My blower doesn't work on my '98 Corolla, what could be wrong?

Question

My blower doesn't work. I understand it could be 1 of 4 things:

blower resistor
fuse
relay
bad motor

I changed the blower motor resistor but to no avail.
I do not know what a relay is.

Before my blower died, it would make a rattling sound that was actually alieveated when I move the inside/outside air switching lever.

Actually, after my motor died, I managed to restart it once somehow by moving the inside/outside air lever.

There are also several fuses that are labled as AC motor both inside the car and under the hood.

My ultimate question is, judging from the above description of the relation between the blower and the inside/ouside air switch (or the air itself), is there a better chance that my blower is "blown" or is a fuse blown or is there another option.

The blower is behind the glove box and currently exposed. Is there anything I should be looking for? Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

Probably what's happening here is that the motor is on it's way to the junk yard. Blower motors are a lot like an alternator. Inside them are electrical windings, springs, a stator, and brushes. When the motor gets to the end of it's useful life, the brushes that are spring operated and rub on the stator, have worn down and no longer make a consistent contact. Sometimes when you jar the motor (like when you move your air lever) tickles the brushes back into contact with the stator. In some cases you can remove the motor and replace only the brushes, but usually you just but and install another blower motor. It stinks that these problems seem to show up mostly on the coldest days when you need it the most. Another thing you could try is to gain access to the blower and spray it down with electrical spray from an auto parts store. Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

If I'm not mistaken there is should be a fuse for the blower. Most newer vehicles with OBDII have an internal and external (inside the car, and under the hood) fuse block so I'd check both. Goodluck!