# blower issues on a oldsmobile



## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

1991 olds cutlass ciera 

the blower does not work allot of times and im thinking its either a short a loose wire or both. It doesn't quit once its running. it waits till i shut off the car and then it does not work again. so each time i start the car its like is the blower going to work. sometimes it will kick in while driving or when i start the car next time. this time it didn't work when i started the car and after 2 start ups it was working(while running around) and it lasted till after i got done with my last job then it didn't work when i started the car. it restarted later down the road right after i hit a bump in the road. if its working it seams to stay working until after i turn the car off. sometimes it will work the next time or for a week or so then the next time i start the car it does not. sometimes it will kick in while driving other times the next time the car is started.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

May be that the bearings are dried out. The motor may not start turning easlily enough and trips the internal circuit-breaker or heat-sensor. Try lubricating the shaft.

If it runs smoothly once started, it doesn't sound like an electrical problem.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I hope you don't have to replace that. Many of that era GM cars seemed to have been assembled with the heater motor as the first component, then built the car around it!


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

Most likely its the blower motor (located at the firewall/passenger side in the engine compartment), the armature propbably has dead spot(s) on it, then you hit a bump or it vibrates to a good spot then works, sound familiar?

There is also a blower motor relay located in the engine compartment near the front right headlamp, but since the blower intermittantly works on all speeds(?), I don't think it is the relay.

I worked on GM cars and trucks for 30 years, Blower motors and fan speed switches were the most common parts to fail.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

JohnWill said:


> I hope you don't have to replace that. Many of that era GM cars seemed to have been assembled with the heater motor as the first component, then built the car around it!


That bad, huh? I was picturing the one on my Honda, right on top and easily accessible, when I thought about greasing the bearings. But I guess I do now remember working on my previous American cars and crawling into impossible spaces. ;-)


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

Mumbodog said:


> Most likely its the blower motor (located at the firewall/passenger side in the engine compartment), the armature propbably has dead spot(s) on it, then you hit a bump or it vibrates to a good spot then works, sound familiar?
> 
> There is also a blower motor relay located in the engine compartment near the front right headlamp, but since the blower intermittantly works on all speeds(?), I don't think it is the relay.
> 
> I worked on GM cars and trucks for 30 years, Blower motors and fan speed switches were the most common parts to fail.


I think you and John are probably right. If the motor will stay running once it does start it sounds like what I call a flat spot on the motor. I have had a few times this would give us fits trying to diagnose on the motors we work on that are unrelated to auto.

Lex have you tried to turn the fan off and on repeatedly? Sometimes that gets the motor to have moved enough to be past the binding position. Not that it is going to solve the problem.

Is there a way to get at the fan blade on this unit? If so and if there was a flat spot if you move the blade that can get it past the flat spot. Again not that it will solve the problem but to hopefully determine what is wrong


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## Mumbodog (Oct 3, 2007)

> Is there a way to get at the fan blade on this unit?


Only after removing the blower motor assembly.

Gently tapping the motor with a soft mallet will usually get it spinning, if it does, you know it is the motor.

It's rare but it could be the electrical connections at the motor itself, worth a look see.


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## DIY'er (Jan 9, 2009)

Replace the Blower Motor
the brushes are to short or you might say
worn out


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## Knotbored (Jun 5, 2004)

Is there any chance you are talking about the motor cooling fan and not the heater blower? All the suggestions are for heater blower-but what you are describing-fan doesn't run until car warms up-sounds like the cooling fan-just guessing.


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## ghosthacker (Dec 28, 2008)

Knotbored said:


> Is there any chance you are talking about the motor cooling fan and not the heater blower? All the suggestions are for heater blower-but what you are describing-fan doesn't run until car warms up-sounds like the cooling fan-just guessing.


