edit: 2003 G35 Coupe, A/T


I did some searching but couldn't find anything that matches this problem. If anyone happens to be familiar with some old threads that match this, please link them here of course or relay some info - thanks in advance! I always try to figure things out myself with a search, but every related issue I found wasn't quite the same issue at all.

I had a long road trip this weekend and halfway through I began hearing a loud whirring noise from what appears to be under or behind the glovebox. It was intermittent and then quickly became constant. The AC still worked perfectly though, and the noise was apparent whether it was blowing cold air, heat, at low or high speed, in recirculation mode or not, etc. Nothing changedd it.

The problem was there again today as I drove the car around to some stores. At one point upon starting the car, the fan was dead. It WAS working, though loudly, when I shut the car off to go into the store. Now it's stuck not working at all. No air comes through the dash, windshield, or floor vents. The AC compressor clutch DOES turn on/off with the control button as it should, but the fan doesn't blow in the interior.

Anybody know if this is something that points solely to the blower fan, or might there be something else I should look for? Anyone know anything?

 

It does sound like it's your fan which is located behind and below the glovebox (right under the in-cabin air filter). Right where you say the noise is coming from. Attached is the service manual's illustration for 05/06. Probably similar to yours and it's a fairly easily accessible unit. I would suggest pulling it and making sure there are no foreign objects that have fallen in and that the fan spins freely. You might be able to figure something out. And if it's just worn out, you already know how to do the labor and save some $$.

 

Thanks. I'll check that out as soon as I have some time to pull it apart. It sounded like the impeller could have been hitting something, or perhaps like a gear or mounting area was messed up and causing drag or friction.

 

Boy, that was simple. I'm used to working on my Mustang where you have to disassemble half the dash to get at these old vents :lol:

Anyway, the blower motor came right off and I found that it has a decent (about 1/4") amount of play on the shaft. I assume this is not as it's supposed to be? I'd hate to order a new one if this isn't the problem, but I don't know how else to really troubleshoot that. Logic dictates that the play = damage, but since it's so easy to get confirmation online, I'm going with that first. Thanks for any input!

 

Can anyone confirm before I order a new blower unit?

 

Got the new plastic fan assy. w/the electronics and it fixed the problem. Just updating this for reference for anyone else who might find the thread in the future.

 

Glad to hear that was the answer, thanks for the update.

 

i have the same problem..where did u get the assembly and was it just the plastic piece or the whole unit...

 

I picked it up from ebay, for about $30 shipped. Can't beat that deal, ya know. They seem to be upward of $50 all day long on there, but of course they're used. If you want a new one you can also get them from there, or g35parts.com, or of course the dealer. But price will be 2-4x higher than a used one. Whether it's worth the extra price or not is up to you. My car had over 145K on it when this went, and the one I bought used was said to have come out of one with around 40K on it that was wrecked. Assuming that's true and they tend to last at least the same amount of time, I should have a good 100K left in it. You never know though, but I can gamble on that for the price.