e30 blower motor not working on any speed

[Boris3]

Tried one more experiment. Tapping on the motor will get it to run for a bit at all speeds but I can see sparking inside the motor. So, my guess is something jarred loose inside the motor itself.

[straight6pwr]

aww well that sucks for the wallet, but at least you will be done with it.

[jc43089]

Brushes worn out in the motor?

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[Boris3]

Thanks. I thought about that as a possibility but in searching forums on this I don't think you can replace them on the e30.

[Boris3]

My mistake, looks like you can replace them

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=348412

[jc43089]

They may not have a BMW replacement part but if you find one with similar dimensions. I've replaced them on an e32 blower motor, never an e30. I don't remember where I got them, maybe ace hardware. They weren't really meant to be replaced as in I had to bend some metal tabs I think and crimp the wire leads. It was a while ago though so I am not sure.

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[B C]

Yes, the hardware drawers at True Value have motor brushes

[Boris3]

Good deal, thanks for the info. Hoping to get time to pull the motor later this week and take a look to see if the brushes are the issue.

[Boris3]

Pulled the motor. The brush is worn down to about 1/16" in the housing near the + connector side, and about 1/8" on the brush in the housing near the - connector side. The sparking I was seeing when I could get the motor to run by tapping the housing was around the housing at the + connector side. With the wear in the brush the braided copper brush wire is pretty low and may be coming into contact with things it shouldn't?

[jc43089]

Yea they start much longer, excessive sparking is probably from it being so small that the connection is poor because the spring is not compressed much.

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[Boris3]

Plan B in case I screw up the brush repair this weekend or if it doesn't solve the problem (local Ace had the brushes for $4.40 each). Picked up a blower motor for $60 out of a 98 Z3 from a yard down in Kenosha this evening. Interchangeable with the e30.

[Boris3]

Nice when a backup isn't necessary.

Not the cleanest soldering job but it works

I just replaced the one brush that was sparking. The other one still had enough life left for a track car and I wanted to make sure that this was the problem. Reinstalled the motor and the blower works on all speeds.

Thanks again for the brush suggestion!

[straight6pwr]

very cool! nice tip on the z3 motor being swappable.

[jc43089]

Good deal! It's fun to repair things instead of just throw it out and spend money for a new one.

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