Chattering Noise From The A/c Blower Area

[mts]

Originally posted by "mazda-fla"

 

 

I have a chattering noise from the A/C blower motor area under the passenger side dashboard. That gets louder the higher the fan blows. I run the A/C on recirculate mode all the time (South Florida). The A/C works fine, it is just noisy and rattling sounding enough to drive you crazy.

 

I removed the lower cover under the passenger side, below the glovebox. You just carefully pop it off. Then removed the blower motor connector. Then removed three screws holding the blower.

 

I dropped the blower motor down, and inside the fan turbine housing was about 15 leaves, 2 or 3 sticks, and a couple of seed pods. Looked like a tree in there.

 

I turned it upside down, and tapped out all that junk. Then reinstalled it.

 

That fixed the problem. Blower motor fan turbine was loaded with leaves. Only took about 20 minutes of work. No more chattering noise now.

 

There is a hole in the blower case you plug the hose into. It is on the bottom of the blower case, about two or three inches from the screws that hold the blower motor on with. Looking at it straight on, it is slightly in front (radiator side) and to the left (towards driver's side) of the blower motor on the underside of the blower case.

 

In order to see where it plugs into, you have to move your seat all the way back. Then really crawl under there on your back and you will see the hole the hose plugs into. It is hard to see unless you really crawl under there. When you really crawl under there, you will see it easily. You will know you have the hose in the right place, because it plugs into it as a perfect fit. There is no clamp or anything, just plug it in.

 

You have to plug that in, not just leave it dangling. Because I think that hose supplies air circulation to the blower motor. You might wind up overheating and ruining the blower motor if you don't hook that back up.

 

Originally posted by "lecatpuke"

 

I just completed this task this afternoon, after reading this thread and realizing I, too, had a buzzing AC system. Here are some updated pictures from my 98 L:

 

 

1. Remove panel A from the passenger side, underneath the glove box. It is held in place only by three clips in the front (for removal, the rightmost clip is pulled straight out, the left and middle clips are pushed in and down).

 

 

2. The AC blower is connected to the motor (the large black object on the right). Disconnect the power by pulling out the clip at #5, and disconnecting the hose at #4.

 

3. Unscrew the motor/fan from the AC housing, with screws at #1, #2, and #3. For #3, you may have to remove panel B, as diagramed in both pictures.

 

4. Carefully guide the motor/blower out (you will see the tall, white, cylindrical fan as it drops). Clear any wire or harness obstructions.

 

5. Voila! You'll be holding the motor and fan assembly, which also catches all sorts of leaves and things. I found a few leaves and helicopter seed pods.

 

6. Replace the motor, remembering the original alignment so that the hose can reach the intake valve.

 

7. Plug the black tube back into the AC cool air intake valve.

 

8. Replace the panels.