Could be but. I doubt it. 
here's a clue. http://forums.techguy.org/6387900-post3844.html

sounds like the brushes are worn out or the armature has a flat/dead spot.

replace it, as has been said


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

yes its the heater/ac blower and yes when it don't work I have turned it on and off over and over again and it does nothing. and it does work on all speeds. when it quits it don't work at any speed. next time it quits i will give the motor a light tap with a hammer see if it does anything. The motor it self is around $20 the complete motor with the blower wheel on it is around $50. it hasn't quit while running its only when i turn the car off then its a guessing game if the blower is going to work the next time you start the car.i have even taped a wire to the motor hosing and the other end to metal on the car to create a ground incase there was a bad one. nothing.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, taping a wire to the housing isn't going to get it, it needs a better connection than that. OTOH, I don't think lack of grounding is the issue here.


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## Knotbored (Jun 5, 2004)

Another guess-if that "stuff" on top of the air cleaner is the left-over from a mouse nest then I think your problem might be insulation and other "stuff" binding the fan where a mouse made a nice warm nest. You might be able to clear that with a vacuum cleaner.
Your motor might be blowing a reset button, which sets after the ignition is off for a while.


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

have you taken the plugs of where the wires go into the blower motor?

next time the thing does not start up then run a pair of wires direct from the battery to the blower motor. That should tell you if you have a good blower motor if it will then run.


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

Knotbored said:


> Another guess-if that "stuff" on top of the air cleaner is the left-over from a mouse nest then I think your problem might be insulation and other "stuff" binding the fan where a mouse made a nice warm nest. You might be able to clear that with a vacuum cleaner.
> Your motor might be blowing a reset button, which sets after the ignition is off for a while.


that stuff on top are the rags i using to clean the blower housing. now to jump the blower directly to the batter. which wire goes where. and which do you suggest. get the motor only and try to transfer the blower wheel to the new motor or get the complete assemble for around $50 from autozone. if there is a reset it don't matter. some times it might not work the next couple times then it will work for a while then quit. sounds like what you said. its hitting a bad spot on the windings and won't work. once its spinning its fine.


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

ok it didn't want to work today so I gave it some taps with the hammer. i didn't check to see if it was still not working before tapping it sense i went in the house to get the hammer. but it was working when i got done tapping.


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## ghosthacker (Dec 28, 2008)

Judging from your pictures, there should hundreds of those available at any decent salvage yard, if there is one near you.

That must fit multiple years and multiple models of cars.


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

it shouldn't be to hard to replace. remove the screws that hold it in place. put gasket sealer around the new blower and install it.


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## gophersnake (Mar 5, 2006)

That blower motor looks a lot like the one in my '68 GMC pickup so quite likely, they're widely available. Besides the wrecking yard route, see if your local (or online) parts store offers rebuilt ones.

I haven't had brush/commutator trouble with mine yet but I've taken it out a couple of times to oil the bearings. I had to take off a hood hinge to get to mine; yours looks easier. The motor didn't have any oil holes, by the way; I had to drill my own.

If you replace only the motor, you might have to fight a bit to get your old blower wheel off the shaft. A whole unit, motor with blower wheel, would be less work to install. 

I've sometimes found little metal clips -- balancing weights -- on blower wheels. When you have your replacement ready to put back in, try running it handheld to check for vibration. You might have to move (or add) a weight or two.


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## Perfesser (Jun 2, 2003)

Looks a lot like the one I replaced in a 1988 Grand Am. The blower wheel was larger than the opening that the motor mounts in! You have to back it out, reach in with an allen wrench, pull the blower off and wiggle it through the hole. The replacement has a smaller blower wheel so it goes in OK.


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

its the motor. sense its quit again i took a hammer and gave it one light tap and it started working. so someone said theres like a dead spot in the motor and giving it a tap jerks it to a good spot.


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## ghosthacker (Dec 28, 2008)

lexmarks567 said:


> its the motor.


You knew that along time ago, and you still hav'nt replaced it yet.


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## lexmarks567 (Aug 13, 2006)

too cold to work on it +i had to drop close to $100 on a new battery


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