Fan not working

Hi all,

Haven't posted here in years, mostly because my 3 has been worry-free :P. Unfortunately, last night I noticed my fan wasn't working at all when I went out for a quick drive. It has been working well until now (i.e., it didn't slowly die, just stopped working).

I'm looking for advice on what I should look at to help diagnose the problem.

Things I'm thinking could be causing the problem.

1) Blown fuse
2) A relay needs replacement (saw some stuff about this online)
3) Blower motor
4) Cabin air filter -- I replaced it < 40K kms ago, but I'm wondering if it could be really backed up or something.


Thoughts? Recommendations?

Cheers

so is it not giving air flow or just plain not working at all?

Could be the blower motor resistor as well. Happened on my jeep.

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Originally Posted by silverstarmazda

so is it not giving air flow or just plain not working at all?

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I don't feel any air flow at all.

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Originally Posted by thefish

I don't feel any air flow at all.

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but do you hear the fan/blower working on all levels?

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Originally Posted by silverstarmazda

but do you hear the fan/blower working on all levels?

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Hmm. It wasn't silent, but it wasn't very loud. I'm not sure how to tell.

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Originally Posted by thefish

Hmm. It wasn't silent, but it wasn't very loud. I'm not sure how to tell.

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What I mean is I don't think I could hear a difference between fan off vs. fan on.

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Originally Posted by thefish

Hmm. It wasn't silent, but it wasn't very loud. I'm not sure how to tell.

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so it sounds like a slow constant speed on all speeds?

if so, i had something like this when i had my blower on high with heat for a while. i just turned my car off and back on and it fixed itself :/ its only happened once ever

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Originally Posted by silverstarmazda

so it sounds like a slow constant speed on all speeds?

if so, i had something like this when i had my blower on high with heat for a while. i just turned my car off and back on and it fixed itself :/ its only happened once ever

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In hindsight I probably should have analysed the situation more closely (i.e., fan on with engine off to hear it better). It's possible it starts working again when I check it tonight. Though I did try restarting the engine a few times last night, and it did not fix the problem.

if it doesn't blow strong at max speed on the dial, then it's either a wiring fault, bad switch, or bad motor... resistor has nothing to do with this

Checked again tonight -- looks like the fan is absolutely dead right now. My plan is to check if the fuse is blown, and if not, replace the relay. Fingers crossed the motor isn't busted.

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Originally Posted by TheMAN

if it doesn't blow strong at max speed on the dial, then it's either a wiring fault, bad switch, or bad motor... resistor has nothing to do with this

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True. The jeep blew at max speed only.

If high speeds only work, 9/10 its the blower motor resistor.
If low speeds only work its most likely the high speed relay.
If nothing works most likely it is the blower motor itself. Unfortunately its hidden up inside the dash and is very hard to get to.. Mazda 3s rarely have wiring issues but it is a possibility.

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Originally Posted by MazdaMike02

If high speeds only work, 9/10 its the blower motor resistor.
If low speeds only work its most likely the high speed relay.
If nothing works most likely it is the blower motor itself. Unfortunately its hidden up inside the dash and is very hard to get to.. Mazda 3s rarely have wiring issues but it is a possibility.

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Thanks, I'll probably try replacing the relay before looking at the blower motor.

I finally got some time in the daylight to look into this.

1) Fuses do not appear to be blown (blower motor fuse under the hood, as well as the AC/heat control unit fuse in the car)
2) Blower motor relay is working (swapped it with the starter relay, which is exactly the same)

One thing I did notice was that my front heated seats no longer appear to be working (also checked the fuse for that, which appears to be fine). The heated seats were my only source of heat in the car, so I noticed pretty quickly that they were not doing anything.

I'm fresh out of ideas. I know replacing the blower motor is a monster job, so I'm looking for any more advice from you guys before I go down that road! :)


Thanks!

sad to say, but if thats the only way to go then its the only way to go.... lets just hope our cars arnt like the ones the require the entire dash to come out.

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Originally Posted by silverstarmazda

sad to say, but if thats the only way to go then its the only way to go.... lets just hope our cars arnt like the ones the require the entire dash to come out.

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I agree. I'm hoping the '09 is not as complicated as the earlier 3s, though I haven't really been able to get good documentation on it.

Update. The problem is not the blower. I ended up hitting the centre console several times, and the fan started up. Pretty insane. I'm guessing there's a loose connection from the switch or something.

Anyone know if it's easy to get behind there and make sure everything is straitened out? Or should I just leave it and hope it doesn't happen again?

Yes just pop the cup holders out its really easy.

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Originally Posted by MazdaMike02

Yes just pop the cup holders out its really easy.

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Thanks. Do you know where I can find instructions?

For the center console?

Google short shifter install. Twm and krystams garage have how to's.

i think he means the hvac dials. if the op has manual hvac then it would make sense that the wires behind fan speed are loose (since its the only dial thats digital. the other 2 being cable).

removal is hard but there are some walkthroughs for removal. look for "mazda 3 hvac bulb replacement" or something similar as they both require removal of the dials.

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Originally Posted by peterm15

For the center console?

Google short shifter install. Twm and krystams garage have how to's.

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Thanks, that worked.

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Originally Posted by silverstarmazda

i think he means the hvac dials. if the op has manual hvac then it would make sense that the wires behind fan speed are loose (since its the only dial thats digital. the other 2 being cable).

removal is hard but there are some walkthroughs for removal. look for "mazda 3 hvac bulb replacement" or something similar as they both require removal of the dials.

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Yup. You're right. The short shifter install tutorial I found didn't require getting behind the HVAC dials (http://www.mazda3forums.com/showthread.php?t=302883).

Oh sry.

I cant remember exactly but youll need to remove the shifter section and the ashtray area. Possibly even the radio. Sounds worse then it is.

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Originally Posted by peterm15

Oh sry.

I cant remember exactly but youll need to remove the shifter section and the ashtray area. Possibly even the radio. Sounds worse then it is.

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this, you need to get access to the screws. then apply a bit of magic to actually get the thing out far enough to see whats the problem. its a really stubborn piece to work with, but at least you dont need to mess around with the blower motor now lol

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Originally Posted by silverstarmazda

this, you need to get access to the screws. then apply a bit of magic to actually get the thing out far enough to see whats the problem. its a really stubborn piece to work with, but at least you dont need to mess around with the blower motor now lol

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Fair enough :D. I'll report back next weekend when I crack it open and see what's in there.

I know mine basically falls out. So mine might be easier then normal.

Last update on this. I decided to be lazy and not take out the dash to tighten any potentially loose connections. The fan has been working without problem for a week.