Chevy Silverado Blower Motor Not Working [How to Fix]
Your Chevy Silverado blower motor stopped working recently, and you’re looking for ways to resolve the issue. This post is your go-to resource.
In this post, I’ve covered the common causes of this problem and how to resolve it yourself.
What Causes the Chevy Silverado Blower Motor to Stop Working?
The common issues that prevent a Chevy Silverado blower motor from working are blown fuses, a bad relay, a faulty blower motor resistor, and broken wires. If your climate control unit is defective, it may also cause the blower motor to stop working.
Keep reading to learn how to fix your Chevy Silverado blower motor.
How to Fix Chevy Silverado Blower Motor Issues
Replace the Blown Fuses in Your Car
A blown fuse is one of the most common reasons the blower motor in a Chevy Silverado stops working. Blown fuses disrupt the flow of electrical currents in your car. This poses a problem for the blower motor because the component needs electricity to operate.
If the electrical flow in your vehicle is poor, the blower motor won’t get an adequate power supply. As a result, the device may fail to work.
To fix this issue, you’ll need to change the blown fuses in your car. You can tell that a fuse is blown if the metal strip in the fuse is broken in the middle.
First, search for your fuse boxes. One of the fuse boxes in the Chevy Silverado is located below the steering wheel, while the other fuse box is in the engine compartment.
After finding the fuses, pull each one out with a fuse puller and hold it against the light. If any of the fuses has a broken metal strip, change it immediately. Make sure to replace your fuse with a fuse of similar amperage and color.
Once you’ve replaced the blown fuses in your car, turn on your AC and check if the blower motor is working. If it isn’t working, try the next tip.
Change Your Blower Motor Relay
The blower motor relay in your Chevy Silverado car turns the blower motor on and off. So, if the relay goes bad, the blower motor won’t work.
You’ll need to replace your blower motor relay to solve this problem. But first, confirm that the relay is bad.
If you can’t identify your blower motor relay, study the wiring diagram in your owner’s manual. Then search for the relay in the fuse boxes under your hood and below your steering.
Once you’ve located the relay, it’s time to test it.
Here’s how to check if your blower motor relay is faulty:
- Disconnect the negative battery terminal.
- Then remove your blower motor relay from its pin terminal.
- Next, look for a relay with a similar amp rating.
- Remove the relay you’ve just found.
- Insert your blower motor relay into the terminal for the other relay.
- If your blower motor relay doesn’t work while plugged into the new terminal, the relay is faulty.
Replace your blower motor relay once you confirm it is bad.
Replace Your Blower Motor Resistor
A dead blower motor resistor can also cause your Chevy Silverado blower motor to stop working.
The blower motor resistor controls the speed of your blower motor by matching it to your fan’s speed. If your blower motor resistor is dead, it won’t detect when your fan is running. So, your blower motor will stay off.
You can check if your blower motor resistor is bad by testing it with a multimeter. To do this, plug the probes on the multimeter into the blower motor and switch on your fan.
If the multimeter doesn’t detect any volts, or it only shows volts at one fan speed, your blower motor resistor is faulty.
Replacing the blower motor resistor will resolve this issue.
Follow these steps to replace the blower motor resistor in your Chevy Silverado:
- Use a trim tool to remove the panel at the right end of your center console. Then pull out the panel.
- Next, remove the screw on the exposed area with a 7mm socket.
- Move toward the bottom panel on your passenger-side dashboard.
- Take out the screws on this bottom panel with your 7mm socket.
- Remove the bottom panel.
- You’ll see your blower motor resistor now.
- Push down on the resistor’s connectors to remove them. Then use a 5.5mm socket to remove the screws on the resistor.
- Grab the resistor and slide it down.
- Insert your new blower motor resistor into the opening.
- Re-install the screws you’ve just removed. Then re-connect the connectors to the resistor.
- Place the panel back onto the dashboard.
Now, turn on your AC. If your blower motor doesn’t work, move on to the next tip.
Change the Connector on Your Blower Motor
If the wires on your Chevy Silverado blower motor are broken, the blower motor may not work.
