How to Repair Blower Motor Issue
Time Required: 20 minutes
Tools Required: Phillips screwdriver
Cost to Repair: $45.00
Description of Problem
Last week the blower for the A/C and heater stopped working on my 2003 Acura TL Type-S. The climate control unit will turn on, but you cannot feel the air because the blower will not blow. I tried turning it on Full Auto in both the hot and cold settings, nothing. I turned the fan knob to max and still nothing. When you turn the climate control unit on, you can hear the compressor under the hood turn on. The problem is clearly the blower not turning on.
The Repair
After some online research, I learned that much like the seat heater problem, this too is a common issue for the Acura TL (as well as other Honda and Acura models). A friend had this same issue with his Acura TSX. The solution: Replace the blower resistor.
Disclaimer / Precautions
I am not a mechanic. Follow my advice at your own risk. This repair is easy and cheap- so don’t be scared. Be sure to disconnect the battery, wear safety glasses, put on gloves, tie your shoes, chew with your mouth closed, and any other safety stuff that makes you not sue me.
Let’s begin!
Most of the time, the problem is that the blower resistor needs to be replaced. But first check to make sure the issue is not something else like a blown fuse or corroded connector. The blower fuse is located under the hood (it is close to the firewall on the passenger side for my model). The fuse is labeled “Heater Motor” on the fuse cover.
If the fuse looks good, move on to the blower inside the car. The blower motor is located below the glove box. Notice the giant yellow arrow pointing to the location.
Here you can see the blower motor and the blower motor resistor.
Disconnect the wiring connector from the blower motor to make sure there isn’t any corrosion or connection issues. Sometimes corroded connectors [photo] will cause the failure. These are clean, this is not the problem… On to the blower resistor.
Follow the wiring harness from the blower motor to the blower motor resistor. It is a white plastic trapezoidal-ish piece that is fastened by two Phillips head screws. Remove the two screws that fasten the blower resistor in place. This will allow you to pull the blower resistor down and disconnect the wires.
Gently pull the blower resistor down and disconnect the wiring connector. Here is a close up of the resistor after it has been removed. These connectors look clean too.
The metal side of the blower resistor had some crud on it. I don’t know if this was any indication of it being broken or not.
Replace the blower resistor with a new one. This part can be purchased at most auto parts stores. I paid $41.99 plus tax at AutoZone. To reinstall the part, simply screw the resistor back into place with the two screws. Reconnect all the wiring and test by turning on the climate control fan.
It should work perfectly now. If you continue to have issues, you might need to visit your mechanic.
Did this repair worked for you? Please leave a comment below and include the year, make and model of your car OR share this fix with other Acura/Honda Owners:
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2003 Acura cl. Your resistor advice was spot on and fixed me right up. You prob saved me $200. Thanks!
Hey thanks for the great info I found the problem out was 2 wires going into the blower motor I believe thru were shorted out by touching eachother and pulled them apart and boom a.c.keeps on right away…my question is the 2 wires that were shorting out were really and I mean really hot even after they were no longer shorting out or touching one another is there a reason for this? Or should I just cut the wires and re splice them cause thru look real corroded. Any ideas or help anyone please would be much appreciated
Your tutorial on Blower motor Not working on my 2000 Acura TL was perfect.. AutoZone was the place found the part for $41.99 here in Denver fixed it at 9pm my Wife was very happy.. Awesome write up and pictures thanks.. Easy repair…
what if I did that and it’s still turning off and on? whenever i hit a bump in the road it cuts off…if i press on the wires it comes back on
thank for the tip,it work for me .2000 acura tl 3.2
2005 Acura TL. Rachel I have the same problem. Rarely comes on but when it does a bump in the road turns it back off. Did you figure out anything?
Thanks so much, found this tutorial online. Checked fuses and went straight to Auto zone and picked up 41.99 part. Back in business now!
Would this be the same for a 1998 Acura TL?
You are awesome!!!! I had the exact same problem in my 2004 Acura TL. I checked the fuse, as you suggested. Once I realized that the fuse was good, I went to auto zone and purchased the BloweMotor Resistor for aboit $49. It took me about 5 minutes to replace it. Now everything s back to normal. Thanks a lot.
