'96 Caravan blower issue

You two crack me up.

Since Larry had a car that had worn blower motor bearings, all blower problems -must- be identical and related to worn motor bearings. Larry now claims that the bearings in the blower motor froze up. One would *think* (there's that word again) that "freezing up" bearings would manifest themselves as reduced blower speed on high setting.

Gaytripper, I didn't disagree with what Max said, on the other hand, Max didn't exactly condemn the blower motor from the get go, and for very good reason.

Obviously neither one of you is a professional so shotgunning every possible related part at the problem is part and parcel.

I also strongly suspect neither one of you or the OP have the necessary equipment to determine the health of the blower motor and as such, the appropriate action for the OP is to replace the blower resistor.

Nope. Don't see where Max used the words "croak", "resistor module", "for instance", "armature", "shorted".

Well, obviously you missed all the points being made. And as far as being a professional? Went to school for it (MoTech, know who they were?). I may be "old school" and I don't do it for a living anymore, but mechanical principles are still the same. Bearings start getting "stiff" (freezing up), motor starts drawing more current. That burns out that little electrical component on the resistor block (if you've ever looked at one, you would know what it is). "In my Intrepid..." was an "EXAMPLE" of "MY" experience. Considering, when it first went out, I asked about it here, and Glenn and Bill told me what it was. When it went out again, I used correct troubleshooting techniques to determine why the resistor was going out.

Larry

: > wrote: : > >

: > >: > Larry : > >: : > >: I'll keep that in mind if a 96 Caravan ever morphs into an : > >: Intrepid. : > >

: > >And what does that have to do with bearings freezing up? : > >

: > >Larry : >

: > No worries - he clearly has comprehension issues that nobody here is going to : > solve for him... : : You two crack me up. : : Since Larry had a car that had worn blower motor bearings, all : blower problems -must- be identical and related to worn motor : bearings. : Larry now claims that the bearings in the blower motor froze up. : One would *think* (there's that word again) that "freezing up" : bearings would manifest themselves as reduced blower speed on : high setting. : : Gaytripper, I didn't disagree with what Max said, on the other : hand, Max didn't exactly condemn the blower motor from the get : go, and for very good reason. : : Obviously neither one of you is a professional so shotgunning : every possible related part at the problem is part and parcel. : : I also strongly suspect neither one of you or the OP have the : necessary equipment to determine the health of the blower motor : and as such, the appropriate action for the OP is to replace the : blower resistor.

Nope, didn't miss any points being made. Didn't miss any invented statement either.

Were? As in no longer?

"Don't do it for a living anymore." The reasons are obvious.

Do ya *think* the motor slows down during these events? Didn't MoTech teach you to use your ears? As for the using more current... Didn't MoTech teach you to use an amp meter?

It's a thermal limiter and now *you* know what it is also. I would also point out that the thermal limiter is not used in all models or in all years, it may eventually become part of the component in an upgrade of the part, it may be deleted in an upgrade of the part.

And you felt compelled to tell a story about it even though your second generation Intrepid has little in common with a 96 Caravan.

Yes Larry, sometimes the blower motor causes the resistor failure, like in 1 out of 25 resistor failures. The fact that the part number has superseded so many times bears this out.

For someone who attended Motech, you sure need a lot of outside help.

Going to school at MO Tech and either "knowledge" or "placement" are totally independent occurences in this business (assuming that your puffed up MOTech-going chest has been made so due to an Automotive Technology degree, as they offer others). I don't have the numbers, but I would bet lunch at an expensive establishment that Ranken has graduated/placed more people in automotive service jobs than MO Tech, but that by itself doesn't make them worth a f*ck. I know Ranken grads that are totally worthless. Conversely, I know non-grads of

*any such* institute that fix cars both ethically and properly for a living (very rare indeed).

So, given your hoity toity credentials, why did you ask --on a newsgroup-- a question about your *own* car's repair?

Toyota MDT in MO

P.S. bow in reverence to those who know virtually everything automotive about virtually everything automotive, instead of being a douchebag. They are spending time here so that you may see the light. Did you give your world class instructors this much flack back at the hallowed halls of MO Tech?

As I said, "old school". I went over thirty years ago. I'm not "up to date" on the newer electronics and technology in today's vehicles. That's why I ask here about my Intrepid. My old big block B body cars, I can take care of myself without help. The dealership I worked for (over 29 years ago) had their four "favorites" that made all the money, the rest of us got per hour. I left and went into electronics for the Federal Government. I can work on old Mopars, but sometimes I need help with these newer engines and all of their sensors, codes, etc.

Larry

So, given your hoity toity credentials, why did you ask --on a newsgroup-- a question about your *own* car's repair?

I took that into consideration before replying. It did seem like you were touting your credentials as if they validated your diagnosis of the OP's complaint, so I found the two concepts to be contradictory to one another.

This is where I'm confused. Has the testing of voltage, resistance, and DC motors changed in 30 years? That would be surprising to find out, but I was diagnosing Chutes n' Ladders 30 years ago so anything is possible.

Things haven't changed much RE: favorites.

I left and went into electronics for the Federal Government. I can work on

'Etc' as in resistor blocks? What did the government use to drop current to a DC load?

Toyota MDT in MO

Relpaced the resistor Monday afternoon, still seems to be working OK. Thanks all for the advice.

This is interesting because my 99 Ram VAn blower is doing the same thing. Unless somone says otherwise I'll assume it's fixed the same way. Mine went out in very cold weather also.

snipped-for-privacy@email.com wrote:

I jumped the gun on this call, apparently. Symptoms have resumed. Is the blower motor next on the list?

Yup, that would be next in the logical progression, as was previously mentioned here...

But also be sure the blower housing isn't getting filled with moisture and "freezing" which will also burn out the resistors - very good idea to leave the vehicle parked with the blower on HIGH, which takes the somewhat fragile resistor pack out of the equation. Not very likely to be a shorted armature either. More likely sticky bearings

Just thought of another "issue". If the air inlet is plugged and the fan is on other than high speed, there is insufficient airflow past the resistor pack to keep it cool, so it is more likely to burn out.

Again, the SAFE way is to ALWAYS start with the fan on high. It does more for your defrost that way anyway, so why not??