I think the fan motor just let all its smoke out. Sitting at a stoplight, the A/C starts to blow hot, and I start getting smoke from under the front decklid. Not steam, smoke. Lasted for thirty seconds or so, then stopped before I could get moving again. Got back to the office, parked, A/C switch to 'on' just to be sure that the fan should be engaged -- look under the decklid, fan's not moving.

Are the fan motors still available, or am I going to have to work for this one?

[This message has been edited by Shyster (edited 05-08-2006).]

That shouldn't be to hard to get ahold of. Shoot, I got a new one for my car from Fleabay. Got the entire fan assembly for like $30.

With that said, I think you can get them at Advanced Auto/Checkers or your favorite local parts store.

I got one from Advance auto last year and I think it was $27.00
Don

Thanks, guys.

Got the car home (left early to avoid stop & go traffic with no fan action). Went on and pulled the assembly. Tested the plug, and got 12V there when I turned the ignition switch 'on' (I have a low temp fan switch, and there was plenty of residual heat to still have the fan switch kicked on), so at least it looks like the relay's ok.

Turns out O'Reilly has a Siemens unit and a Hayden one. The Hayden is twice as expensive ($49), but for some reason they have two listings with the same Siemens part no., and one of them says "w/o HEAVY DUTY COOLING." What with the low temp fan switch and the fact that we use our car a/c's about 11.5 months a year, that fan is almost always on, so I'm thinking Hayden. Lifetime warranty, too, as opposed to 1yr for the Siemens.

Anybody had any experience with either one of these?

Is this the blower fan or the radiator cooling fan?
If it's the radiator cooling fan, why would that motor failure affect the output temp of the A/C vent air, unless you were stationary for a long period of time?

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Is this the blower fan or the radiator cooling fan? If it's the radiator cooling fan, why would that motor failure affect the output temp of the A/C vent air, unless you were stationary for a long period of time?

It's the radiator cooling fan, and it affected the A/C because it was evil. Two failures at once. I just got the new fan motor installed and everything back together, and the A/C's still blowing warm. (What a surprise!) Actually, the compressor seized last December and threw the belt, but the guys at the garage managed to kick it loose, and it's worked ok unitl now. I've known I was running on borrowed time on the compressor, anyway. It probably just grabbed up again, and will have to be replaced. Naturally, it's supposed to hit 93 tomorrow.

Oh well, at least the car won't overheat, even if I do. Freaky, though, that two things hit at once like that. I still think that the fan motor reached out with the last of its dying essence, and took the A/C compressor with it. I actually did wonder mometarily if there was a safety interlock -- since the A/C system automatically cuts in the fan, does an interrupt in the fan function prevent the A/C from working? Then I realized, of course, that this would be waaaayyy too advanced for Pontiac.

I'm gonna hate to pay this repair bill, but it's one of the necessities of life in this area.

[This message has been edited by Shyster (edited 05-08-2006).]