Where exactly is the blower relay?

monikamonika7

Member
:
2003 Mazda Protege5
Hi all --

I'm a long-time forum lurker... very grateful to everyone in the forum. Your contributions have been super-helpful to me over the years!

I am finally making a first post with what I am sure is a "doh" type of question.... wondering if anyone might be willing to offer some additional guidance about exactly where the blower relay is and/or whether, beyond removing the glove box, I need to disassemble part of the dash to get to it?

I have tried referring to the diagram on page 07-40-02 of the service manual but don't find it to be much help beyond getting me to the right general area! I've also tried to attach a couple of images with this post, showing the area where I am searching and something that seems like it *might* or might not be the relay.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Monica
 

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Hi all --

I'm a long-time forum lurker... very grateful to everyone in the forum. Your contributions have been super-helpful to me over the years!

I am finally making a first post with what I am sure is a "doh" type of question.... wondering if anyone might be willing to offer some additional guidance about exactly where the blower relay is and/or whether, beyond removing the glove box, I need to disassemble part of the dash to get to it?

I have tried referring to the diagram on page 07-40-02 of the service manual but don't find it to be much help beyond getting me to the right general area! I've also tried to attach a couple of images with this post, showing the area where I am searching and something that seems like it *might* or might not be the relay.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Monica

When I had issues with my sedan blower not working it was a relay in the fuse block under the hood of the car. I believe it was the one marked for the a/c. It liked to stop working on really hot Arizona summer days.
 
Not under the hood. There is one under the dash behind the squirrel cage itself, that one is specifically for the blower. My bad.
 
It looks like you found the right relay.

The other connector plugs into the blower motor and the other connector is for the resistor pack.

 
The relay connector should have 4 wires going to it.

Pink, Black, Blue with a white stripe and Blue with a Black stripe.

 
Thank you so much for the replies and the diagrams -- huge help!!

So... the blower relay is most easily accessed by removing the side panel of the passenger-side dash, which snaps off easily. I've attached one more photo showing the relay from that angle.

I removed the relay and tested, seems fine. The blower problem has been intermittent. Though it could be fan switch or wiring, I'm leaning toward blower motor with dead spot in windings given that it mostly works (including since I gave the blower motor a couple of hard taps when I originally posted) -- but will also take a look at the fan switch.

Thanks again!
 

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I don't recall anyone having a bad blower motor but another possibility is the resistor pack, but you usually get full speed and no other speeds when the resistor pack goes bad.
The resistor pack is bypassed for fan speed four.

My fan switch was a problem and the AC wouldn't work properly. It was the blinking light thing that's so common with our car.

Take a look at the connector at the back of the fan switch and see if the wires look all melted and crispy.

Taking apart the fan switch is a bit tricky. There's a little spring and ball bearing that pop out when it comes apart.
 
you may be getting ahead of yourself here...

What exactly is the problem you are trying to chase in the first place? As far as I can read, you have an intermittent blower problem, but yet to define what that problem actually is.

I would recommend looking at the connector on the back of the fan switch before diving too deep. This is a known problem in these cars. You should be able to just pull out the radio and look at it from behind. Removing it takes a bit more work, but you can get to it enough to look at it, unplug the connector and make sure it's not black and melted. The contacts inside the fan switch tend to goop up and make intermittent contact sometimes also, especially if you live on a dirt road.
 
This is what the fan switch connector looks like for a lot of us here on the forum.






This is what it looks like inside.






If your fan switch or connector are really bad, you'll get no power through it and no blower.
 
Love the assistance -- thank you! I did find the info about the common problem with fan switches melting on this forum -- started trying to look at the switch but got stumped/cautious about taking something apart I couldn't get back together and ran out of time so put the whole thing on the back burner.

But here's why I think it's the blower motor. I tested the resistor and relay -- both fine. The intermittent problem (3 times or so over the past 9 months) is that the blower doesn't turn on at all. It happens after I have turned the car off . (I rarely turn the blower off completely while I am driving so I don't know if it's a function of car off or blower off.) Then the blower starts working again after I drive a few times. Blower is also kind of noisy (not the kind of noise related to debris in the motor or ducts). I am not having trouble with AC light blinking or issues with the fan switch feeling finicky or seeming like the precursor to the dead blower -- but STILL, I will definitely take a look at the fan switch before I replace the blower motor given it is a common problem.

My poor P5 is having a number of issues that are testing/building my capacity... I'm glad for this forum which gets me out of trouble more often than it gets me in over my head!
 
The "surround" comes off quite easily.

IIRC you pull the control knobs straight off then push the vents down and with both hands, pull it off.
I believe the hazard switch stays connected but unplugs once you can get behind the surround.

I think you can see the fan switch connector with the surround off but I forget.

 
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The hardest part of removing the bezel around the radio is disconnecting the cables. I found it easier to disconnect them from the HVAC box behind it. But you can access the connector by just removing the radio with the little ford keys, takes 10 seconds to pull the radio out.

If your blower is noisy and not from pine needles or leaves or debris sucked in from the glove box like papers or straw wrappers, it may simply be the motor going out. Next time it doesn't work, give the blower motor a solid smack while it is turned on. Most of the time this will make it start to come on as soon as you smack it. Same thing works with window motors, fuel pumps, etc. good trick to make it work for now until you can replace it
 
... Next time it doesn't work, give the blower motor a solid smack while it is turned on...

You could also check for +12 V at the connector on the blower motor when the fan switch is on but it's not blowing.
Then you know if power is getting to the motor.

(you may not get full 12 V at the connector if the fan speed is set to 1 2 or 3 because of the voltage drop across the resistor pack but it shouldn't be 0 V)
 
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The hardest part of removing the bezel around the radio is disconnecting the cables. I found it easier to disconnect them from the HVAC box behind it. But you can access the connector by just removing the radio with the little ford keys, takes 10 seconds to pull the radio out.

If your blower is noisy and not from pine needles or leaves or debris sucked in from the glove box like papers or straw wrappers, it may simply be the motor going out. Next time it doesn't work, give the blower motor a solid smack while it is turned on. Most of the time this will make it start to come on as soon as you smack it. Same thing works with window motors, fuel pumps, etc. good trick to make it work for now until you can replace it

Appreciate this feedback -- it follows what I had been thinking, including the smack this last go round (though it was a gentle one ;-) And, once I get the time, I'll put to use the tips you offered about accessing the connector!
 
You could also check for +12 V at the connector on the blower motor when the fan switch is on but it's not blowing.
Then you know if power is getting to the motor.

Good call - there was +12V going to the motor (after a "doh" moment when I realized I had to have the fan switch on ;-)
 
Sound like you need a new fan motor.

But keep in mind the fan switch and watch for the blinking AC light.
You'll know what to do if (or probably when) that happens.
 
I'd suggest getting the motor with the blower wheel attached. (it's the cheapest one anyway)

I removed my blower motor about 5 years ago and took it apart to clean and oil it.
There is a clip on the end of the shaft that holds the blower wheel on and it really hard to get off.

I ended up breaking the plastic wheel a bit but luckily managed to get it back together.





There is a big piece of felt at the end of the shaft that supplies oil to the bushing and it was dry so I filled it up.

 
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