911Freshy

Hi everyone, I am new to rennlist, new to Porsche in fact. I am in the process of finalizing the purchase of my very first Porsche, a 1986 911 Coupe. I am excited beyond belief, but I have a question I hope someone out there can help me with. I had the PPI performed by a well-regarded independent shop near my home in Boston, and the car came through almost flawlessly - although mileage is somewhat high at 128,000 miles, it has had only two enthusiast owners and a file of documented maintenance about an inch thick. The only item that concerned me was that the engine compartment blower motor is inoperative. The car is equipped with the two red levers and the automatic temperature control **** between the seats. During the PPI, the PM found that pulling up the levers and turning the ATC **** did nothing. He replaced a blown fuse behind a panel in the left side of the engine compartment and it worked for a minute or two then blew again. He diagnosed a bad engine compartment blower motor. Questions:
1. Is this the correct diagnosis, or is there something else going on?
2. Is this a replacement/fix that I can do? I am a lawyer, not a mechanic, but I do know my way around a set of tools and anyway, the fan just sits there on top of the engine and looks easy enough to replace.
3. I found a blower motor on Pelican for $300 and what I think is the same part on Vertex for around $200. Does this sound right?

Any help or advice on this topic would be much appreciated.

911Freshy

Hello? Anyone have any thoughts?

jet911

On my '86 when the motor went, it sounded like a cat fight happening in the engine compartment, then the blower motor siezed up and would not work. If it is blowing fuses, I would guess it might be a short and not the motor, particularly if the motor is not howling and runs when you replace the fuse. I would take the motor out (takes about 10 min.) and try to connect it to a 12 volt source and see if the motor/blower works. Someone might chime in on how to do it. To replace the motor/fan assembly is about an hour or less job and is very easy.

Here's another source for the motor: http://dartauto.com/blowers.html I've used these guys and they are pretty good.

Good luck.

911Freshy

Thanks. The PM said the motor/blower "sounded noisy", and was probably due for replacement, but I didn't hear anything approaching a cat fight. I definitely do not want to go on a treasure hunt and waste time and money, so if anyone could shed some light on a way to track down a potential short in the system, and how to test the motor/blower with a 12v source, that would be helpful.

Thanks,
Todd

imcarthur

First off, you have manual heat. The **** is for different fan speeds. Autoheat does not have the red handles (see Autoheat ).

It could be a short. It could the fan motor. It could be the heater relay which is also in the engine bay left side.

Since it's not heating season, you have time. Buy a Bentley manual for locations & the wiring diagrams. The fan can be removed in 10 minutes or so to make checking easy. Looks like yel/blk is your hot & brn is ground (as always) from the wiring diagrams.

And welcome BTW. Enjoy your new beast.

Ian

911Freshy

Thanks guys. I'll get a manual and start poking around. You're right, I have time before the cold, nasty New England weather starts, but I know it's something that will bug me if I don't jump on it. Wish me luck!

jet911

Good Luck!

chgrec

I have an '84 engine compartment blower assembly I will sell if you find that you need one.....
I did a backdate on mine and dont need the fan...works great.

let me know..
Chris
chgrec@yahoo.com

911Freshy

Chris, thanks for the offer. What would you sell for?

KCPSG

from my experience I have been told that when the motors start blowing fuses they are about to go, anyway the prices you got from Vertex and pelican are the right ones. You can install this very easily (:15 min) w/ a few small sockets and a screw driver.