Fan motor stopped?

[Tsowdsun]

Hey everyone...I own a 2013 Genesis Sedan. I had it in the shop to do front brakes. As I was leaving I ran down my windows to hear if the brakes were making any noise. They weren’t so I rolled up the windows and turned on the air. I bumped up the fan and no air out of the vents. I went from recirculate on to off and nothing. Changed the mode. Nothing. Turned car off and back on and nothing.

I called the mechanic. He knew and I knew he didn’t do anything that would have impacted the fan. He said that it had been raining and suggested I disconnect the negative cable to the battery to reset something. I disconnected it and checked the fan and it worked again.

So my question is what could this be a sign of? Is the fan motor failing or something else?

 

[mikec]

The motor itself can wear out. It is a typical DC motor with carbon brushes rubbing against the rotating commutator part of the motor. Eventually the brushes wear enough that they may not make contact if the motor happens to stop in just the right position. Kicking underneath the glove box may wake it up for a bit. If a good whack to the under-dash plastic cover wakes it up, plan on buying a new motor. It is not difficult to install either unlike so many other cars. Just removing the lower dash cover is enough to access the mounting screws. RockAuto has a fan that works well. The RockAuto replacement in my 2009 is working fine though it was just a little louder when I tested it, and the old motor, on my workbench. Installed in the car the higher noise level is only apparent with the stereo off.

I looked at what it would take to replace just the brushes as stores local to me carry quite a variety of generic brushes. The motor case though is held together by bent-metal tabs that are pretty strong so getting it apart cleanly, and put back together, could be challenging. Holding the brush assembly (the brushes each have a spring to fight you) while trying to re-assemble everything would take an octopus.

mike c.

 

[OUsig]

there is a fan control relay in the main fuse box under the hood - check that first. Mine went out also. I ended up replacing it and the fan at the same time because...well I bought both but it was the control relay

 

[TMG98]

When your fan control relay went out, did your Air Conditioning also start to blow hot? I have a 2013 Genesis sedan and I think I may need to change my relay as well.
Thanks

 

[amartz]

My heater/ac fan on my 2012 3.8 sedan did the same thing. They wear out. A good way to test is remove the cabin air filter. The squirrel fan is directly below it. Reach in and give the fan a flick with you finger. If it takes off and starts running, it's time for a new fan assembly. The motor gets a dead-spot in it, and bumping it with your finger gets it off the dead-spot. When I checked at O'Reighly's and AutoZone online, they wanted about $100 for a new assembly. I was able to find the same thing on Amazon for $38. It was a perfect replacement for the old assembly, and didn't take terribly long to replace. If you've replaced your own cabin filter, you should be able to handle this. Only a Phillips screwdriver required.

 

[OUsig]

When your fan control relay went out, did your Air Conditioning also start to blow hot? I have a 2013 Genesis sedan and I think I may need to change my relay as well.
Thanks

yes when I was not driving it did and the engine tried to overheat. meaning the fan isnt running

 

[G-809966]

I had this exact same issue in a 2012 sedan. As Mikec suggested above just underneath the glove box is the fan motor housing. With a light tap while the climate control setting was on max woke it right up. Thank you Mike for the good info, now I know which component needs to be replaced as well. Cheers!