Hello, I own a Honda Accord LX 96 and am searching for some advice. The car has around 166,000 miles on it. My thermomotor reads fine, I’m not low on antifreeze, no leaks. Well, so everyone I have mentioned this to believes my issue is due to the blower motor going out.
What happens is this; Last night I went to start my car. I turned on the heat and got nothing. I turned it up to 4, still nothing, turned the knob off and back on to see if that would trigger something but nothing so I left it on and waited and waited, I drove about fiftenen minutes before I felt heat. The heat was at its maximum (4) and I could baberly feel it. I pretty much had to put my hand up to the dash to feel any heat.
I am bringing the car in tomorrow morning at nine and am wondering how long (if it is indeed the blower motor) of time I can expect to wait (I work at noon) and an estimation of cost. I do appreciate any feedback and will try to supply more details as needed- I am pretty car illetirate so I will do my best. Thanks guys.
Yes you probably need a blower motor. This is not a resistor issue or the fan would blow on its highest speed.
However, you might also have a bad switch on the dash or a wiring problem. Did you at least check your fuses? I’m not even a mechanic & I could figure it out in about 5 minutes, so I’m sure a shop can.
Figure a couple hundred bucks. Total work time maybe an hour including checking it, but who knows what else the shop has in front of you.
This may sound obvious but are you sure its fuse is okay?
I think the motor is controlled by means of a relay on an accord so that could also be the problem.
Older accords had a problem with the connection to the blower motor. It wouldn’t make good contact, heat up and eventually burn out. Stealerships then often replace the blower motor and that part of the harness but the motor would often still be good so keep your eyes open when they do the work. Have them prove the motor is bad.
It could be the dash control as well.
It likely isn’t the resistor pack, since it doesn’t work at high speed. High speed doesn’t use the resistor pack.
Edit: I see cigroller and I had the same thought. What he^ said.
I’m not sure how to check the fuses- and I wouldn’t wanna screw something up, but if the mechanic doesn’t do that, is that a red flag? Like, what should I be watching for? More than likely, I’ll have to loiter around the shop (its a one man garage) until the cars ready for me to drive to work. Thanks again you guys! I love learning about how all this stuff works! Sorry I am such an airhead and can’t help you more.
This Car Is 15 Or 16 Years Old, A Senior Citizen In Car Years. Any Parts Department That Stocks Parts For A Car Of This Age Is Not A Very Well Run Department . . . Unless These Parts So Frequently Go Bad That There’s Still A Demand. If It Needs Parts, I’d Plan On Returning When The Parts Arrive . . .
. . . or if they have to tear the dashboard apart to diagnose the problem then you should probably plan on other transportation until the parts arrive.
They May Not Have One, Right. They Can’t Stock All Parts For All Cars. They’d Go Out Of Business. A Well Run Department Tries To Stock A 3 Months Supply Of All The Parts They Sell And In Some Cases A 3 Months Supply Is Zero.
However, we don’t really know what’s wrong, yet. If you can see the blower/fan housing under the dashboard you could try giving it a couple of whacks with your hand (be careful to hit something flat and don’t hurt yourself. Usually a failing blower motor becomes intermittent at first. Sometimes the blower is enclosed behind an underdash panel and is not visible until the panel is removed. I’ve had luck doing this while the fan is turned to an on position. If It starts up then it probably is the blower motor.
I have a 2005 Accord and the blower motor is under the dash. Advance Auto Parts sells an aftermarket blower motor for your Accord and it costs $54. It’s not too hard to do. I’ve done it before, but on a Buick. The tools are not exotic and would easily be less than the cost of having someone else do it. You could remove it, take it to an auto parts store, and have them test it for you. Call ahead to make sure they will test it first. The biggest problem is that you have to lie on your back under the dashboard and fit the socket tool into one or more difficult to reach places. Smaller hands are an advantage in this type of work.
A Bit Of Caution. This Discussion Has Gone From Thinking That The Blower Fan Isn’t Functiong Properly To Determining That The Fan/Fan Motor Is Bad. That’s A Big Leap.
These cars were recalled for HVAC wiring problems and RemcW remembers there being connection problems.
Proper diagnosis is usually better than throwing parts at the vehicle.
CSA
Well, I feel like an idiot- it was nothing more than a broken knob. A metal part of the screw on to turn the dials broke off from the inside so when I was switching my heat from 1 to 4 their was nothing inside to turn with the knob. I got a new one at the dealership for seven bucks and all is well- now I want my five hours of sleep back lol!
You should feel smart. You learned something, and you repaired your car for a very small fee. You should celebrate your victory by taking yourself out to dinner with part of the money you saved. You can make it a Really Expensive Dinner and still have money left over given what you would have paid someone else to find the problem and fix it.