blower motor not working ('06 BMW 325i)
 

The blower motor my daughter's 2006 e90 BMW 325i is not working due to a water damage defect with these cars (ah, luxury!). She checked fuse #67 in the fuse box behind the glove compartment. It was good. All dash buttons work: AC, heat, and fan speed indicators light up and respond. However, the blower motor does nothing when the appropriate buttons are pushed. She has learned that it is probably the motor itself, and we are going to pull it from the car to test and probably replace it.

If anyone has experience with this issue and knows something not mentioned already in this post, please share.

We are especially curious whether anyone knows of a fix for the water intrusion through the cowl that some say is behind the blower failure. Would like to keep the next motor longer.

#1buttons work but does the motor get power? AAND is the ground grounded? Did you replace the fuse? Brushed motors tend to be waterproof but the brush holders corrode.

I told her we will remove and inspect the motor before we buy. Thanks. She is learning a lot, thanks to BMW's legendary initial quality offering so many repair opportunities, lol.

I lead her through testing with a multimeter today. The motor controller gets power, and it outputs power in response to the dash fan controls. The fan motor just does not respond. There was evidence of water intrusion on linings behind the cover panels. Probably some bearings or brushes are rusted and seized.

Now we order the motor and locate and eliminate the leak before installing the replacement.

All the while the kid is learning to use tools, do diagnostics, never force anything, and always test instead of guess if at all possible....

Shaft spin?

I didn't physically try to spin it because we had not removed it. Tests were all using a multimeter. If I can physically spin it, do you think I might be able to grease it up and rely upon it a while longer? I don't know if it is bearings or brushes that are corroded.

The spin it question was more of a final fail point. If they bearings are sintered bronze AND the motor is easy to remove then I would lube them and see how far I could get. If the bearings are ball bearings, that is fatal. Should be able to determine which is installed from the fan side of the shaft.

it is possible on some ball bearings to pry the covering off and clean and regrease them. At work we had a roller failing from seizing the bearings, the grease suitable for the application. As a field fix until the bearing situation could be rectified we cleaned them and filled them with Never-Seez. But is the risk worth it. How hard is it to get to the blower motor, some jobs you don't want to do twice.