My 2002 TL-S had the same problem. I replaced a new blower resistor from Acura dealer, but I had the same problem as john Eagan’s post in May 2013, the fan keep running, and Josh did not have the answer. It turned out that the brand new part was defected. When I unscrewed the two nuts and left the blower resistor out of it socket, the fan controller was working fine. If I tighten the two screws back, the fan was keep running at high speed. The problem is the two tighten screws caused a loosing circuit board to shorten the circuit somewhere inside the resistor. I went to the dealer and got a replacement and it worked fine.
Dear Josh,
I am having Acura tl 2000. My blower is workking but no there is no air flow from the ducts even if i change the mode.
apperciate if you can help me on this
Thank you very much for your post with detailed instructions for fixing this problem. IT WORKED!!
Checked the fuse inside the car first then the one under the hood.. went to auto zone part was priced just as you said. Installed part and heat is working again.
This was Spot on advise. I loved your pictures fixed my 1999 Acura TL in 10 minutes paid $36.15 for part from Advance Auto Parts online and picked part up at store. If you purchase online they give a 20% discount. I will pass this on as well, I read on another thread that the evidence for failure for this part is that your blower motor will run continuously in the highest setting. That was my problem.
Thank you very much for this. Exactly my issue.
well i had no idea where it was located so thanks for that but!! its something down there i can’t find and it shuts off put when i give the cover a little tap it works again…..idk how to fix fix it and its so ghetto..
Thank you for the tips. I just purchased and replaced my self the heating blower resistor on my 99 Acura, 5 min job and is working just fine. Thank you
Thanks that was the problem good info!
Excellent write-up. I just followed these instructions on my 15-year-old Acura TL, replacing the blower motor resistor and it fixed the problem. Thank you.
Thank you so much we live in Vegas and it’s going to be in the 100’s real soon, your info was exactly what we needed to get our a.c. working again….,
need help. 98 acura tl only works if I hit it.
I mean blower motor only works if you hit it.
Worked like a charm for my 2003 CL. Thanks for taking the time to so clearly document the repair process….saved me a long wait/hassle of going to the dealer.
Im going through a similar problem, except the fuse and blower resistor are good.. There is a piece beside the resistor that has a connection of wires going to, it once I moved the wires around the air blew out then stopped. so took the piece out it has some kind of arm that looks like its suppose to rotate but its not it just shimmies a little bit.. Please help me figure this out???
Sweet success! I know nothing about cars, and my 15 year old son and I were able to fix my a/c by following this post. So easy, and a huge lifesaver/money saver!
Excellent instructions. And while it did not fix my issue it put me in the right place. My blower motor and wiring harness were burned. Another 60 bucks later and my AC is working now too. Thanks for the assist!
Excellent advice and instructions! I brought my car to the Clinton, NJ Acura for an air bag recall and I had them look at this issue. Their solution was to replace the wiring harness and blower motor for about $500. I held off and decided to look the issue up on the Internet. Glad I did as the part was $41.99 and it literally took 10 minutes. Thanks again.
Before I go digging into this or start throwing parts at the problem, I’d like to add that several weeks ago the blower quit working. After several days of driving in the hot FL sun, I turned on the AC and the fan was again working! Now after another few weeks it’s quit again. Mine is an OLD Acura (1997) 2.2 CL in otherwise good running order. Any specific diagnosis and fix for this model?
Thanks
I did just like you said checked the fuse looks fine, changed the resistor even though mine looks perfect but it didnt work. I returned the part. Anything else I can try?
This is an excellent tutorial. I have a 2002 TL S-Type. My blower worked intermittently for a few weeks, then stopped completely. We would jiggle the housing over the blower motor and it would kick back on most of the time. Finally the jiggling stopped working. I traced mine down to the wiring harness. There was bare wire showing, and when I pulled it off, it was black and broke into a million pieces. There is a design flaw that allows the blower motor housing to rub on the wires where they enter the motor. I cleaned the male part with some vinegar on a Q-tip, and spliced in a new female connector using female wire quick-connectors and 12 gauge automotive wire. I cut the part that was rubbing off of the housing before replacing it. I spent $11, and the air conditioning is working better than before.
