1999 Es300 (No) Blower

[mrv8q]

Hello, fellow 300 owners, blower failure seems fairly common; had this problem last year, pulled out the fan, tested with good battery, and all seemed well. Now, no blower fan situation is back.

Surprising to me, if I hit the passenger side by the transmission tunnel, the fan will usually start to blow, leading me to think it's external fan related; relay, blower resistor, or blower control module. Once the fan is blowing, I can increase and decrease the fan speed witht the fan buttons. If I turn off the fan, can't turn it on without the sides again.

Any advice on this? Thanks in advance!

[gbhrps]

mrv8q,

You've hit on your solution. Somewhere in your system is a dirty switch, a bad or corroded connection, or a component that has a cold solder joint, etc. It doesn't sound like you'll need to spend any money on parts, but rather spend time on pulling each of the components you listed and checking/cleaning each one in turn, until you find the culprit.

While this can be costly to have the dealership/independent mechanic fix, its a DIY type of job if you're handy, have the time, have some rudimentary tools, and are somewhat mechanically inclined. People here can lead you through the dismantling of the center dash panels etc. for your specific year, if you want to tackle it. Unfortunately your 99 is too far removed from my present ride for me to be able to guide you through it. Hopefully someone will jump in with the steps required. Good Luck!

[mrv8q]

Thanks, Gene, I've been in there before; going back in with a can of DeOxit, and see what I find.

Thanks for the encouragement!

[mrv8q]

Just a followup: found a cracked blower motor resistor. Resistor read high, factory rating is 1.8-2.2 ohms.

The real problem is the fan; dirty fan cage and dirty inside the motor itself. There's a removable

Plastic piece that allows the motor shaft to be oiled. That alone really helped the blower motor turn

Much easier. I think gunk in the motor gave just enough resistance so the motor wouldn't easily turn.

After oiling, blower motor turns much easier! Back to a cooler '300!