When I first turned on the fan it made a loud clunking sound. I shut it off. Now I get nothing. I checked the fuse under the dash and it was fine. Do you think it is the blower motor? It is a 70 442 with a/c. I am not that good with the electrical stuff. Where should I begin? Thanks

 

Clunking noises are bad. I am voting for bad blower motor or critter in the fan.

But first...
Check for voltage at the Purple wire at the relay above the brake booster at various speed settings. Report back your findings and we'll go from there.

Do the interior lights dim any when key is off and you go through all 4 speeds?

 

I, too, thinking a critter!!

 

Or critter's horde!

Ah, NUTS!

- Eric

 

Either way you slice the pie, you're probably going to have to take out the blower motor to fix the problem. So much fun. Ask Rob.....

Hey Eric, if it was a critter or the horde the smell will let him know in a couple of days...and it won't be 'that new car smell' either

 

I should have a few motors here, if it ends up being your problem. I'll dig out the "just in case" box.

 

Thanks guys, I'll try to get out to the garage tonight after work and check that voltage on the purple wire. By the way it sounded that mouse is chopmeat. I guess he coudn't keep up on the hampster wheel.

 

Well there's your problem!
Extract dead mouse through the recirculate door behind the right kick panel. Insert new mouse through same door and reassemble!




In all seriousness, you can remove the kick panel and if your arms are skinny enough (mine are), you can reach up in there (DO check for varmits with a flashlight first!) and spin the fan cage and try to wiggle it around. If it seems loose then the bearings may be shot and it is time to drop the right inner fender liner and replace the motor.

 

Since it was making that noise I am going to pull the liner and replace the motor first.
Rob, I pulled the plug with the purple wire and tried to check the voltage. I need a new meter it wasn't working. I did notice if I touched both pins together (on the plug) with the meter it sparked and the blower motor started grinding again. The interior lights do not dim when switching the fan speeds.

 

Well, it sounds like you are getting power to the motor if it makes a grinding noise. When you short the two big wires in that plug together, you are bypassing the relay contacts.

Since it is making that noise, the motor is shot or something is in there that shouldnt be.

 

Just a question, is that the connector that you had to replace Rob? The one that got melted?

 

im assuming the blower motor is on the inner part of the firewall? by where the ac comes in ? my blower motor bearings are shot and make a screaching noise + the blower dont blow on the highest fan setting.... I also need to remove it and fix eventually.

 

No, my resistor connector was the melted one

Here are some pics that show where the motor resides.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post296856

 

YUUUUUPPP! Bryon you are going to have to pull your inner liner. It's not that hard, just takes time. The pic on Robs thread does full justice to how dumb GM engineered this....

I also had a problem with the fan speeds. Started out that it wouldn't blow on med, then it wouldn't blow on low speed. All that was left was high speed. In my case it was the fan switch on the backside of the dash. Check to see if you're getting current to the high position pole on the switch.

Since you have AC, you also have relays that I don't. Not sure if that could affect how your fan speed works.

 

thanks for the info , will have to look into that this summer hopefully , gotta stop the rust and get tires , fix the carb....etc....etc first.

 

Congratulations and welcome to Team MAW!!! We have a support network for that......

 

Well, I had time tonight to check that blower motor. I removed the 4 bolts on the top side of the plastic liner. Then I jacked up the car and removed the wheel. I removed another 9 bolts underneath the liner and it came right out. Then I unplugged the wire, disconnected the ground wire and removed the blower motor. No dead animals. I guess the bearing went. The wheel is all rusty. I think I should wire brush it and paint it before I bolt it to the new motor. While I have the liner out I am going to drill and staple the A frame seal on. I am not good with electrical. If I put a meter to the plug I unplugged and the ground what should it read with the blower switched on low? Will the readings change if I switch to medium and then high. I want to check this before I close it all up.

 

Put down the wire brush and step away from the hamster wheel!

Remove the wheel and soak it for a day or so in a rust remover. Then wash with hot water and bake dry. Paint with aluminum color.
Wirebrushing can easily damage it. And bends to it will make it vibrate like mad. Make sure the little clips on the bladed stay put also - they are balancing weights.

After you get the new motor installed, the clunks should be gone.
You will need to do voltage check with a good motor installed. Otherwise your readings will (should) be about 12V for all speeds. The current draw of the motor sets the voltage values at the resistor.

You COULD remove the resistor (with 4 wires to it) and clean and check it for breaks or burns. Easy to do - right by the motor!

You can clean up the Evap box, too, since you have the well out. Good time to do a lot in there!

 

Ok, so you think the motor bearings are gone. Try turning the shaft. If you get a lot of resistance and/or its squeaky you're probably right - it should turn really easy. Deep six that sucker. Buy a new one. Here's the easy test. Plug it in and turn on the heater fan from inside the car. If you get 3 different speeds, you're good. Or you can fiddle with the voltmeter probe....
O'Reilly's has them for 20.00 http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/se...***&vi=1217461
Rock Auto has them for 15.64 + shipping http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php
Autozone price is 20.00 too http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...mString=search

By the time you get one shipped from R.A. it will probably be faster and cheaper to get one locally. + it helps your local economy. keep the jobs alive in your state/area!

 

Yeah, I think its gone. It is hard to turn and makes alot of noise. I just bought one at autozone. I have the wheel soaking now and will give it a good cleaning and a paint job. I think I will pull that resister, clean it and make sure it is OK. I also cleaned up the evap and any areas that needed it. Once I put the blower back I will run it thru the speeds and make sure all is working. Thanks for your help.

 

awesome , you did say that I have to access the blower motor from the engine compartment and not under the dash right ? I will have to look at Rob's thread again... the last couple of weeks the bearings have been making alot of racket !

 

Only way to get to it is to pull the right inner fender - not too bad on these years...

 

Put the new blower motor in and ran it thru all the speeds. Works great. Quiet as a mouse. Thanks Rob and Allen for your advice. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. Bob

 

You mean you are not going to pull the evap box and clean it up, or paint the frame, or.............

 

Bryon, this is actually a relatively cheap fix. Robs pic shows how much room you have once the fender is out of the way. Fan is in the same place even on a non AC car. If your inner liner bolts are a little on the rusted side, I'd recommend you douse them with some penetrating oil so the the torque you need to undo them doesn't break any of the plastic liner where it attaches to the fender. Some of the bolts you can spray from inside the engine compt if you look carefully where they are.

Bob - glad to hear your problem is solved. That happens when parts aren't used for long periods of time or they just wear out from age.