Mark Hubley

I have a '97 Suburban with 112K miles. For many months I have noticed the appearance of water in the passenger side footwell when running the AC/heat fan. More recently, the blower stopped working on all of the settings except high.

Today I pulled the glove box, pulled the rubber cover off the blower motor, and removed the blower motor. I found quite a bit of water in the plastic housing where the motor goes. You can see the water in the bottom of the circular housing:



A close-up also shows moisture through the circular hole.



I could not figure out where the water is coming from. Everything above and around the blower appeared dry. No evidence of a leak. I even pulled the cover/grille off the air intake (in front of the windshield, where the wipers are) and poured water into it. It appeared all the water drained under the car; no evidence of any of that water making its way to the blower housing.

By the way, the circular blower housing has an opening to the left, and that appears to lead to a filter. The filter was wet. I can't tell whether the filter is wet because that is the direction the blower blows, and the blower is blowing water into the filter? Or is the filter where air comes into the blower? Along these same lines, is air coming in through the circular opening behind the blower, or is that where air goes out? I'm thinking air comes in through the circle behind the blower, then out the side where I find what appears to be a filter.

Anyway, where the heck could that water be coming from?

And is the problem of the fan working only on the highest setting related to the water, or is that a separate problem???

Thanks for any advice,

Mark

PastorK

Fan working only on High is the fan resistor. Pretty easy fix. Remove two bolts (7mm i think) and remove the old resistor and replace with a new one. Cost around $15 for it.

Mine was doing the same, and after asking here, and also using the search option here, I found a thread that showed how to replace it.

As far as the water, someone else will have to answer that one.

Phoenix Suburban

Try the resistor and if it doesn't work still, you may have a worn out dash switch. You can somewhat tell if there is a problem with it by turning left to right and if you can feel it click in setting positions its ok, this only tells whether mechanical integrity of the switch is there NOT the electrical continuity, which can only be determined by pulling it and testing with a meter. If you run heater alot the water may due to condensation mine is currently leaking on the pass. side as well. When I fix it I'll let you know what I found out.

vester

I am not familiar with the 97 bodystyle, but that filter is probably your cabin air filter which filters outside are coming into the vehicle. In which case, the motor is not blowing water into it, the water is coming from outside. Pull that filter and find out where the intake is and maybe that will lead you to your leak. Your water experiment may have not been successful at first because the filter caught it. I would remove the filter and try your leak test again.

Mark Hubley

Thanks for the replies. So far it looks like my next project is to identify the resistor and check that out. I was also thinking that the filter is a "cabin air filter." My Lancer has one, and so does my Boxster. Unless I'm missing a trick, however, it looks like it's going to be a nightmare to remove that filter. I did not see a convenient way of doing so.

Looks like my project list for next weekend is full!

PastorK

See if this helps you out any.

Mark Hubley

Got the fan working properly by replacing the resistor. Thanks! I got the part from RockAuto for $20 (shipping included). The picture in the last post was very helpful.

I haven't figured out the cause of the water problem. I haven't seen any more water since the original post, and there has been plenty of precipitation. I guess if the water shows up again I'll try dealing with it then.

Rodehard

Open the hood and clean out the fresh air intakes. When dirt, leaf debris gather there, the "rain drain" holes get clogged and the water has nowhere to go but into the fan ducts.
Worked for me, hope it helps you.

Mark Hubley

Thanks for the note, but I actually went as far as removing the windshield wipers and the cover over the fresh air intake, and I found nothing.

???

Z71Mike Texas

Your pics and the diagram were great less than $20 at Pepboys /(and made in USA) I 'm back in business