Intermittant Blower motor

robhamster · #1 (**permalink**) 12-09-2007, 04:52 PM

1987 Cherokee with factory air. When it is cold, the blower fan will not work. I have tried to fiddle with the fuse and it does not seem to affect it. If I slam the hood shut, sometimes the fan will go on. It seems I have a somewhere a contact that looses its connection when the car is cold and it contracts.

Could it be the fuse box? Are there any other places that could contract with cold to loose contact that are associated with the fan?

Saurian · #2 (**permalink**) 12-09-2007, 06:00 PM

When the fan is not running, open the hood and wiggle the connection on the fan itself, if it's anything like my Jeep, the back of the fan motor should be in a housing sticking out of the firewall on the passenger side... There is a plug on that, this is the problem with mine, but I cannot figure out how to get it off to clean the connection... It took me a while to track it down, hitting a pothole would make the fan go on, slamming the hood, slamming the doors, etc... If the fan comes on (you can hear it taking in air under the windshield, and you can feel it on the motor itself) when you wiggle the connection, I would suggest this is where the problem is...

Hope this helps...

dandoc · #3 (**permalink**) 12-09-2007, 06:00 PM

The problem could be anywhere in the blower fan's electrical wiring circuit. If you're able to, find the fan's ground wire and check its conection. May also be a good idea to get a voltmeter and check to see if power is coming into the fan's fuse, as well as at the fan itself. Perhaps a component of the blower fan is reaching the end of it's working life... it is 20 years old. Either way, I wouldn't continue to slam your hood shut. Good luck and keep us posted.

LauraBoston · #4 (**permalink**) 12-12-2007, 07:36 PM

my 90 cherokee the fan motor was shot..the fan was binding. I'd hit it with the blunt end of a hammer and it would work. Untill it just totally got to be junk.

Anyways, if you can get to the connection, get yourself a test light, turn the fan on, and watch what the light does. It will tell you if your motor is junk or you have another problem.

robhamster · #5 (**permalink**) 12-13-2007, 08:33 PM

OK folks, I took the Jeep to a mechanic who diagnosed that I need a new blower motor. They wanted $280 to do the repair and I noticed that our host sells the motor for around $40. How hard is it to change the motor?

LauraBoston · #6 (**permalink**) 12-14-2007, 12:05 PM

it aint that hard...if you have an idea on what you're doing.

fyi, the price they gave you is probably for an mopar fan motor, they are expensive straight from mopar. I'd charge and hour labor to do the work.