Cadillac Deville Blower Motor Not Working [How to Fix]
Your Cadillac Deville blower motor just stopped working. You want to fix the blower motor, but you don’t know how to go about it.
This post will teach you everything you need to know about fixing your blower motor. You’ll learn about the likely causes of the problem and the solutions to each issue.
First, you want to know why your blower motor stopped working.
Your Cadillac Deville blower motor may stop working because you have a blown fuse, a bad blower motor relay, or broken wires. Other issues that can cause your blower motor to stop working are a faulty blower resistor and a bad climate control unit.
That said, let’s look at how to fix the blower motor in your Cadillac Deville.
How to Fix Cadillac Deville Blower Motor Problems
Replace Blown Fuses
A blown fuse is one of the most common reasons the Cadillac Deville blower motor stops working.
When a fuse in your car gets blown, the vehicle will develop a short circuit. As a result, the electronic devices in your vehicle, such as the blower motor, won’t receive the adequate amount of power they need to operate. Without sufficient electricity, your blower motor won’t turn on.
Locate your fuse boxes under your hood and below the steering wheel. Then check if any of the fuses are blown. You can tell that a fuse is blown if the metal strip inside the fuse is broken at the center.
That said, you might find it difficult to see the interior of a fuse just by looking at it from the fuse box. To examine each fuse properly, you must pull it out and inspect it against the light. You can use a fuse puller or needle-nose pliers to extract your fuses from the fuse box.
Once you’ve confirmed that a fuse is blown, replace it. Ensure the replacement fuse has the same color and amperage as the original one.
After replacing the blown fuses, turn on your AC and wait for your blower motor to work. If the blower motor doesn’t work, try the next tip.
Check Your Blower Motor Relay
A bad blower motor relay can also cause your blower motor to stop working.
The role of your blower motor relay is to switch on the blower motor after you’ve turned on your AC. So, if the blower motor relay is bad, your blower motor won’t turn on.
To fix this issue, you need to replace your blower motor relay. But first, check if the relay has gone bad. You’ll find your blower motor relay in the fuse box underneath your steering wheel or below your hood.
If you don’t know what your relay looks like, study the wiring diagram in your owner’s manual. The wiring diagram will help you identify your relay and determine its exact location.
Once you’ve spotted your relay, it’s time to test it.
Here’s how to check if your blower motor relay is bad:
- Remove the blower motor relay from its terminal.
- Look for a relay with the same amp rating as your blower motor relay. Then unplug the other relay from its terminal.
- Next, insert your blower motor relay into the other relay’s terminal.
- If your blower motor relay doesn’t work while plugged into the other relay’s terminal, the blower motor relay is most likely faulty.
- If you suspect your blower motor relay is faulty, replace the relay immediately.
Your blower motor should resume working now. However, if it stays off, move on to the next tip.
Inspect Your Blower Motor Resistor
If your Cadillac Deville blower motor isn’t working, your blower motor resistor might be dead.
Your blower motor resistor controls the speed of the blower motor by matching its pace to the fan speed. If the resistor is dead, it may fail to detect the fan’s speed. Without knowing your fan’s speed, the resistor won’t be able to rotate the blower motor.
You can check if your blower motor resistor is bad by testing it with a multimeter. To run this test, connect the probes on your multimeter to the blower motor’s connector. If the multimeter doesn’t detect any volts, or it only detects volts at one fan speed, your resistor is dead.
Replacing the blower motor resistor will resolve this problem.
You need an 8mm socket, a ratchet, an extension, and a Phillips-head screwdriver for the replacement.
Follow these steps to replace the blower motor resistor in your Cadillac Deville:
- Locate the panel underneath the passenger-side dashboard.
- Use your 8mm socket and ratchet to remove the 8mm screws on each side of the panel.
- You’ll also notice 2 Phillips head screws at the front of the panel.
- Use your screwdriver to remove these screws.
- Release the plastic clips holding the panel to the dashboard.
- Pull out the panel and push it aside.
- This will reveal the blower motor resistor’s connector.
- Unplug the connector. Then use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the Phillips-head screws underneath the connector.
- Remove your old blower motor resistor and insert the new one. Then re-install the screws you removed earlier.
