HVAC fan stopped working - possible causes?

[RedRacer]

The HVAC fan in my 1997 Lexus ES300 stopped working today I checked the fuses and everything is fine so I can only assume that the fan motor has died. Are there other parts I should check before ordering a new fan? Is this a common Camry/ES300 problem?

How many labor hours to change the fan?

Thanks

[atobe]

what's HVAC ?

[BlueCam]

Heating, Ventilation, & Air Conditioning

[karazy]

I've never heard of the motor going. On the ealier models, there is a resister, at the blower, that tends to go bad. It usually leaves you with one speed though. It could also be the switch. I would test the fan, before ordering a new one. I'm sure it's not cheap.

[Mike Gerber]

You can check the fan with a test light or a DVM. You might have to remove a cover under the dash on the passenger side to get to the fan. Turn the engine on and turn the fan switch on full. Now crawl underneath with the test light. Ground the clamp end of the test light to something bare metal and backprobe the two wires leading to the connector on the fan. ONe of them will be the + side. If the test light lights up on either side it means power is reaching the fan and the fan motor is dead. If there is no power there, then work backwards to find the source of the problem.

If it is a bad fan motor, it's really not a hard thing to replace yourself. Once you have checked it out as I described, it will be obvious what has to be removed to remove and replace the fan. I haven't done one in about 10 years, but after removing a few small electrical components in the pick panel area to reach the fan motor, it was 3 nuts (or bolts) and one electrical connector to remove the fan motor. It's really not hard if you don't mind working on your back underneath the dash.

Mike