Heater/Blower Issue in the AM!

[Lysak]

Hello and thanks for a great forum as I have been following it for some time know. I was hoping never to post but i guess its time!

For the past two days after starting my 9-3 prior to going to work (6am), I turned my heater on but did not work (digital temp gauge worked), I also heard some clicking that sounded like it came from the drivers side engine compartment. After apx. 10 minutes, it would turn on and work fine. It did this the next morning as well!

I did read a few threads on blower motor issues, but they all seem to say that the blower does not work at all. Its funny that it happens only in the morning, it does not do it at any other time including the late evening when its just as cold.

Any ideas as to what i am dealing with here? Thanks in advance...

[ocean59]

Hi! I just went through something very similar last month.

At first, it was similar to what you described - blower not functioning in the morning. After I hit the road, at some point it would magically start working again.

This lasted about 2-3 weeks. Then suddenly it wouldn't come on, at all. I was driving one day on the highway, and I heard what I can only describe as a 'short squeal' and the blower motor came on, full blast, and didn't respond to any of the fan controls. Odd, I thought, but the temperature control still worked, so I just set it to 'floor only' and didn't think much about it. Until I got to my destination, turned off the car, removed the key, and the blower was still blowing at 100% max speed LOL! Found a thread on here, there is a big orange fuse in a panel to the left and down from the steering wheel. Removing that stops the blower motor. Apparently a melted/burnt out resistor is the culprit. You can put the fuse back in any time you require the blower to function (albeit only at max speed). 2 days later, my radiator fan stopped functioning. This makes the thermostat gauge start at 25% when engine is cold and rises to 75% at normal temp. I'm not sure if the 2 are related, but since it's not overheating whatsoever, I'm not too concerned.

Hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.

[Lysak]

Well, thats some great news...i think!

So the melted/burnt out resistor was the fault of the blower not functioning in the morning or from the other following issues...or both? And also, where is this resistor located?

Thanks a ton for your reply as well, on the right track

[ocean59]

No idea, I really don't know much about cars. I just remember searching Google for "Saab 2005 0-3 fan won't turn off" so that I could leave my car without the battery dieing, which took me to multiple threads about the resistor melting/malfunctioning, along with links on how to acquire part and fix. It could also be something else, I haven't verified by taking the car apart or anything. I'm assuming the issues are related because they both happened in a short time frame, but I really don't know. I'm just going to plug the fuse in whenever I need to defrost my car this winter, and remove once done as there is still airflow without the blower, just not very powerful. Good luck!

[Lysak]

Update on my fix for the heater blower issue i have. I firstly replaced the heater resistor in which you are referring to, this is the one located directly below the fan motor. After the instal, I tested the blower worked good when the engine had been running recently. In the following morning, no blow for the first 10 minutes, so it didn't fix the issue.


The next day, of course it was rainy, and i picked up a new fan motor. Because it was raining, i did the entire R&R outside in the rain, all while never opening the car doors! Talk about cramped lol. Anyways, while doing the removal i found that the seal for the cabin air filter was leaking quite bad, good thing it was raining!. I am assuming that this directly is involved in my issue in some form.


I repaired the seal with some really good closed cell foam tape and tested it with a few gallons of water from the outside...it is sealed. I then went on to replace the fan motor and tested the system, and all works fine. The next test is in the morning when its cold...fingers crossed and will update you all on the results.

SOLVED...

Fan motor works great. So, if you have a issue with the fan motor working strangely, my suggestion is to replace the fan motor and check to see if the gasket on the cabins air filter is in good condition, if not fix it or replace it. I picked up my motor and resistor at a wreckers for a total of $30.00 from a 2009 9-3. Hope this helps others!