I can't say whether this was the case before the relay swap because I always had the blower going at least on the lowest position before I keyed the a/c button...however, I still have the old relay (by the way, the sealed compartment where the relays are, under the hood was unbelieveably clean when I removed the cover, looked brand new in there) and if it becomes an important point of question I will swap the old one back in and try it...