Electrical problem with blower switch

dwkindig
Fri, 03 Nov 2017 15:11:55 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

Howdy everyone. I’ve got a 1994 Nissan Sentra XE whose blower motor switch won’t operate the blower most of the time. I’d say somewhere close to 90% of the time, I flick it from off to either 1, 2, 3, or 4, and nothing happens.

I’ve taken apart the central console and removed the switch, but everything about it looks fine. A few years ago, something in the old blower switch shorted out and melted part of the casing, but that doesn’t appear to be the culprit this time. Even more insidious, the damn thing will power on in rare moments – usually only after it’s been left off for days and days, it seems to be. If I leave it on, it will then conk out again sometime after turning the car off, if I leave the car off for too long.

As the Starks say, winter is coming and I don’t want to be without a decent heater, and this is my only vehicle. In a pinch, I’ll do what my dad did with his old 1982 Toyota Celica and get a 9-volt ceramic space heater just to clear the windows, but holy hell that little thing was slow and weak.

Anyone have any thoughts where I should look next? There’s no obvious problems with the wires. Fuse looks fine. I haven’t removed the blower motor yet, but I’m not anticipating seeing anything obvious there, either, especially since it does start when it wants to.

8 posts - 4 participants