I'm wondering if anyone has a part number for a suitable replacement for the HVAC blower motor brushes. I've been having trouble with my LH blower motor working intermittently, and vibrating.

Had to drop the steering column (non-airbag '92) which made the removal WAY easier than the last time years ago, when I managed to do it without dropping the column...

I found one of the three mounting bolts for the fan assembly was loose, allowing movement which would throw the fan out of balance and/or allow it to make contact with the housing, preventing it from getting up to speed.

Relays are good and I can hear them clicking when switching on the Climate Control panel. I cleaned the contacts too. After tightening the mounting bolts up, I checked the brushes and they were low. One was rough so I sanded the brushes and the armature with 400 grit paper until they were smooth and shiny. I reinstalled the fan AND... Nothing... Turns out the brushes weren't seated all the way onto the armature. I suppose I should replace the springs too. I gave them a little stretch for now, but I'm sure they aren't applying as much pressure as they should be.

I have collected a NOS LH demister flap and a good used RH demister flap. I am planning on removing the dash, removing all the old deteriorated foam that I'm sure is clogging everything up, replacing the foam and replacing my original demister flaps. (one is leaky causing the windscreen to fog in the summer, and the other seems to be broken and making a loud bang in the dash when actuated).

On thing at a time!

-Nick

 

Nick - I think there's a post in the archive about modifying the shape of some easily available brushes for the blower motors.

Larry

 

Hi Nick,

If you can measure your old brushes, it's usually easy to match them up with new power tool brushes for common drills and such (DeWalt, Porter Cable, Black & Decker, Milwaukee, etc.)

The brushes may need to be cut/sanded to the final size. I usually have to shorten them a little to get the retaining clips to go on.

Let us know how you do, and please post some photos!

Cheers,

Don

 

Very cool.

I've changed brushes exactly ONCE before, on an old school Kirby vacuum cleaner, no less, so I don't have much experience in the brush replacement department.

Glad to hear they are easily modified to the correct size. I'd imagine I'll probably have to solder on the original spade connectors to match.

I'll coerce the blower motor out again (4th time) and measure up the brushes to order a couple sets. I'm going to order some craft foam sheets, as you've mentioned in the past for replacing the missing foam on the recirc door flap. Thanks for that, Don!

Thanks guys!

 

Yes, so you don't have to worry too much about what type of terminals the new brushes have, just that their leads appear to be long enough for your purposes.


If you have a Hobby Lobby in your area, they stock a selection of the craft foam sheets so you can pick out the thickness closest to your need. I seem to recall that the sheets I used were maybe a little thinner than 1/8" but thicker than 1/16", so maybe 3/32" or 2mm?

Cheers,

Don