- Now, insert the bottom panel into the dashboard.
After replacing your blower motor resistor, check if your blower motor has resumed working. If the device stays off, try the next tip.
Change the Connector on Your Blower Motor
Your blower motor might fail to work because its wires are broken.
When it rains, water may leak into your vehicle and corrode your blower motor’s wires. Also, rodents can sneak into the car and chew off the insulation on the wires. During these events, the wires get damaged. Damaged wires won’t deliver power to the blower motor, thus forcing the device to stay off.
Search for rust and bite marks on your blower motor wires. If you discover these signs on the wires, your blower motor’s wires might be broken.
You can solve this problem by changing the connector on your blower motor.
Take the following steps to replace the connector on your Cadillac Deville blower motor:
- Locate the panel underneath your passenger-side dashboard.
- Remove the screws on the panel with an 8mm socket.
- If you find pushpins on the panel, remove them with a trim removal tool. Then pull the panel open.
- Your blower motor is located on the left area behind the connector.
- Unplug the connector. Then cut off the connector from the blower motor’s wires.
- Grab your new connector. If the wires on the connector are too long, trim off a small piece.
- Next, ensure that the exposed parts on the blower motor’s wires and the new connector’s wires are long enough.
- If the blower motor and connector don’t have enough exposed wire, use a wire stripper to remove some insulation on both sides.
- Now, place the connector’s wires on the blower motor’s wires and twist them together. Then use a soldering iron to solder the joints.
- Wrap the soldered joint in electrical tape.
- Return your bottom panel to its proper position. Then re-install the pushpins onto the panel.
If your blower motor fails to work after you’ve replaced your connector, move to the next step.
Replace Your Blower Motor
Sometimes, the inactivity of your blower motor may have nothing to do with the blower motor’s components. Rather, the blower motor might not work because it is dead.
If your blower motor is bad, you may hear weird noises from the dashboard when you turn on your AC. But the blower motor isn’t the only AC component that makes strange sounds when it develops a fault.
Your blend door actuator also produces such noises when it is faulty. That’s why you need another method to confirm that your blower motor is dead.
A more precise way to test your blower motor’s health is to connect it to a 12-volt battery using an alligator test cable. If your blower motor doesn’t spin after you’ve linked it to the battery, the blower motor is dead.
You can also check if your blower motor is bad by testing it with a multimeter. To do this, connect your multimeter probes to the connector plugged into your blower motor.
If the multimeter detects 12 volts when your blower motor is working, the blower motor has gone bad. As such, you’ll need to replace it.
The following guide will show you how to replace the blower motor in a Cadillac Deville:
- Walk to your passenger-side dashboard. Then bend over to access the bottom panel.
- Remove the pushpins on the panel with a trim removal tool.
- If you find screws on your panel instead of pushpins, pull them out with your 8mm socket.
- Pull the panel and slide it out.
- Locate your blower motor on the dashboard.
- Unplug the connector on the blower motor.
- Next, remove the bolts on the blower motor with an 8mm socket.
- You can now detach your blower motor.
- Insert the new blower motor.
- Drive the bolts back into the device. Then reconnect your connector to your blower motor.
- Install the bottom panel back onto the dashboard.
Your blower motor should work now. But if it doesn’t, continue to the next tip.
Replace Your Climate Control Unit
Although it may seem unlikely, the climate control unit can cause the blower motor to stop working.
Here’s how the climate control unit affects the blower motor: Your blower motor resistor needs to know your fan’s speed to determine how fast the blower motor should run. The climate control unit informs the resistor about the fan’s speed.
If your climate control unit is bad, it may suggest that the fan is off, even when it is still working. In response, the resistor won’t spin your blower motor.
You’ll need to replace your climate control unit to fix this issue.
Don’t replace your climate control unit yourself if you aren’t a professional. Otherwise, you might damage the electrical connections in your car. Instead, hire a mechanic to replace the unit.
Related: Cadillac SRX Climate Control Problems.
Wrapping Up
One of the tips in this article should fix your blower motor. However, if the blower motor doesn’t work after you’ve tried all the tips above, contact your dealer.