Jessa

All was well and frosty, until suddenly the fan seemed to slow waay down on my 84's AC. It was running at the maximun speed when this happened. Being a computer professional, my immediate reaction was to turn it off. Then, to turn it back on right away to see if the problem was still there. It was. In a matter of seconds, the fan went from barely blowing to making a nasty mechanical thwacking/dieing noise and moving no air at all. I promptly turned it off at this point.

So, the fan died, right? How do I get in there and how difficult will it be to take care of? If it died too violently, as in throwing fan blades off, will there be collateral damage?

Mid-July is not an OK time to be without AC in California

Jay Wellwood

Sure doesn't sound good based on your report.

When you can get the chance - pop the hood and remove the plastic air shield at the base of the windshield. Look down into the passenger side and determine what you can. My guess is that either a) You got some debris in there that has had an impact on the fan's operation (leaves/sticks/squirrells - ), or b) the fan assembly has finally given up.

Tony Harkin has a nice write up on his site on how to get the thing out. Bottom line - you gotta pull the hood off. Not a bad job - until you realize that it's $2K if you screw up the hood.

Let us know what you find.

MikeN

If I remember correctly.......when I had to replace the recirculation flap vacuum pot in my previous '87.......you don't have to remove the hood to get the motor replaced. It's a tight fit, but can be done. May be different on an earlier year??

Jay Wellwood

Could be Mike - I know I wasn't good enough to get the fan motor/assembly out without removing the hood.

Garth S

It may come out with the hood still on - but far easier with it off: Use masking tape or scribe lines to locate the hinges prior to removal. this is definitely a two person job, especially if your first time.
Before doing anything, remove the plastic cowl shield (over the fan, wiper motor, etc.). Then remove the %$@# nut and bolt pinching the lips of the rubber bellows together at the fan outlet. Push the bellows/connector out of the way so you can see the squirrel cage fan assembly. This is where you hope to see the squirrel, acorns, whatever - in my case, it was a nest of field mice!. If nothing obvious, pull the connector plug open, and spin the fan with a finger.
No spin = removal: if it spins, put a 12v jumper from the fender hot terminal to the fan connector, and see if you have the correct action.
If still no, there are 3 bolts - one on top, one inside the outlet on top, and one under the passenger parcel shelf/fuse block ( a real PITA!) - if you have to go that far.

Jay Wellwood

Well...what did you find?

SteveCo

Given that I was troubleshooting a non-operational blower last night, I'll just mention two things that I learned/did to fix my problem.

First, check the ac blower fuse. Pull it out and access the condition of the terminals, clean (or replace) the fuse and reinstall it. MY blower would not work, as the fuse blades were corroded and generating a great deal of heat, but little power to the fan. You can pull the blower relay and test/jump it as well, if you like...same rules apply.

If the power systems check out, put the climate control selector to defrost. This bypasses the fan motor resistance group and should give full fan speed. If the fan works, then your problem is somehow related to the speed controlling functions. If no-go, then your fan is probably toast.

I read somewhere that the fan is fed by two circuits, so check your fuse panel index to check both. My problem was fixed by the "AC Blower" circuit...fuse 17, IIRC on the '85.

Good luck,
SteveCo in St. John's

Jessa

Thanks for your help! I'm going to take a look in there tonight.

Joe '87 S4

I had a new fan/unit installed a few months ago. It makes a world of difference in the air flow inside the car. I debated new vs. used but decided I didn't want to possibly have to have it fixed again a year from now.

ViribusUnits

You've gotta remove the hood on my 83. No way to get it out otherwise. And it's a tight fit with the hood off.

Removeing the hood is a 5 minute thing to do, easy. Replacement is a 10 minute job. I used white out to mark where the hinges were. Removal is a 1 man job, replacement is a 2 man job. Just think when you do it, it's pretty straight foward.