Heater/AC Fan Removal?

[mrwuf]

Thanks for this thread and detailed pics. Made me decide not to do it, as dealer install was only $510. I'd have to pay for $141 diagnostic fee either way. They didn't find any debris in there, just a broken fin. But it's plastic like so many parts these days, so it could have easily broken off.

It's not even 1 payment on the Model 3 we'll order, so I'm trying not to be too upset, but at only 32 k mi, it seems premature to already have such issues. I didn't have AC problems on my Accord until 90 k mi.

[sub3marathonman]

I thought I'd add my experience with this.

I too had the problems with the fan, and removed it only to find everything completely clean. I asked the Nissan dealer, and they said it could be a fuse, or the motor could be bad. They could check it for their diagnostic fee. I declined. I took the motor out again, this time hooked it up and tried it. It seemed to spin, but not with a huge amount of power.

So I took the chance and ordered the blower motor, which now ends up at $200 with tax. And worried that it was the fuse and I wasted $200 because I couldn't return a special order item.

It was easy to replace, put it right back in, turned the A/C on and it was cold again! So it was the blower motor, and I noticed the new one has a different part number, so maybe it has been redesigned slightly.

But it was easy enough to pull the glove compartment and get it switched with the helpful photos in this thread. The only place I had a bit of a problem was removing the Glove Compartment Light, I thought I broke it but found that the little tab just hadn't snapped back out.

[LeftieBiker]

Those are brushed motors, so if yours is a 2012 I can see the brushes getting worn after years of running it at higher speeds. A blown fuse wouldn't allow the fan to run slowly...

[rivcyclist]

Thanks to all who posted the picts and shared info. I bought a used 2015 SL about 3 months ago. This morning I turned on the AC on low speed and I heard a rattle, like a card that kids would stick in bicycle wheels (do they still do that?) I turned up the fan speed and it sounded horrendous and it was shaking the car with a nasty vibration. I did a google search and this forum entry popped up right away. My car hit 30k last month and it's due for the cabin air filter so I went ahead and followed all the instructions to get a new cabin filter installed and to remove the blower. There turned out to be a dried up leaf inside, by the looks of it from a japanese maple tree over my driveway. I reached in the chamber and found a few other dried leaves and bits and pieces of stuff. I put the blower back on and plugged it in, and fired up the fan to make sure all was good. There was another rattle again not as bad as the first time but still there. I quickly got the fan out again and there was a smaller leaf in there, it must have made its way through the system. Removed the leaf, installed the fan, plugged it and and this time the test passed, it's all quiet and normal now. This took about 1 hour for me, taking my time and cleaning as I went. Next time I could do it in half the time. Still not sure how several leaves got in there, but oh well. Sure liked saving money from the dealership and bonding with the Leaf. Thanks! Tom.

[eded]

Thanks to these instruction, I removed the squirrel nest in the blower motor.

My car was stored away for the last two years, and squirrels made it a stingy dwelling area. I had to do these 1. Removing all the debris, 2. Washing the blower motor, 3. Replace the cabin air filter; 4. Clean under the windshield/wiper motor area.

After doing all these, I still smell the odor when I turn on the fan.

How to remove the odor further?
Is there a way to clean the air intake tube/track? I suspect some debris might still be in the outside air intake track.

[OakLeaf]

I'll add my thanks and gratitude for this thread with all the very helpful photos and comments.

After following the procedure for our 2012, found the fan and air cavity packed with acorns and other debris.

Wound up doing the fan removal several times as debris continued to blow into the fan from elsewhere in the system as the vent mode (internal air / external air) was changed despite my best attempts at vacuuming out the fan cavity and feeling around to make sure everything had been removed.

Fortunately, I had tried the fan and discovered this before putting the glove compartment back in.