A while back, I ran my defrost. The fan came on, but made a loud clunking sound, followed by a steady humm. It blew fine, just made lots of noise. It sounded like something was stuck, or keeping it from spinning.
However, I (foolishly) ran it a few times just to defrost. The last time it didn’t come on at all, and a nasty electric smell filled the car. I checked the fuse for the HVAC blower and it was indeed burnt out.
So, it’s safe to assume something was keeping it from spinning easily and I ran it too much, eventually blowing the fuse. Now I need to get to it. So does anybody have any advice on how to access the fan? It sounds like it’s coming from the far right side of dash, but it’s hard to tell if access is through the dash or somewhere under the hood.
Any help is appreciated 
The last GM car I can think of that had blower access from under the hood was the S-Blazer of 96 or so vintage. You probably just had leaves in the blower, if it was just the fuse I would be confident that clearing the jam and replacing the fuse would do it, but you claim that “the smoke got let out of it” Let me take a look at a online source and confirm access is from the inside. Do you have a 5.5mm socket as this is typicaly the hex head size of the retainers and you could be looking at a blower resistor instead of a blower,which would be better. The blower resistor is located above the blower, you will need to be a bit of a contorsinist to get under the dash.
Access is confirmed to be from the inside.
I would bet on the blower motor being locked up. It’s under the dash on the right side. Remove hush panel, you’ll see the backside of the motor. Three screws and it’s out. I’m gonna bet that as much amperage as that motor was drawing, your blower resistor is at best marginal. It’s located next to blower. Good luck
I do have a 5.5mm socket, and from the other reply It seems I need to get underneath the dash. Is the Hush Panel just the carpeted panel beneath the dash? It seems riveted in, but I haven’t gotten a good look at it yet. What exactly is the blower resistor? I’m not familiar with all the working parts.
The blower motor assembly will be mounted on/in (through?) the ductwork, the motor portion being outside the ductwork and the squarrel cage being inside. It’ll be powered through a clipped-on plug.
The resistor block on this vintage should be an open wire “stepped” assembly of resistive wires, likely mounted (again) on/in/through the ductwork, using the flowing air to dissipate their heat.
A Haynes manual from the local booketore would be a wise investment.
This is the procedure to replace the blower motor…
BLOWER MOTOR
Remove Or Disconnect
Negative battery cable.
Right sound insulator panel under instrument panel.
Convenience center rear screws, loosen front screw and slide convenience center out.
Grasp carpet at top side of cowl and pull forward.
Blower motor electrical connection.
Harness from clip.
Blower motor mounting screws.
Blower motor.
Install or Connect
Blower motor.
Mounting screws at blower motor.
Harness to clip.
Electrical connections.
Replace carpet at cowl.
Convenience center and attaching screws.
Right lower sound insulator.
Negative battery cable. Tighten Bolt to 15 Nm (11 lb. ft.).
I have a 1998 Regal, and I imagine that mounting is similar. The hush panel is the fuzzy one under the glove box. It’s not riveted in. There are plastic push connectors that can be pulled out. You should get a pry tool from your local auto parts store for a few dollars. It works a lot better than a screw driver or pliers. You can also get replacement push connectors at the auto parts store if you need them. The blower resisitor controls fan speed. If you only have one speed (high), then the blower resistor pack needs to be replaced. It is between the blower motor and the firewall, and is very difficult to get out. Follow the wiring from the blower motor to the resisitor pack; it’s at the other end. If you need to replace the resisitor pack (~$15), I can describe how I did it.
Awesome, thanks for all the help. My dad and I worked on it this afternoon, turns out the system sucked a paper from my glove box up into the fan from the recirculation duct. Got that out, tested the fan itself on the fan battery, and then reinstalled. Everything works fine, I really appreciate the info!
Thanks, got it all fixed up, there was a paper jammed up in there.
I hate those push in connectors! I would advise doing what I do, take them little devils out, leave them out and replace them with short, fat metal screws!