I forgot to mention, I am a 36 year old housewife, and this job took me 3 hours, including research, troubleshooting, and running to the parts store.
I am having this problem as well. I am so relieved to see this post. I was thinking to myself this is going to seriously cost me a fortune (even though Acura is a foreign car it’s not hard to work on) because it was part of the AC system. I have been noticing it kicks off and then will kick back on a few minutes later. SO I knew something was hookey. I am going to check the wires first and hope there is just some corrosion or a loose wire. Then move on to the replace the motor. Josh is awesome sauce!! Thank you for the very well explained diagram. Thank goodness I found this before I spent the next 4 hours on YouTube trying to find a good video!!
Thank you very much. You saved us! I wish I had read this before I went to the junk yard!
I jiggled the wire connector that hooks to the blower and the blower kicked right on, I did have the car running with a/c on. Guess it was loose prolly from a passengers feet moving around. It’s working fine so I’m not going to do anthing else.
Tried this repair and it didn’t work. Many posts on this praising the repair, but it doesn’t always work. Sorry.
Does your ac have to be recharge after you don’t that because I was told it is my blower and that after it’s fixed the ac has to be recharge
good afternoon, I wonder what number of transistor taken inside the sensor shown in the pictures because mine is the same one that throne and is not seen that number had to replace it.
thanks
Thanks Josh – it worked! My husband’s 2002 Acura TL quit “blowing” yesterday (in 98 degree weather!). He was going to call a mechanic, but I googled the issue and BINGO, there was your very detailed guide on how to fix the problem. He checked online to make sure Auto Zone had the part (as other readers had suggested), then I went and got the part for him. He fixed it in 15 minutes and was SO HAPPY!
2003 honda ex accord blower motor.ac controls and out side temp guage all quit same time ??any help for a ol man ,,,i am gratefull
Worked for us! 2003 Acura TL. Thank you so much!
That’s super helpful! I haven’t had to mess with a blower resistor since the late ’80s and had forgotten this could be an issue (especially when there is voltage at the blower but no power). Fixed my 1999 Acura TL in a jiffy once you clued me in. Many thanks!
Great, great instructions for a simple fix. Thanks.
Unfortunately it did not correct my problem. I not only replaced the blower resister but also the 40a fuse to no avail. And it is not returnable. Any other suggestions Josh? Or anyone? By the way The control center which shows in the LCD area completely illuminates. However when I manually adjust the fan from low to high it normally shows on the right side(I think) where the fan is but in my case it does not & I’m wondering if that may be some sort of a tell tale?
Just took your advice and it worked perfectly. fuse was good and replaced blower resistor. It’s 100 degrees in the bay area so having A/C is definitely a necessity.
did this, but no help. any other ideas?
I have 2002 Acura where is the blower module
Worked for me! Many, many thanks. The A/C on my 2003 TL works perfectly now.
You are the man just did this to my cl type s and sure enough that’s what it was
Josh, I have a 2003 Acura TL-s. My mechanic replaced the blower and the power transistor, then the AC started to work well. A couple days later, the blower started to blow max when the engine was on but no cold air and can’t turn the blower off. The mechanic replaced the power transistor then the AC started to work again. Now a couple days later, same thing happened (the blower started to blow max when the engine was on and can’t turn the blower off. this time with cold air). Please advise if you can. Thanks.
Hi Josh
Hope you’re still following this thread..
Followed your advice and replaced the resistor yesterday and everything started working again..
Today I just turned it on and nothing once again. I removed the resistor and put it back in again just to make sure it was connected good.
Still nothing.
It’s an aftermarket part from Advance Discount Auto Parts unfortunately made in China. It’s got a lifetime warranty so they will replace it but I don’t want to have to keep doing it if there might be a underlying cause.
Do you think something could have affected this resistor or was it probably just a defective one.
Thanks!
Rick
2003 Acura TL. Your advice was spot-on and simple. Thank you so much!
2000 TL. I drove with my AC on full blast then the next day it didn’t work. I replaced the resistor and the AC works. So 2 days later I turn AC on and my AC doesn’t work again. Any suggestions on why this happen and what could be the issue?