC now.

So I noticed the AC compressor was not engaging when put in AC selection mode which would explain that issue. So I left car alone, came back a few hours later then NO blower in front but blower in back worked. Again WTF??

taking out the blower motor and resistor was a royal pain in the ass because with my big arms and hands I needed to remove the Coolant reservoir and Wiper washer fluid reservoir but to do that I needed to remove the air filter housing and the other piece. ughhh!

I really dont want to have to pay after this to have it brought in to the dealership to troubleshoot but looks like I may have to.

But first:
Is there a full schematic for the HVAC system on my car 1995 Exlplorer XLT?
Is there a relay, clutch, fuse, which controls the AC compressor and where?
Is there a good legible wiring diagram for the internal fuse box for my car and fuse and relay box under the hood with the maxi fuses?

Seems like I have an issue with both the blower motor and compressor/compressor clutch.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!