HVAC Blower Motor Fuse Blowing

[DanNZ1]

Hey team,

For a while now the manual heater/air conditioning in my 2006 Holden Commodore SV6 hasn’t been working. I finally took it to an auto electrician yesterday to determine the issue. He replaced the FL9 HVAC Blower Motor (40A) fuse twice and it blew both times that he turned the AC on. Today I bought a second hand HVAC module system for $300.00, fitted it myself, went to another auto electrician who put a new FL9 fuse into the car for no charge and as I drove down the street the fuse must’ve blown again & my air stopped blowing.

It’s cold in NZ at the moment so driving at night and on cold, rainy days is becoming increasingly more dangerous as the windows/windscreen gets foggy. Any help would be appreciated.

Please note I’m definitely an amateur tinkerer when it comes to fiddling around with my car.

Cheers.

 

[UTE042_NZ]

If the blower motor fuse kept blowing, I would get the blower motor checked out.
Why didn't the auto electrician do that? How much did you pay him to to change a fuse twice? Or did he do that for no charge and you balked at the cost of him checking out the blower motor and module then you decided it must be the module (which it obviously wasn't)?

 

[Fu Manchu]

Correct. The blower motor is easy to remove.
Not sure if it would all function minus the blower motor being unplugged.
Worth a go.
Take it out and get it tested by a different auto elec.
You can do the fuses yourself. Don't pay someone to do that.

 

[DanNZ1]

If the blower motor fuse kept blowing, I would get the blower motor checked out.
Why didn't the auto electrician do that? How much did you pay him to to change a fuse twice? Or did he do that for no charge and you balked at the cost of him checking out the blower motor and module then you decided it must be the module (which it obviously wasn't)?

I paid the first auto electrician $74.75 ($35.00 for 1/2hr labour & the rest ‘parts’...) to look into it (checked diagnostics etc) and then he told me to pay $650.00 to send the module off to Auckland to be pulled apart and checked out. I said no, went to another auto electrician who suggested buying the second HVAC module, did that, took it back to him, he put a new fuse in for free and it blew as I drove off. Now I’m here!

 

[UTE042_NZ]

Damn, two auto-electricians took money from you and neither tested the motor that is supplied power through the blowing fuse? I would be somewhat annoyed by now. Go back to one or both of them and ask them to (or try a third and hope he knows how to) test the blower motor?

 

[DanNZ1]

Damn, two auto-electricians took money from you and neither tested the motor that is supplied power through the blowing fuse? I would be somewhat annoyed by now. Go back to one or both of them and ask them to (or try a third and hope he knows how to) test the blower motor?

I’ve got my car booked into Robertson Holden in Palmerston North for July 1st, they want to test it and see what the issue is and try to remedy it. Should I cancel that or ask them to test the blower motor? Thanks so much for your help too man, appreciate it a lot

 

[UTE042_NZ]

I’ve got my car booked into Robertson Holden in Palmerston North for July 1st, they want to test it and see what the issue is and try to remedy it. Should I cancel that or ask them to test the blower motor? Thanks so much for your help too man, appreciate it a lot

I would take it to them still, and tell them I had replaced the module, and ask them to test the blower motor. I would probably have gone to the Holden outfit first, myself. They charge more but supposedly have the knowledge and equipment to test and find the root cause of the problem. Then when you get their diagnosis you can decide whether to get them or someone else to fix it (if there aren't too many "maybe"s).

I think of it like getting glasses. Every 10 years I go to an Opticians/Optometrists and pay $50 to get my eyes tested to see if the prescription has changed (from both eyes requiring +1.5 for reading). Nope, "beauty, thanks. No I don't want the free diagnosis if I pay another $150+ for your glasses, thank you." Then I go to the warehouse and get two pairs for $20 each.

Good luck.

 

[DanNZ1]

I would take it to them still, and tell them I had replaced the module, and ask them to test the blower motor. I would probably have gone to the Holden outfit first, myself. They charge more but supposedly have the knowledge and equipment to test and find the root cause of the problem. Then when you get their diagnosis you can decide whether to get them or someone else to fix it (if there aren't too many "maybe"s).

I think of it like getting glasses. Every 10 years I go to an Opticians/Optometrists and pay $50 to get my eyes tested to see if the prescription has changed (from both eyes requiring +1.5 for reading). Nope, "beauty, thanks. No I don't want the free diagnosis if I pay another $150+ for your glasses, thank you." Then I go to the warehouse and get two pairs for $20 each.

Good luck.

Thank you so much! I shot back to Holden Spares in Palmerston North, he (thankfully) swapped out the HVAC module for a blower motor (and gave me a $130.00 cash refund!)... then I went back to Mike Murphy Auto Electrical, he gave me 5 fuses to try... got home, installed the blower motor, reinstalled my original HVAC module, chucked in a new fuse and (for now) the air is blowing again!

Not going to cancel my appointment with Robertson Holden yet — will wait a few days and see if it remains operational.

Thanks so much for your help man. Overall you’re the reason why I got this resolved. Very grateful!

 

[rucxy]

Thank you so much! I shot back to Holden Spares in Palmerston North, he (thankfully) swapped out the HVAC module for a blower motor (and gave me a $130.00 cash refund!)... then I went back to Mike Murphy Auto Electrical, he gave me 5 fuses to try... got home, installed the blower motor, reinstalled my original HVAC module, chucked in a new fuse and (for now) the air is blowing again!

Not going to cancel my appointment with Robertson Holden yet — will wait a few days and see if it remains operational.

Thanks so much for your help man. Overall you’re the reason why I got this resolved. Very grateful!

Good to see another Palmy Nth native on here.
Those 3 businesses are good to deal with.
Robertsons arent bad at all, their labour prices are a little steep, however their workmanship isnt to shabby.

 

[UTE042_NZ]

Cheers Dan. I'm glad that my guess was lucky for you, and happy that you won't freeze to death in your commie over the next few months.