Water may leak into your car when it rains. If the water comes in contact with your wires, it will corrode them. In addition, rats can sneak into your vehicle and bite your wires. Such bites can also weaken your wires.
Broken wires won’t deliver sufficient power supply to your blower motor. This can cause your blower motor to stop working.
Check your blower motor’s wires for bite marks and signs of rust. If you find such signs on your wires, the wires are broken.
You’ll need to replace the connector on your blower motor to fix this issue.
Take the following steps to replace the connector on your Chevy Silverado blower motor:
- Locate the kick panel under the glove box.
- Use a 5.5mm socket to remove the screws on the kick panel.
- Pull out the panel.
- This will reveal your blower motor.
- Disconnect the connector at the bottom of the blower motor. Then cut the connector from its wires.
- Grab your new connector.
- If the wires on the new connector are too long, trim off a small piece with your pliers.
- The next step is to splice the new connector’s wires with the old wires.
- But first, you need to have enough exposed wire on your blower motor and connector to splice them.
- Use a trim removal tool to remove some of the insulation on both wires.
- When you have enough exposed wires, twist the wires together.
- Get a soldering iron and solder the joint.
- Connect the new connector to your blower motor and re-install the kick panel.
If your blower motor fails to work after this, continue to the next tip.
Replace Your Blower Motor
Your Chevy Silverado blower motor might not work because it is bad.
If your blower motor is faulty, you may hear strange noises on your dashboard when you turn on your AC. Also, your AC may not distribute air properly throughout the car.
But these signs aren’t exclusive to a blower motor. Other AC components, like the blend door actuator, display the same symptoms when they go bad.
A more effective way to tell that your blower motor is bad is to connect it to a 12-volt battery with an alligator test cable. If your blower motor doesn’t spin after you’ve linked it to the battery, the blower motor is bad.
You can also test your blower motor by measuring it with a multimeter. To do this, insert the probes on the multimeter into the blower motor’s connector and turn your AC fan on. If the voltage count on the multimeter reads 12 volts, you have a dead blower motor.
To fix this issue, you’ll need to replace the blower motor in your Chevy Silverado:
- Find your kick panel underneath your glove box.
- Remove all the screws on the panel with a 5.5mm socket. Then pull out the panel.
- You’ll see your blower motor now.
- Press the tab on your blower motor’s connector to unplug it from the device.
- Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the screws on the blower motor.
- Grab your blower motor and slide it out.
- Line up your new blower motor and insert it into the outlet. Then re-install the screws with your screwdriver.
- Plug the connector back into the blower motor.
- Place the kick panel back onto the dashboard.
- Now, tighten the screws on the kick panel.
If you’re a visual learner, see the video below for guidelines:
Your blower motor should resume working now. But if it doesn’t, check out the final tip.
Replace Your Climate Control Unit
When diagnosing why your Chevy Silverado blower motor isn’t working, your climate control unit may be the last thing you’ll suspect. But the climate control unit is as likely a culprit as the other issues we’ve already discussed here.
Here’s how your climate control unit affects your blower motor: Your climate control provides your blower motor resistor with data on your fan’s speed. The resistor uses this information to control the speed of the blower motor.
If your climate control unit is bad, it might indicate that the fan is off when it is still working. As a result, the resistor will prevent the blower motor from running.
If none of the previous steps fixes your blower motor, the climate control unit might be the problem.
Replace your climate control unit to fix this problem.
I don’t recommend DIY replacements for the climate control unit. If you mess with your climate control unit without sufficient expertise, you might ruin the connections in your vehicle.
If you suspect your climate control unit is bad, hire a professional to inspect and replace the system. Read more about Chevy Silverado climate control problems.
Wrapping Up
If your Chevy Silverado blower motor stops working, you can quickly fix it by replacing your blown fuses or your blower motor relay. You should only try complex solutions, like replacing your blower motor, or your climate control unit, if the easy tips don’t work.
However, if your blower motor fails to work after you’ve tried all the tips discussed here, contact your dealer for further assistance.