stevewaclo

Hello all:

We wonder sometimes why the same old questions (like mine) keep getting posted when a simple search might get the job done. That should work, but it's probably no surrprise to anyone that a search often results in lots of posts that simply die out without resolution (grrrr).

From the top:

No blower fan operation.

Mislaid owners manual

Schematic in workshop manual shows a 20A fuse

Checked all fuses under hood and on drivers side in the cabin...no 20's (?) and all are OK anyway.

Noticed a heater relay on the schematic but don't know which one it is.

Comments welcome

And please don't yell at me for not using search .

Thanks

stevewaclo

It was right where it belonged...in the glove box under a pile of receipts

Nothing in the OM on the heater fan relays, but I'm guessing it's one of the two in the engine comp. fuse box.

Also, a drawing in the OM shows fuses behind the glove box, which would seem to be an excellent place for the fan fuse...unfortunately, can't locate that box. Is it unique to the 4Runner (my OM is for both)?

Also, also, for the first time, I noticed that when I open the glove box, on the left side behind the box, there is what appears to be a foam filter media behind a plastic grid. Anyone know what that is?

Steve

stevewaclo

A little help on this please?

Suppose if I can't see it, it's not in the '87 P/U.

BMcEL

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

On my '85, the fuse and relay are on the side of the center part of the dash, passenger side. Remove the glove box and look into that opening and towards the driver's side and that is where they typically are. Or follow the wiring from the fan motor up to the resistor pack in the heater duct and then from there back to the relay.

stevewaclo

Thanks for your prompt reply!

I've got a 5 pound FSM but it is mysteriously vague in that area. Does the '87 P/U have a fuse box behind the glove box? Owned my P/U for nearly 10 years (320k, not all mine), and never noticed such a box.

Hate to drag out the DVM and start tearing into the harness.

stevewaclo

4Crawler:

Your message came in while I was responding to BMcEL...will follow up on your advice.

Thanks

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Look in the BE (Body Electrical) section towards the back. It'll show component locations scattered through that section. They are not all in one place, so you may need to flip through pages until you find the pertinent diagram.

stevewaclo

Thanks!

Found the relay and it clicks when I move the fan switch...will do further investigation later today and report back...as every good poster should :-).

A little later :-):

As you noted, page BE-9 in the FSM shows the front heater relay where you said it is and BE 68/69 has a check-out procedure for the relay and resistor block.

A schematic on AC-9 shows the 20A fuse but no location...I never found one. From the main schematic, it appears the 20A is not in the relay circuit, so a clicking relay does not mean power to the fan motor. Wish I could find that 20a fuse...will pull glove box later.

Thanks

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Been about 10 years since I last looked, but I recall there was a fuse near the relay as well. Output of relay goes through the fuse, then the motor, then to the resistor and switch for a ground connection.

stevewaclo

4Crawler:

Glove box must be removed to see the 20A heater fuse and 10A A/C fuse. As you said, they are just below the relay.

With the fuse checking out, I'll need to do some more diagnostic work.

stevewaclo

Never could find the resistor for the fan motor but decided to jump directly to the plug on the motor and found voltage there. Pulled motor and discovered no continuity at the terminals. Anybody got a blower motor for sale?

Gonna open it up but will probably be checking the for sale forum later.

Thanks for all the help, all!

BMcEL

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Blower.shtml

stevewaclo

You would think Toyota could design a truck that would hold together for more than 320k and 24 years. Brushes went out on the horn last year and same thing now on the blower motor. Come to think of it, I soldered new brushes into the alternator about three years ago...they were pretty easy to source, as I recall...beat the heck out of whacking the case every day.

Everybody look in your pockets and see if you have any blower motor brushes handy .

stevewaclo

BMcEL:

Thanks for the blower motor brush repair link. Notice you found it on the 4crawler site which would explain why search was no help on our site.

Been without the fan for 2 weeks already, so I suppose I can struggle on till next week when new brushes arrive.

BTW, the 4Crawler link wisely said to avoid WD40 as a lubricant. Good advice, since that's not what it was designed for in the first place. Water Displacement Formula 40 was (wait for it) the 40th attempt to develop a product to remove water from hard to reach places in NASA applications. The really good part of the product was that after chasing the water out, it evaporated and left nothing behind. Any lube effect is strictly temporary, even if squeeking often seems to go away and items move more smoothly...it's just temporary.

And for all you guys who start threads and then slip off quietly into the night, take note. This thread is how it's done...

To Summarize:

1) Search the site

2) Post a descriptive Subject Line (Please don't just say HELP)

3) Brief summary of the problem (w/pics, if appropriate)

4) Provide a statement of efforts attempted to fix the situation

5) Be nice to all posters who make suggestions

6) Ignore wise@#%%# comments (None this time!)
Old saying..."Any wise guy can up with a brief, witty and generally useless comment...it takes a truly wise person to come up with the same comment, and keep their mouth shut...."

7) And finally, make a final post outlining the outcome and say thanks to everyone involved.

Thanks again, all.

Film at 11

stevewaclo

Final Report

Received the new brushes from 4Crawler a few days back and finally got around to putting the motor back together. Had to chuck up the armature (?) in my electric drill so I could resurface the commutator, which was really beat up. Per instructions on the 4Crawler site, I cleaned the spaces between the commutator segments and did a general clean out of all the debris that had accumulated over the years.

Bench tested the motor with my battery charger and all seemed well, but now that that everything is buttoned up, the fan is not running a fast as it did before and I'm afraid I'll have to pull everything apart again and see where I went wrong. As expected, brush noise is apparent and should subside as the new brushes bed in, but something else seems to be dragging :-(. Or maybe it will fix itself.

Thanks again to everyone, including Roger at 4Crawler, who contributed to helping me get things running again.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Motor speed will also pick up as the brushes bed into the commutator and also will smooth it out. Also, new brushes will be somewhat slower than your old worn out brushes because they have a certain resistance per unit length. New brushes are longer and thus have a bit more resistance than the old short nubs that were in there before (old on the left, new on the right):


So you won't get full speed from the motor until the brushes wear down in length. You could of course grind them down shorter, but then you are reducing their service life, so it is sort of a tradeoff. I grind the brushes down to the maximum length that can fit in the brush holder in order to have them last as long as possible.

stevewaclo

Roger:

Thanks`for the additional 411.

Good doing business`with you.

Stevei