Author Topic: Weak Air Blowing from Car Vents  (Read 10289 times)

llorona

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Weak Air Blowing from Car Vents
« on: July 10, 2017, 10:39:39 PM »
The interior air flow coming through the vents on my 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT has been getting noticeably weaker. The flow is the same regardless of whether I turn on the A/C or heater and whether the air is recirculated. There are no funky smells. The heating & cooling temperature controls appear to be working fine - it's just a matter of the air not blowing.

So far I have checked and cleaned the vents near the windshield and under the hood, inspected hoses for holes, and replaced the cabin air filter. None of this has made any difference.

I know virtually nothing about cars, but I'm willing to attempt easy fixes. After reading up on the issue and looking at YouTube videos, I'm thinking my course of action may be:

1. Replace the heat/AC motor blower.
2. If that doesn't work, replace the heat/AC motor blower resistor.
3. If that doesn't work, give up and take the car to the mechanic.

Does anyone have advice or insight?

Clean Shaven

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Re: Weak Air Blowing from Car Vents
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2017, 07:44:12 AM »
I had a vehicle that did this - it was the resistor. Cheap and easy fix. You're on the right track, I bet it is either the resistor or the blower motor.

Car Jack

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Re: Weak Air Blowing from Car Vents
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2017, 11:47:55 AM »
Some systems have blowers that are easily removable with the squirrel cage coming out with it.  If your car is like that, remove it and expect to find a nest, hair and string in, around and nearby the blower.  Clean it out.  If it's one of the cars where you have to essentially take out everything from the radiator to the gas tank just to look at the blower, then I don't know........live with the low flow?

Oh, I thought of one more thing that might help.  Does your car have a cabin filter?  Personally, I think these are the stupidest thing ever invented, but whatever.  Remove that, gut it and then put it back in just to keep the area sealed.  You might even find that this opens up the flow.

llorona

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Re: Weak Air Blowing from Car Vents
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2017, 03:13:38 PM »
Thank you very much for the replies! Really appreciate it. It's good to know I'm going in the right direction.

Yes, I already replaced the cabin air filter. Didn't help.

Looking at videos and diagrams, it seems reasonably easy (albeit awkward) to reach the blower so I'll try that next.

Clean Shaven

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Re: Weak Air Blowing from Car Vents
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2017, 03:42:28 PM »
Here's an easy and free thing you could try -- 

I had a vehicle (old GM truck) where the blend doors got partially stuck.  (Blend doors are what divert air from the defrost vs straight ahead vs on your feet.)  Google suggested this, which I tried, and it worked:  set the selection knob to blow straight ahead, put fan on 1 (or off if available).  Disconnect battery negative terminal.  Open a door (drain remaining charge in system by trying to turn on dome light).  Wait 10 min, reconnect battery.

This helped reset the blend door actuators, at least temporarily. 

Spork

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Re: Weak Air Blowing from Car Vents
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2017, 09:00:46 AM »
Here's an easy and free thing you could try -- 

I had a vehicle (old GM truck) where the blend doors got partially stuck.  (Blend doors are what divert air from the defrost vs straight ahead vs on your feet.)  Google suggested this, which I tried, and it worked:  set the selection knob to blow straight ahead, put fan on 1 (or off if available).  Disconnect battery negative terminal.  Open a door (drain remaining charge in system by trying to turn on dome light).  Wait 10 min, reconnect battery.

This helped reset the blend door actuators, at least temporarily.

I second the blend door suggestion.  I had this issue on a Ford truck.  The blend door first would stick somewhere in the middle... then broke altogether.  I'd head up a hill and it would "clunk" and be diverted toward the heater core.  Over the hill and head downward... "Clunk".  Now the AC would work.

I first fixed it with a huge pain in the ass kludge.  I had to remove the entire dash to get at it.  You couldn't buy the part, so I used Bubba engineering and made a working replacement.  That lasted about 4 years.  When it broke, I found an awesome online source that made a steel replacement part.  They made it in 2 pieces such that you didn't have to remove the dash.  Instead, you removed the glove box and made a surgical cut into the air handler that you then repaired with metallic peel-n-stick duct tape.