Q: Burnt yellow and brown wires at blower motor resistor, is this indicator of bad resistor or bad motor? 2011 Chevrolet Malibu

asked by on December 21, 2016

HVAC blower motor working intermittingly. when I inspected motor and resistor, I noticed the white and brown wires looked like they had gotten hot. There was some melting at the terminals coming off of the resistor where the brown on white motor wires plugged into the resistor. Is this an indication of a bad motor or bad resistor?

My car has 52000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hi there - most likely, the problem is the blower motor resistor pack. A quick way to test this is if the blower fan still works in the "Max" position. If it does, that pretty-much rules out the motor as the problem. The resistor pack can get pretty hot while running the fan in lower settings, which could damage the wiring to it just from the heat. If the resistor shorts, increased electrical load could burn the wiring insulation as well. I would suggest an electrical inspection by a mobile, professional mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, who will come to your location, diagnose this problem, give you an accurate assessment of damage and cost estimate for repairs.

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