1995 SL2
188k miles
A/C works fine, good pressures
Blower motor good (bench tested)
Blower resistors good (bench tested)
Blower relay good (bench tested)
Blower switch good (bench tested)
Alternator output checked
Battery checked
All fuses good

Problem:
Turn on A/C and blower runs fine for about 5 minutes then it slows down and sometimes stops. Same results on any blower speed. Blower light dims as blower speed decreases.
Any solutions?

 

Excellent post by testing individual parts before asking a question! The blower testing good on the bench and then slowing down in the car with the blower light also dimming would indicate a wiring problem that may be due to connector issues. Loose, melted plastic connectors associated with the blower control to the blower would be a good start to look at. A visual check at all the wiring connectors associated with the a/c and heater might reveal something in the way of one or several pins lose in their sockets requiring disconnecting each connector to examine them up close.You might start at the blower motor connector, disconnect it and examine it closely for burned, loose, corroded pins/sockets, and melted insulation along the length of the wires. Work back from there to the dash controlling the blower speed and the resistor card/wiring/connectors. You'll eventually find the cause. Be sure the blower spins freely and isn't binding anywhere to load down the circuit any more than it already does. Last place is the fuse panel powering the blower as the wiring into the back may be suspect also - loose in their terminal connections.

 

Thanks for the suggestions ducky. Pulled connectors and examined wiring best I could without disassembling car. One thing I do like about this model/year Saturn is the ease in working inside the dash with the way the top of the dash is removeable. Pretty sweet. Anyway, after looking in my $80 worth of Genuine 1995 Saturn Technical Manuals, unfortunately, things are starting to point towards the PCM and I don't even want to go there. In the meantime I'm wiring a stopgap switch from the blower to B+ so I can monitor and runit athigh speed. It's just puzzling that something is draining off about 5 volts from the blower and it barely runson 7V.


Edited by: MINICooperS

 

Draining 5v leaving 7v is very odd to say the least. Something is dropping the supply voltage, as I wrote previously, the main power feed from the fused supply in and around the wiring. Something loose that drops the current that much should be obvious visually. This is definitely a hands-on approach to finding the cause of such a large voltage drop.

 

Update; Today I pulled the IP blower relay completely out of the circuitand ranthe hot wire feeding it directlyto the fan and got the same results. This is with the blower installed. Then I removed the blower from the housing and ran it with the same hot wire and it seems to run properly as it did on the bench. [img]smileys/smiley32.gif[/img]The plot thickens![img]smileys/smiley5.gif[/img]

 

Oooooooooooooh, this is getting exciting! [img]smileys/smiley3.gif[/img]I love adventures when I'm being lead around !? [img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]Edited by: ducky

 

HOUSTON . . . . . we no longer have a problem here . . . . .


Looks like my blower motor was the culprit after all, even though it ran fine while on the bench, with no heat buildup.Dismounted it and let it hang, connected, and drove for a few miles with the A/C on high and it steadily got slower and slower. Checked it with an ohm meter and both pins were shorted to the case and case was supper hot. New blower motor at dealer $161.00 New blower motor at CSKautoparts$51.34 after 5% discount tobeat competitors price. Now I'm a real cool and happy camper. After 12 years, I STILL LOVE THIS CAR!!![img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]Edited by: MINICooperS

 

C o o o l !


[img]smileys/smiley32.gif[/img] [img]smileys/smiley3.gif[/img] [img]smileys/smiley31.gif[/img] [img]smileys/smiley32.gif[/img] [img]smileys/smiley16.gif[/img]

 

10Edited by: MINICooperS