Front AC blower stopped working (1 Viewer)

[art5519]

Greetings!

This morning cold air stopped blowing from any of the front vents on my 200 lc (2009). Rear vents work fine as well as the cool box. I tried different combinations for the screen AC/blower settings but can't get them to work. I do hear the blower at work as I increase the fan speed through controls, but no air is coming out, may be just a tiny bit.

Been raining heavily since yesterday, not sure if this has anything to do with this (car is parked outside).

Any ideas on what this could be or what to check?

Thank you!

 

[RET2]

Fuses?

 

[art5519]

Fuses?

Haven't checked them. Been raining heavy. I am in Austin, Texas, hurricane harvey has made it's way all the way here. Suppose to rain all next week too, looking for a good window to check the fuses. Thank you!

 

[RET2]

Be safe first and foremost, hard to envision that much rain with mid 80's temps. If you google the year you can get a drwg of the fuse layout so to don't have to stand on your head and squint. My advice is to replace it as opposed to pulling and looking at it, looks can be deceiving. Good luck let us know the final outcome.

 

[art5519]

Finally managed to get the car under a roof and located what seems to be the right fuse based on the diagram. However, I can't get to that particular fuse block (can get to all others fine). Attaching some picture: (1) fuse cover showing diagram (2), fuse block where #23 (HTR 50A) should be located and (3) close up of the area.

I can see though the small plastic window, but not seeing any fuses there. Also not seeing how to get inside that particular block (with small plastic windows), the plastic frame seems to be part of the main fuse cover. It almost seems that the diagram is not correct, but that's the diagram that came with the car, so not sure how that's possible.

Any help is appreciated!

Attaching 3 images.

 

[RET2]

Another thing to check is the distribution setting ie: dash vent or floor or a combo of both? There is a menu that shows on the screen that shows where you are directing air flow

 

[art5519]

Another thing to check is the distribution setting ie: dash vent or floor or a combo of both? There is a menu that shows on the screen that shows where you are directing air flow

I've tried all the possible combinations and doesn't seem to make any difference. When I increase the fan speed - I hear what sounds like a blower increasing speed somewhere inside the dash, and some air does come out in front, but very little, may be 1-5% of normal

 

[KLF]

I just looked at mine and it looks exactly the same. The fusible links are there, they are vertical. But I have no idea how to get down in there to get a closer look at them.

It sounds to me like you have a damper that is not opening.

 

[RET2]

Now we're getting somewhere, sounds like a distribution issue. Does the display show the change from flloor to dash vent when you change where you want the air to go?

 

[art5519]

Now we're getting somewhere, sounds like a distribution issue. Does the display show the change from flloor to dash vent when you change where you want the air to go?

Yes, display is showing correctly as I change from floor to dash etc.

 

[RET2]

That pretty much isolates the issue to the actuator not functioning properly. Just winging it here but perhaps there is a fuse for that motor?Just need to figure out what it's called? Maybe called a diverter? Pull up Auto Genius and look for your year for a diagram and description of fuse placement. For whatever reason the piece that diverts the air one way or another isn't working properly

 

[art5519]

Interesting development, the car was sitting in the garage while I was troubleshooting the fuses, just now I drove it to run an errand and blower started working. Feels like it's at ~50-60% of normal air flow now.

I have a strong suspicion this has to do with the rain situation here. Water is getting somewhere directly or humidity and affecting the blower. Need to figure out where that is.

 

[RET2]

Concur, at least you're partially operative

 

[stridertexas]

I’m having the same issue as the OP when I am trying to get heat out of my vents.

When the outside temps are hotter, and my climate settings are set to cooler, I can get more A/C blown out of the vents.

But it seems when heat is needed, the fan is on quite high (from me setting it) and practically nothing comes out of the vents....

More investigation underway. Any ideas would be helpful

 

[LCKAM]

Interesting development, the car was sitting in the garage while I was troubleshooting the fuses, just now I drove it to run an errand and blower started working. Feels like it's at ~50-60% of normal air flow now.

I have a strong suspicion this has to do with the rain situation here. Water is getting somewhere directly or humidity and affecting the blower. Need to figure out where that is.

Hi! did you find out what it was and the fix? I have exactly the same issue and concur that it is moisture related. It rains like 5 times a year here and this problem just started after the last thunderstorm.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Kam

 

[KLF]

So here's something to check. Recently my wife mentioned the heat in our Highlander seemed really weak, very little air coming out of the vents, despite setting the fan on High, and you could hear the blower running.

Pulled the cabin air filter to replace it last night, found a HUGE mouse nest on top of the filter, size of a football. Shredded insulation and rags, filter was totally clogged. Bastids. I had just replaced that filter in October, 8000 miles ago. All better now.

Don't forget to raise the damper by setting Recirc before opening the door in the glove box.

 

[LCKAM]

Thank you KLF, will pull it out and take a look now.

Checked, No rats nest. Filter looks ok, but maybe needs some cleaning. Will get it changed tomorrow.

 

[art5519]

Hi! did you find out what it was and the fix? I have exactly the same issue and concur that it is moisture related. It rains like 5 times a year here and this problem just started after the last thunderstorm.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Kam

Nope, haven't had the issue since. After all the rain stopped and car dried up - the fan went back to full capacity. Definitely something is going on with moisture and electrical systems.

 

[Mutant]

Change your cabin air filter first to see if that's the cause. Mine gets so clogged/dirty that air will not blow through. This is every month in my driving conditions.

 

[ForrestGrump]

Same thing happened to me this winter. Replace the blower sub assembly. Remove the panel under the passenger side glovebox, remove the radar (1 screw), then drop out the blower (3 screws and unplug the wiring harness). Finally slap in the new one. Takes about 30 mins tops.