Hi my name is Lauren and I have a 2002 Ford Escort with about 68,000 miles on her. Today I started her up and the heater was on but I did not notice it had not kicked on. The fans were not blowing. About a couple miles down the road the fans kicked on and started to blow. I parked the car went inside for a bit and then came back out. Started her up once again and the fans did not kick on again. When I turn the swtich it make a low hissing sound, but i get no blowing. I also checked the fuse box, but all my fuses are fine, what could be the problem? Please Help!
No fan noise? That hissing noise is the vacuum controls going to work. It could be they have a problem, but that would not explain the fan. I suppose that some of those fancy computer controled jobs may leave the fan off until they get heat to keep it from blowing cold air.
Does it work reliably in “HI”?
There’s a set of resistors that allow the fan to run at other speeds that are little coils of bare wire. If there’s a little break in one of the resistor coils, it won’t work on lower speeds. Often, when the break is very small, as the coils get heated by the hot air or the heat from the other resistors, the metal will expand and touch again, making the fan work again. If it always works in “HI” that is definitely your problem and you need to replace your blower motor resistor-- a very simple repair.
I bet the blower motor is shot. I don’t recall where it is on this car but they are often near the firewall on the passenger side under the hood or inside the cabin near the firewall on the same side. The next time it does not run, try banging on it with moderate force using something heavy (like a short length of 2 x 4. If it starts to run, you need a new blower motor.