HVAC blower motor issues

[Twin_Cam]

I searched for this, couldn't find anything definitive. 2000 SL2, blower motor stopped working. I have 12.05 volts at the connector that plugs into the motor, but both the existing motor and a brand new replacement from Autozone don't work. That's a little confusing... It doesn't work at any speed setting. When I move the speed switch to off, the 12 volts goes away, so I know it's not the switch. Fuses all look good and I can hear the max speed relay click when I move the speed switch to max. Thanks for any help you can give.

[OldNuc]

Back of the I/P Panel, inside fuse box, black 68 pin connector. Check F-2 for clean and unburned. Also E-1. F-2 is all the way towards the front of the car and 2 spaces up from the bottom and e-1 is in the next to to the rear on the lowest position. F-2 will have power in all positions but off and E-1 will have 12v in the first 3 positions.

PM me an e-mail address and I will send you the drawings that you will need to fix this.

When testing these you can get a reading from the back of the plug without disconnecting it. Plug must be connected to check F-2. To pull plug disconnect negative at the battery first and then inspect E-1 and F-2 for heat damage.

There is more to this but you need the drawing for it to make much sense.

[Twin_Cam]

I'll explain this in detail in case someone else runs into this problem. Pulled center console and lower kick panels out to access the back of the fuse panel. Tried getting voltage across F2 and E1 with fan switch on and 68-pin connector plugged in. F2 is second from the bottom, not two up from the bottom, had 0 volts at any fan speed. E1 appears to be a ground, so it had 0 volts. The next one up from E1 is a thick red wire, that had 12 volts when ignition switched on, so I figure that supplies the fuse block with 12 volts, didn't check voltage with ignition off. Loosened the nut in the center of the 68-pin connector with a 7mm socket and pulled connector out, had to wiggle to get it out. Immediately saw that the male side of F2 (connected to fuse block) had melted plastic around it. Corresponding female spade connector within 68-pin connector was blackened as well. Couldn't clean the black stuff off, so I'm assuming I'll be needing to break out the soldering iron sometime? What's the procedure to bypass/relace those connectors?

And thanks for the help so far, OldNuc.

[OldNuc]

The fix is to scotch brite the F-2 connector in the panel. And remove, clean and retension the connector in the plug.

Look at these pictures and see how to get the connector out of the plug. It is straight forward. You have to spring the latch tab back out after removal and then you can bend the contact tension blade closer to the top side of the connector. Best cleaned by scraping with a small screwdriver. Your rectangular removal tool is inserted under the rounded edge into the narrow notch. Some of these pictures are upside down. The blue connector lock has to come out first. http://imgur.com/a/411Aa#0

[Twin_Cam]

Thanks for the pictures. This appears that it will be pretty hard to do with the connector still in the car...I imagine as soon as I take that blue lock doodad out, all the wires that it holds in will fly out and get mixed up. Sounds fun. But I will give it a shot.

[OldNuc]

No, they will not come out of the plug body until you insert that rectangular tool in the front side to lift the latch. You have to make the tool as it has to just bee a flat piece of metal about 1/2 as thick as that narrow slot is wide.

[Twin_Cam]

Ohhh right, I've actually done spade connectors like this on my bike before, didn't occur to me. Sweet. Well I'll report back when I get this done, and in the meantime the interior of my car is half disassembled. Adds 20 hp, because racecar.

[Twin_Cam]

Didn't even have to take the spade connector out of the 68-pin connector housing. Just scraped the black goop off with a flat blade jeweler's screwdriver, and did the same on both sides of the male portion of the spade connector still attached to the fuse block, and voila, it works. Completely free repairs are my favorite. Thanks for the help OldNuc, and I hope this thread helps people in the future.

[OldNuc]

That works if it has not cooked to limpness from the heat. Must have good contact pressure or it just does it again.

[Twin_Cam]

Hey, guess what, I did it again. In the middle of a crazy downpour so I couldn't put my windows down. It got real warm and foggy in my car really fast.

So how do I bypass that junction block altogether, or what's my next step?

[OldNuc]

Disassemble the connector out of the 68 pin plug and re-tension and clean also clean the pin in the panel. You have to make this rectangular tipped tool to get them out and they come out the back. The pix should be clear but if not ask. http://imgur.com/a/411Aa#0 Clean and tight should fix it and lube the window tracks and seals.

[Twin_Cam]

I have a bunch of small flat-head screwdrivers, so I file one down really narrow to fit inside that small opening above the pin opening on the connecting (not wire) side of the 68-pin connector. I press it in gently and it presses that bent part up, releasing the pin, and I can pull the pin backwards (toward the wire side) out of the connector. And then I re-tension the part that locks the pin in? I guess it'll make sense once I get it out. Thanks for the help, I'll make that tool tonight when I'm bored on night shift at work!

[OldNuc]

Be sure to take out the blue connection lock and yes that is how they come out. There are 2 things to bend, the latch and the other blade that pushes the pin on the panel tightly.

[Twin_Cam]

Cool. That's what I did today. We'll see how long she lasts. Thanks again.

[OldNuc]

Problem is local contact heating which increases contact resistance which then results in an increased IR drop which results in higher contact heating etc.

[Normondo]

I realize that this thread is over eight years old but still wanted to take a minute to thank both OldNuc and Twin_Cam for what you both shared, here. (Who knows, maybe you'll get an activity notification and see this...) What a blessing to have found these instructions and details! Checked fuse, relay, and swapped blower motor but still nothing. How much longer would I have spent chasing the problem with no success if not for stopping to run a search and finding this very on-point thread. How wonderful it is to own a car with so much community support like this, even if archived from almost a decade ago.

Side note for others who may stumble upon this while fixing this same problem: don't panic if you forget the step of disconnecting your battery first. I forgot to do that but did not mess-up my car's electronics. Obviously, do it first to be safe as per OldNuc's instructions if it's not already too late. I'm just saying don't poop yourself if you realize that you forgot to do it before removing the 68-pin panel held in by the 7mm screw. You might be lucky like me and not have a problem.

[trottida]

You'll be sorry to hear that OldNuc passed away the spring of 2020. His name is Rich Goodin.

[amadjan]

Originally Posted by trottida

You'll be sorry to hear that OldNuc passed away the spring of 2020. His name is Rich Goodin.

oh :o