61 Heater fan motor
My heater worked fine when I stored the car some 30 years ago. Over the last couple years I've been getting things working and the heater is one of my last non functioning components. I'm no repair genius but I have this idea that the fan motor might just be froze up and if I can get it out easily, maybe just rotating the motor shaft might fix the problem. I checked all my reference books and they say to remove the package tray , etc. , etc. My question is, can I just undue the five screws in the circle on the face of the fan motor and pull it out, or do I need to unscrew the paper box and remove the whole fan and motor in one piece to work on it? Why can't I leave the package tray in place? Any tips appreciated. I'm attending the NCRS judging meet in Perth Western Australia the 6th of April and I'd love an quick and easy heater fix verses 25 point operations deduction. Thank you
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Re: 61 Heater fan motor
Before taking the motor out try attaching a separate ground wire from one of the screws on the motor to a good ground. Use a little sand paper to clean up the case under the screw for a good ground. Then try the switch on high & low. It worked for me. The normal ground for the heater is thru the cable of the heater itself.
John -
Re: 61 Heater fan motor
Yes, you can simply pull the fan from the engine compartment to isolate it for bench testing. Bear in mind that access to some of the individual screws holding the fass assy to the Harrison air box can be tricky to reach...
Once the fan is out and in your hands, the squirrel cage ought to spin EFFORTLESSLY when rotated by hand. If there's appreciable resistance to turning, you can anticipate one of two problems:
(1) Over the years, wear from the carbon brushes has accumulated and the motor's shaft bearings are gummed up.
(2) The brushes are SO worn, you're down to a metal on metal condition on the DC motor's armature.
Since the fan motor is sealed (UNLESS you've got an A/C version with the hole on the side for cooling air injection), you're probably into opening the fan motor case and disassembly to address either of the above two situations.
If #2 is the problem, you might be able to recover by removing the squirrel cage fan and tearing into the motor. If you've caught the problem in time, it can be as simple as replacing the two carbon brushes, blowing dirt/dust out of the motor and putting 'er back to together.
These DC motors USED to be routinely overhauled by small motor shops at the local level. But in today's era of mass rebuild via centralized, reverse assy lines, few motor rebuilders exist anymore to disassemble, clean or change bearing and replace brushes... Good luck!Comment
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Re: 61 Heater fan motor
corvette specailties of maryland can rebuild your original motor. they ad in the driveline.mikeComment
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Re: 61 Heater fan motor
Run a hot wire to the motor to see if it runs and if it does it may be your heater switch needs cleaning
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