1989 Blower motor problems

I have a 1989 Buick Lesabre that is not blowing any heat or air conditioning out of the vents. I can hear the blower motor working just fine but I don't feel any air from the vents.

I live in Canada and winter is just around the bend. I need heat or I'll die. Somebody please give me an idea of what I need to look at.

Just to let you know what I have done so far

I changed the blower motor - I don't think I needed to do that but I wasn't sure if the old one was turning the fan. The new one does exactly the same thing as the old one therefore I don't think the problem is with the blower motor.

The coolant levels are good but that isn't the concern anyhow because I just don't get air out of the vents.

I should clarify one little point. If I crank the fan to high I get a tiny trickle of air but not enough to defrost the window on a cold day.


Conan

Try looking under the hood, on the firewall, near the master cylinder for a vacuum hose going to a vacuum accumulator box. One rubber hose for engine vacuum goes to it and there will be another plastic hose from your heater/ac that connects to it. Your vents in the heater/ac are accuated by vacuum. Check for dryrotted hoses. The default setting on the heater/ac is to send the air out the defroster/heater ports.

I tried what you suggested Yogi but the vacuum hoses and connectors look fine. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm looking for all options before I need to take this thing in.

This blower problem sure is a pain. If you have any other ideas I would appreciate them.

These cars have had big time Evaporator problems, you may have to remove the switch on the firewall (Inside Engine Compartment), to see if the Evaporator core is possible clogged. When the Evap leaks, all the debris going through the heater box collects on the core, thus no Air Flow.

Hope this info helps, If this is your problem I'll tell ya a Cheap Fix!


Good Luck

Mr.Rob

Lic Mech Auto/Truck/Trailer Ect...

Mr. Rob

What does this Evaporator switch look like exactly. I have the Haynes manual but it doesn't say anything about a evaporator switch. Is there another name?

I have a feeling you might be on to something with it being clogged with debris. As I said above everything works but end result is no air or heat comming out of vents.

I welcome your cheap fix. Thanks in advance.


Conan

I believe Mr. Rob refers to the switch that is on the firewall that will mount in the blower chamber. It's a unit about 4"x2" with three small mounting screws that controls the variable speeds of the blower motor. It's located immediately left of the blower motor as seen from the engine compartment. There may be a rain guard plastic shield above it that may have to be removed. Removal of this switch gives you access to the heater core/evaporator core for purposes of cleaning out any junk collected in there.

Well if you want you A/C to work next summer you must replace the evaporator, but if you can live with out it, here is what I do.

Buy A Enviromentally Friendly Degreaser (EG: Simply Green), remove Heater switch, spray Degreaser as best you can towards evap coil, it might be tight but you should be able to see a bit of it.

Let Degreaser sit for say 20 mins, then get out the garden hose and wash it out, hopefully your evap drain isn't clogged, you then should see dirty water coming out the drain, re-check coil should be fairly clean, you may notice a smell so you should run the car with heater on high, it will go away (The Smell Of Course).

Good Luck And I hope the next reply is (I HAVE HEAT!)

Mr.Rob

Lic Mech Auto/Truck/Trailer Ect.....

Do you hear anything like air releasing (pssssst)
or baffles opening or closing near the AC function switch when you change the switch position? The vacuum hoses connect to the back of the function switch in the dash. If the connection is open, the baffles may remain closed.

I'm going to give the degreaser idea a try. I'll let you all know how it worked. But I won't do this until the weekend. By the way I don't care about the airconditioning just the heat.

I have plenty of free airconditioning in Canada

I meant the heater/vent/def switch. As you change the position, baffles close and open in the dash.

Let me know if you have a luck with this problem. I have the same issue with the 93 that i have. I have taken the entire dash out and not had any luck. Also replaced the fan and motor, still the same problem. The only thing left is to try to get to the front side of the evaporator. Big job and winters coming..... Thanks Randy

I would say that there is an 80% chance you will find a restriction on the evaporator core, it you remove the switch on the firewall there is enough room to spray a degreaser (Simply Green) or other, then put the hose to it, all the debris will come out the bottom of the heater box.

Good Luck!

Mr.Rob

Lic Mech Auto/Truck/Trailer Ect...

Just an update . I did have problems with the evaporator. replaced it and no problems. I now have heat.

NICE to see you now have HEAT!

Mr.Rob

Lic Mech Auto/Truck/Trailer Ect...!

Just an update . I did have problems with the evaporator. replaced it and no problems. I now have heat.

As a curiosity, what area do you live in and what did the evap replacement cost ? I have a similar problem and I live in Saskatchewan [Canada]. It's been absolutely FRIGID lately, and I'd like to get some heat on my drivers side...

I Tried It To And It Worked Had Same Problem On 89 Lesabre Banged My Head For A Year!thanks!!!

approx. 1 year later and, i hate to bring back a dead topic, but winter is around the bend for me also and seeing as how I am Canadian I need heat or I too, will die.

I am having the exact same problem and I am going to try the Evaporator technique... if that doesn't work I'll let ya know....

btw my symptoms are exactly the same as conan7's.

uhm.... if i slam my glovebox the heater turns on, and once again this only happens in the cold. the colder the day the more i have to slam the glovebox to make the heater work. it is getting really unbearable and i really hope someone can point me in the right direction.