We have had the 2003 Subaru Forester for about 18 months now, and it has been working fine, apart from age-related periodic maintenance. Last week, the blower/fan stopped working entirely (from one minute to the next), so no a/c or heat in car. Our trusted mechanic tells us that the connector wires on the blower motor resistor have melted off ( i hope i my description makes sense). He is looking for the part(s) locally - dealers, other mechanics, junkyards, etc. but has had no luck so far. Do we need to buy the connector wires individually? Should we replace the entire unit? In either case, what specifically should we buy? Any reliable sources for buying these parts (locally in the Twin Cities, MN, or online) would be very helpful. We also appreciate any greater details any of you can provide on this problem and tips to avoid this in the future (prevention). We are not looking forward to the MN fall/winter without a working blower to circulate heat in the car. Thanks much, folks!
Here’s what the U-PULL-R-PARTS in Rosemount have listed for Subaru parts cars http://www.upullrparts.com/inventory. The blower motor connector from the 1999 Legacy might work as there’s only four years between the models, and the manufacturers don’t make major changes between models and years for this kind of stuff.
And if you find a new connector to splice in, also replace the old blower motor. That could be what caused the connector to melt.
Tester
Hopefully you can find a replacement connector from a salvage yard. Have the current draw of the motor checked to see if it is drawing excessive current.
I have to concur with Tester and Cougar. What you have here is a blower motor with too much resistance or maybe a mechanical restriction. That’s what melted your connector.
It may be possible that you do not need a new blower motor. If you do not have a cabin air filter, then there could be a build up of debris in the fan that is making it harder for the motor to turn. You will need to pull the blower motor and fan out to check.
If the connector wires had a bad crimp on them, they would run hotter and could melt off, but that is unlikely on multiple connections.
You said the wires melted off the blower motor resistor. Most cars use a resistor pack to control the fan speeds. Generally if the connection on one resistor melts off, you only loose that one speed. You could loose all the speeds if the output connection was the one that melted off. This one would most likely melt off if the fan was run on its highest setting all the time and some debris got into the fan.