Blower motor malfunction and leakage onto floor mats
11-18-2014, 11:36 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: 11-18-2014
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 2
Blower motor malfunction and leakage onto floor mats
Hi all,
I am a new member to the forum and have owned my '06 HHR (previously owned by mom as a leased vehicle) since 2013. My mom had no problems with the car but of course now that I inherited it at almost 9 years old (in February), it seems like every darned thing is going wrong with it!
Anyway, a few months back my blower motor stopped working nearly overnight. I took it to a trusted friend-of-the-family mechanic, who worked on Chevys for 14 years at a dealership, so I think he did everything right. He put in a new blower motor and my fans started running again, good as new.
Shortly after the installation of the motor, I noticed one morning (this was in August or so) that when I got in to go to work, I saw a small puddle of water that had pooled in the crevices of my plastic floor mat on the front passenger side. And then I looked up, and I saw trails of condensation coming down from roughly where the blower motor was installed (I know this because my mechanic asked me to leave the 'console door' open, the area below the glovebox, before putting the motor in).
I didn't think anything of it at first, and I dumped the water out, and it never came back. It happened maybe one other time but I took my car to a different mechanic for new brakes, asked him to look at the problem if he could, and when I got my car back I didn't notice the water leaking again, so I assumed the problem had been fixed.
Fast forward to yesterday morning, where here in Pittsburgh it was slushy and cold, and got that way very suddenly. I went out to my car to get something at lunch and the passenger side floor mat was SOAKED. I mean absolutely soaked. Water was all over my carpet, leaking out off the floor mat. It was a good 1/2" worth of a puddle. I felt underneath my glovebox and the 'bump' part where I think the blower motor is near was also very damp.
Then, this morning, seeing as it went down to 10 degrees overnight, I remote started the HHR and let the defroster warm up before leaving for work. When I got in my car, I turned the fan up. Nothing happened. Cranked it to the next notch. Nothing. Next notch. Nothing. The last/fastest-blowing notch - it works. So... the water was on the floor mat again, and it got so cold that it froze my floor mat to the passenger side carpet.
What in the heck do I do? I already called Mechanic #1 and informed him that I think something went wrong after he installed the blower motor. He told me to "keep an eye on it." I am due for inspection at the very end of December and already made my appointment... is this a problem that can wait, or am I SOL and need to take my HHR to him immediately? (Or go to Mechanic #2, even though I think Mechanic #1 caused the problem...)
Thanks for reading.
:)
I am a new member to the forum and have owned my '06 HHR (previously owned by mom as a leased vehicle) since 2013. My mom had no problems with the car but of course now that I inherited it at almost 9 years old (in February), it seems like every darned thing is going wrong with it!
Anyway, a few months back my blower motor stopped working nearly overnight. I took it to a trusted friend-of-the-family mechanic, who worked on Chevys for 14 years at a dealership, so I think he did everything right. He put in a new blower motor and my fans started running again, good as new.
Shortly after the installation of the motor, I noticed one morning (this was in August or so) that when I got in to go to work, I saw a small puddle of water that had pooled in the crevices of my plastic floor mat on the front passenger side. And then I looked up, and I saw trails of condensation coming down from roughly where the blower motor was installed (I know this because my mechanic asked me to leave the 'console door' open, the area below the glovebox, before putting the motor in).
I didn't think anything of it at first, and I dumped the water out, and it never came back. It happened maybe one other time but I took my car to a different mechanic for new brakes, asked him to look at the problem if he could, and when I got my car back I didn't notice the water leaking again, so I assumed the problem had been fixed.
Fast forward to yesterday morning, where here in Pittsburgh it was slushy and cold, and got that way very suddenly. I went out to my car to get something at lunch and the passenger side floor mat was SOAKED. I mean absolutely soaked. Water was all over my carpet, leaking out off the floor mat. It was a good 1/2" worth of a puddle. I felt underneath my glovebox and the 'bump' part where I think the blower motor is near was also very damp.
Then, this morning, seeing as it went down to 10 degrees overnight, I remote started the HHR and let the defroster warm up before leaving for work. When I got in my car, I turned the fan up. Nothing happened. Cranked it to the next notch. Nothing. Next notch. Nothing. The last/fastest-blowing notch - it works. So... the water was on the floor mat again, and it got so cold that it froze my floor mat to the passenger side carpet.
What in the heck do I do? I already called Mechanic #1 and informed him that I think something went wrong after he installed the blower motor. He told me to "keep an eye on it." I am due for inspection at the very end of December and already made my appointment... is this a problem that can wait, or am I SOL and need to take my HHR to him immediately? (Or go to Mechanic #2, even though I think Mechanic #1 caused the problem...)
Thanks for reading.
:)
11-18-2014, 12:17 PM
#2
Platinum Member
Join Date: 04-09-2006
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 7,032
Being a 2006, there is a patch over a hole under the windshield wiper cowl that leaks eventually, and puddles water in the passenger foot well. A side effect other than the water pooling, is that the fan motor RESISTOR often gets wet and has to be replaced, otherwise the fan only runs on high speed.
Here is a link to the process needed to replace that "buytl patch" - (it's a pretty easy fix as such) https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-...t-night-14263/
On the second page of that thread is a picture of the resistor that is likely needing replacement.
If you are unable to work on it yourself, just print off a few of the pages of the previous link and hand it to your mechanic.
Here is a link to the process needed to replace that "buytl patch" - (it's a pretty easy fix as such) https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-...t-night-14263/
On the second page of that thread is a picture of the resistor that is likely needing replacement.
If you are unable to work on it yourself, just print off a few of the pages of the previous link and hand it to your mechanic.
11-18-2014, 05:55 PM
#4
Thread Starter
Join Date: 11-18-2014
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 2
I think my fan was only working on high speed as well when I took my HHR to him initially...
11-18-2014, 07:19 PM
#5
Platinum Member
Join Date: 04-09-2006
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 7,032
The reason I asked if the motor only worked on high initially (before replacing the motor), was that it likely was due to the RESISTOR getting wet (seems to be the common issue). So I kinda suspect that the water leak has gone unnoticed for some time.
Perhaps there was an actual problem with the fan motor, but I really suspect it was just the resistor due to a water leak that the first mechanic missed.
but hey - you are heading on the right path now. :)
Perhaps there was an actual problem with the fan motor, but I really suspect it was just the resistor due to a water leak that the first mechanic missed.
but hey - you are heading on the right path now. :)
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