Toyota Echo Blower Motors

[PloddingInsight]

Hi folks, can anybody shed light on this issue I'm having.

A while back my blower motor stopped blowing, so there was no airflow for the heat/AC in my Toyota Echo.  I replaced the blower motor, and turned the car on.  It worked fine -- for a handful of seconds, and then promptly quit on me!  Later while driving I turned on the airflow switch just to verify that the new blower motor really wasn't working.  No blowing, and then a smell of burning plastic started wafting into the car!  I quickly turned off the airflow switch and aired out the vehicle.

Here's my thoughts.  It's not a fuse because the new blower motor worked for a few seconds before dying and burning up.  There's something called a blower motor resistor, and I suspect the problem is there.  I ordered another blower motor and a new blower motor resistor.  However it sounds like a bad resistor will result in the blower only working at high power -- but mine doesn't work at all.  So it might be some other kind of electrical problem.

[Greg]

I would look first at your ducts/housing, it may be full of debris or nesting material.  This is a common occurrence where I live in the country.

Then double check the motor/housing for interference other than debris, like a flap out of place or some other way of jamming the fan.

The resistor could have been the problem all along, usually they are in the airflow to keep them cool and so that could be the cause of the smell you experienced.  But, usually the fan will work on full speed even when the resistor fails.

[commodore perry]

I had a similar problem once. Replaced the blower motor and no still bueno. Thought about it for awhile and had an epiphany. The electrical connections for the fan speed controller were bad and the signal to make the blower fan blow wasn't getting to the blower (that was my theory anyway - turned out to be correct). Turns out there was nothing wrong with the blower fan and I was able to return and get a refund :) I was just starting out w/ a 10 year old car my dad sold me for $1 so I was trying to make every dollar count!

I had to go to the dealer to get the right electrical connections since they were unique but $15 later I was up and running (I had to replace the connections myself but I like doing that). Not sure if that is your problem but worth looking into.

[MikeBear]

Look around the inside firewall under the dashboard by the glove compartment. There is likely a blower motor "resistor pack" installed there that fried, and is causing your blower fan issue. I had that problem on a Chevy Prizm/Toyota Corrolla. Very common with Toyota models. Very inexpensive to replace, once I figured it out. Only takes pulling off a plug, and then a nut driver to unscrew it from the wall. The hardest part is laying your body across the passenger seat upside down, to get your head under there.

Once you remove it, you can easily see that it's frizzled (if it is fried). In your case, it may be both a bad fan motor AND a bad resistor. So they both should have been replaced at the same time.