Blower Motor Problem Fixed - w/pics

[TZ250]

Everyone, AF is a fantastic forum with many friendly, knowledgeable and helpful members. I just fixed my 2000 Astro heater problem and thought that I'd include a few pictures for those searching in the future.

BTW, it has 126,000 miles.

I bought a new resistor/relay from the parts store. After removing the coolant overflow tank and the winshield wiper fluid tank, I could see the purple wire going into an oblong shape at the bottom of the heater box. I did not enlarge the slot as some recommend. Instead, I simply snipped the four prongs off of the new relay/resistor and it fit perfectly.

After that was complete, I checked for blower motor funcition. Nothing. So I tapped on the case and the blower motor started turning. I then went back to the parts store and bought a new blower motor. The original relay looked awful, and there were signs of arcing on one of the leads.

The most helpful tool that I used to cut through the case (on the seam) was a fine tooth sawblade made for a sawzall type saw. Naturally, I wrapped it in tape to protect my hands. The cutting was the most difficult part of the entire project. Once that was done, the cover came off and the blower was easily removed with a few screws.

Only the pictures of the original relay/resistor are taken with a decent camera. The other pictures were taken with my cellphone. I reduced the quality and size of all images for a faster download.

The total cost of the repair was $95. Everything now works perfectly.

This didn't work. Notice that the red wire on the new relay was purple from GM.


This was a very handy tool.


It's rough, I know. There may be a better way to cut it, but I'm not aware of it. This is my first blower motor replacement.


Crispy:


Fried: