Car all of a sudden stopped blowing heat/ cold

Question

We went to leave yesterday and everything was working fine. We got to the end of the driveway and our heater just stopped blowing. We tried the air too with no luck. We just changed the blower motor resistor because it just looked bad but that didn't fix the issue. We also check the fuses and those were fine as well. Could it be the blower Motor itself? -- car is a n '02 Pontiac Aztek

Answer 1

It could possibly be the blower motor, but before replacing it, you'll want to see if that is actually the problem. Considering you've changed out the resistor pack already, the blower motor is a likely problem area. Usually when it goes out, it will let you know about it well beforehand. A fan doesn't normally just "die", so you'd probably have heard something recently if it was the issue ... doesn't mean it didn't die, just means it's less likely. It will start making noises, especially you'll hear a change in pitch/tone while taking off or stopping. The running fan will push against the bushings it rides on differently at these times and the noise it makes will change. If you haven't been hearing these kinds of noises, more than likely the fan is probably still functional.

You can check the fan motor by applying power directly to the motor. If it runs, you know you need to look somewhere else.

The other area which could be an issue is the fan speed switch itself. If you pull the power plug from the resistor pack, you should be able to check to ensure there is power there when the fan switch is in the on position (with the key on, etc) using a digital multi-meter (DMM).

I don't see a relay associated with this, so don't believe you would be able to look there for an issue.

Hope this helps.