blower motor problem

[pussiwillow]

hello, my ac blower motor in my 97 318i is not working right, sometimes when i get in the car it doesnt even turn on but the compressor is running and i can hear the motor wants to run, so i open the hood and slam it and blower motor starts working again. it has only done that a few times, now it will only run on the two highest settings, the lower settings it shuts down and stops blowing and sounds like its not getting enough voltage since it starts turning really slow and slowly gets faster and faster til its wide open. i dont want to drop 350 dollars on a new one if not necessary, could this be something else other then the blower motor? my thermostat unit is new btw so it shouldnt be that. thank you!

[Eric93se]

Your problem sounds more like the motor is on its way out rather than the resistor pack (final stage unit). Its $75 at rockauto.com for the motor assembly. At RMeuropean.com they have 4 blower assemblies to pick from but the rockauto part would be the best deal.

There is also a 'blower resistor' that is different than the FSU, maybe someone else with some more info can help.

[pussiwillow]

hey thank you for the info, i just took the car around the block and have noticed that when i only make a right hand turn while moving it affects the amount of air coming out of the vents, dropping the speed of the blower motor, when i make a left hand turn while moving i get no change, if i hit a bumpy road, it also affects the blower until i hit smooth road again, while sitting in the drive way not moving, turning the wheel to the right has no affect on it, only when im moving fast a few miles an hour, turning right affects it every time regardless this is very strange

[Eric93se]

Are you referring to the speed of the air out of the vents or the temperature of the air?

Making a right or left turn will have nothing to do with the amount of air or the temperature of the air. How fast your driving will effect how cool the air comes out of the vents because more air will pass over the condenser in the front of the car. Also if the condenser fan in the front of car is not spinning when AC is on then that needs to be fixed too.

[pussiwillow]

air temp does not change whatsoever, very cold and does not change whether air pressure is higher or lower during the surges. the amount of air coming out of the vents is what im referring to. i found it very strange that it does affect it on right hand turns and bumpy roads only, it makes no sense to me but it hasn't failed to surge in turning right or on bumpy roads every time. upon turning the unit on and adjusting the air pressure up it makes a whirling sound that mimics a bad bearing but once on full speed the sound goes away and blows nice and cold.

[flyfishvt]

You just solved your own problem. That sound you hear is the bearings in the blower motor.

[pussiwillow]

that makes plenty of sense. when i turn it would put the bearing in a bind from the g's around the turn possibly? and when i hit a bump, same situation putting the bearing in a bind temporarily and then return to normal operation, and it only working on high speed setting only is getting enough momentum to turn the binding up bearings... today it completely went out wont turn, sounds like it wants to but wont budge. sounds like the bearing after all, thank you!!