Hello, yesterday I finally dug my 78 volare out of the 30" of snow that has accumulated. I let it sit and idle for a while and accidently shut the defroster off. When I came back I tried to get the defroster/heater to work but the fan will not turn on. The heater blower fuse is not blown, no fuses are blown. What could be the next most likely cause of the problem? My Chilton's auto manual has the directions for replacing the heater blower motor, and it says Warning: This is a major disassembly project! Before I go tearing my whole car apart I wanted to consult with you knowledgable people first... Thanks ahead of time!

You should be able to pull the wires off the top of the box from under the dash and test them. If the motor is not the problem then you don't have to pull the box. It might help to pull the glovebox and have a look from the top of the heater box without a mirror or broken neck.

On my early '70s darts the heater box was really easy. There's a kit on ebay that is reccomended. It has all the foam parts you need to restore proper sealing and operation- if you do take it apart you might as well. Kit is like $30 and get some good spray adhesive.

If you have A/C it might be a little harder. The dart box just unhook the wire linkages and defroster tubes, pull a couple spade connectors for the wires, then the motor is riveted to the box from the firewall side. Pull the 3 nuts from the engine side of the firewall (blower motor sticks out into engine compartment) and the 'J' hook inside the fresh air vent and the whole shebang pulls back and drops down into the passenger floor. Oh yeah, don't forget to unhook the heater hoses. I blew into one to get most of the antifreeze to come out the other into a bucket to reduce the amount on my passenger floor.

Once it is out there are little metal clips holding a cardboard piece on that is the back of the fiberglass box. I think you need to drill the rivets out to pull the motor? I'm not sure.

Anyway, it's an easy job but doing it right will definitely take a nite and possibly a trip to the store depending on how set up you are for this kind of stuff.

Don't forget I am speaking from 72-73 A-body experience. Non A/C. So this might not apply...

Good luck.

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madam im adam

Well, my car is an F-body, and it does have AC (or at least it did til I tore the compressor out). There isn't anything dealing with the selector in the dash (Off-A/C-Max A/C-Vent-Heat-Defrost) that could be bad?

I tested the wires going to the blower, and got nothing, so wouldn't it have to be the fan switch control in the dash that's bad? If so, how do you go about dealing with that?

Sorry for the multiple posts, I pulled the blower itself out and tested it on a battery and that is good. The fuse is still good. The only thing I could think is the fan speed switch in the control (so I removed it hoping to test it, or find a different one) or would there be something else that provides power to the fan speed switch? I could not find anything in the chilton's auto manual that helps with the heat/defrost selector or fan speed switch...

You need to get a real factory service manual; the Chilton's is a poor substitute.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

You can take a jumper and go across the switch to see if you get the blower to come on. This will tell you if the switch is good or bad.
Frank

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Scrapple: Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
73 Duster - Race Car
66 Dart Wagon - DD
178" FED
82 D150
All Slant powered

I think I still have 2 control switch assemblies from that dash. Let me check. They'll be CHEAPPPPPPPPPPP if you want them.

Okay, I pulled the switch out and tested it on a battery with my tester light, it is good, the fuse is good, the blower is good, what the heck else could possibly be the problem?

Bad ground?

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

Have you checked the blower resistor? Most vehicles vary the fan speed by passing the power through a resistor... although usually a car with a bad resistor will still blow air when set to "high", as the resistor is bypassed on high setting.

You have checked all the components except the conductors feeding the switch, and from the switch to the blower motor. Also check your grounds.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

What grounds would I need to check and where are they? I don't think its ther resistor, but if it is where would that be located?

The resistor is located in the box. It looks like a spiral of wire like a lightbulb filament, just kind of hanging off the inside of the box out of the way under where the spade connectors are on top.

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madam im adam

The Aspen/Volare will suck snow all the way into the blower if it is loose and built up over the air intake. Depending upon the temperature, can the initial running of the fan have sucked in enough snow into the heater and melted it, and then frozen to ice when the blower stopped, thus very effectively preventing the fan from turning? I had my Aspen out overnight in -27 C last week, and is was no fun at all starting it up the next day...
Olaf

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Aspenized