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Blower motor not working

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Rockhound, Jul 24, 2018.

  1. Rockhound

    Rockhound Junior Member

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    The blower motor stopped working. I took it out and checked voltage on the 2 wires that goes into the fan motor and I get 14 volts DC when I turn the fan on, and it goes to 0.6V when I turn it off.
    What I don't understand is that I expect it to be like 6 volts when the fan is set to low and 14 volts when the fan is set to high. It is 14 volts DC no matter the speed setting ( low-HI), but is 0 volts when the fan is set to "off".

    Based on this, I got a new fan motor from RockAuto. I put the new fan in and it still does not work!
    I don't get it! If I get 14 volts DC when I turn the fan on, and get 0.6 V when I turn the fan off!
    Just to be EXTRA sure, I connected the fan to a 9 volt battery and the fan works!

    BTW, I also checked fuses and saw that the CDS fan fuse was blown. I replaced it and it is still good.

    So any idea why I get voltage to the fan motor, but the fan won't work?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    is the fan attached to a pc board?
     
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Replace the blower motor resistor module located in the air duct downstream from the blower motor.

    You can measure voltage on an open circuit, but when under load the voltage drops too low to power the fan motor. That shows you that the resistor module failed.

    You can probably buy a used unit on eBay for $25.
     
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  4. Rockhound

    Rockhound Junior Member

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    That was going to be my 3rd guess. My 2nd guess was looking for the relay, but then that would not explain why I get voltage.

    Thanks! and I will order that part! I will put the results here in few days ...
     
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  5. Rockhound

    Rockhound Junior Member

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    One last question before I spend money on the Resistor Control Module...

    Is there a relay for the blower motor? If so, where is it, or at least what is it labeled as on the fuse cover?
     
  6. Rockhound

    Rockhound Junior Member

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    OK, replacing the blower motor resistor fixed the problem.

    There are 2 wires going to the fan motor. If you measure the voltage, I was getting 13.5 volts DC to the fan. But there was no change in voltage when I change the blower speed on the dashboard. When I remove the Blower Resistor, there are 3 wires. Again I get 13.5 volts DC, but the MIDDLE thin wire changes from 0.06 to 0.15 volts DC when I change the settings.