Blower Motor not working properly

[ganadocoog]

Hi- I had a squeak behind my right glove compartment for several weeks then as of yesterday my blower motor stopped working properly. At times it will not work at all, at times it works fine for a few seconds or minutes, and other times it strains cyclically between fast speed and low speed (when not changing speed setting). I have tested the blower motor resistor (both voltmeter and test light) and it discharges as expected when cycling speeds on the knob. I have also jumpered 12V power straight to the blower motor from the battery and it ran fine for several minutes straight (not one bit of speed reduction or strain). I then reconnected power to the blower motor through the resistor and it is doing the same thing as before! When the motor comes off high speed the cabin light if on will temporarily dim - don't know if this is an expected transit as watt draw comes off of the blower motor or a sign of a bigger electrical issue. Connections all look good between components. Fuses are fine. Should I take the blower motor off and look inside? I only hesitate because it ran fine at high speed with 12V jumpered straight from the battery. I have no idea where to go from here. Please help!

[MI-Roger]

You have described the classic symptom of a failed fan speed controller/resistor. The fan will run on high but no other speed. Do you have Automatic temperature control (select actual cabin temperature) or Manual temperature control (select colder to warmer)? The two systems use different fan speed controllers (and different fans). eEuroparts currently offers two or more choices of brand for each controller type. Saab brand is great, Valeo brand is often the OEM supplier but without the added cost of the SAAB logo, Febi can be good, avoid other private labels. IMHO.

[ganadocoog]

I have MCC. I've taken the motor off and cleaned and oiled it. There was a pretty good amount of corrosion on it- another thing is I had water intrusion several times in the past in my passenger floorboard. The motor doesn't squeak but there is still smooth resistance when spinning by hand- not sure if it should free spin or not- it doesn't. I have ordered a new resistor which will be in early next week. Hopefully that works.

[MI-Roger]

Have you fixed the water intrusion problem? Two common sources; one is a missing water diverter tray beneath the cowl that keeps water away from the cabin filter, the other is a failed gasket between the filter housing and the fan chamber. Use of 3M Window Weld broad gasket rope is a great choice to replace a failed factory seal.

[ganadocoog]

The blower motor resistor did the trick! I also put windshield silicone at the base of the windshield where it meets the plastic guard, cleaned leaves out the the trap where the cabin filter sits and removed the cabin filter housing, stripped the silicone off and resiliconed. Hopefully I have no more blower problems. Spent about $30 total between resistor, silicone, and electric motor oil (also took blower motor off and cleaned rust/buildup from water intrusion).