Technical Intermittent heater blower not working - just needs a kick

[stephen2929]

My heater blower was intermittently not working (on any dial setting)
Which is annoying/dangerous when need continual windscreen demisting.
Sometimes it will work, othertime not working, when try to switch it on.
When works, it works on all dial settings (ie not the usual 'only works on setting 4' issue)

Lots of articles on here
eg

The Heater FAQ........... | FIAT Grande Punto

There seems to be a fair few questions on the forum about this so here goes.............. My fan doesn't work: After checking the relevent fuses (check handbook for fuse locations) on the s1 model the fuse is here: First things first check the fan motor... (Im pinching a few members...

www.fiatforum.com

and on YouTube.

The connector and wires to the restistor pack all look fine.
The blower motor has 12v to its live side when ignition is on
(the blower speed dial connects the other side to ground or ground via resistor, when On)

Checked the switch was grounding the end pin of the restistor connection when on setting 4, as expected

ie All is as expected but blower still not working.

UNTIL
giving the blower motor a light tap sets it going
ie slightly stuck motor / worn brushes

Stopping and then restarting it will sometime start and sometime fail to start, but a light tap sets it going again.
So at least its usuable for now.

Just posting as a reminder for anyone with the same symptoms to check that first
(plus best to unplug/replug the connectors to ensure good connection, and/or visually check them)

 

[bugsymike]

My heater blower was intermittently not working (on any dial setting)
Which is annoying/dangerous when need continual windscreen demisting.
Sometimes it will work, othertime not working, when try to switch it on.
When works, it works on all dial settings (ie not the usual 'only works on setting 4' issue)

Lots of articles on here
eg

The Heater FAQ........... | FIAT Grande Punto

There seems to be a fair few questions on the forum about this so here goes.............. My fan doesn't work: After checking the relevent fuses (check handbook for fuse locations) on the s1 model the fuse is here: First things first check the fan motor... (Im pinching a few members...

www.fiatforum.com

and on YouTube.

The connector and wires to the restistor pack all look fine.
The blower motor has 12v to its live side when ignition is on
(the blower speed dial connects the other side to ground or ground via resistor, when On)

Checked the switch was grounding the end pin of the restistor connection when on setting 4, as expected

ie All is as expected but blower still not working.

UNTIL
giving the blower motor a light tap sets it going
ie slightly stuck motor / worn brushes

Stopping and then restarting it will sometime start and sometime fail to start, but a light tap sets it going again.
So at least its usuable for now.

Just posting as a reminder for anyone with the same symptoms to check that first
(plus best to unplug/replug the connectors to ensure good connection, and/or visually check them)

When it isn't the common resister fault if fan motor sticking I have squirted WD40 in the fan intake and if you can get enough in near the bearings it often worked, then it can be a bit messy and you may want to pull the outlet off the motor and collect the excess WD40 rather than have it blown into your face as you drive along.
Generally speaking it is lack of use that causes them to seize/stick as motors never run long enough to wear the brushes out.
In the old days with electric windows sticking you could here the motor click inside the panel, but by squirting WD40 down the window channels then give the engine a few revs to bring the voltage up, hold the window switch down and slam the door, next thing it would be working but you needed to oil it well and keep it running up and down for a bit to encourage it to keep going.