Testing the blower motor on the 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 2.0L Honda CR-V is a pretty easy thing to do.
In this tutorial, you'll find the two tests, explained in a step-by-step way, that you'll need to perform to find out if it's defective or not.
Contents of this tutorial:
You can find this tutorial in Spanish here: Cómo Probar El Motor Del Soplador (1997-2001 2.0L Honda CR-V) (at: autotecnico-online.com).
Symptoms Of A Defective Blower Motor
The blower motor, on your 2.0L Honda CR-V, is going to fail in one of two ways:
- Your Honda CR-V's blower motor is not going to run at all.
- It will run, but it'll run with a lot of noise (this noise is bearing noise).
Sooner or later the blower motor's bearings are going to wear out. When they do, not only is the blower motor going to make a lot of noise as it runs, but it's also going to use more current.
The blower motor on your 2.0L Honda CR-V is designed to use less than 40 amps when it's operating. As the blower motor ages and its bearings wear out, it will begin to use near 40 amps or more.
Current draw will cause the blower motor's power transistor module (which is the equivalent of a resistor assembly) to burn out.
Blower Motor Basics
The blower motor on your 2.0L Honda CR-V has two wires coming out of its connector.
In a nutshell, one wire delivers battery power and the other wire delivers Ground. you can find the electrical wiring diagram of the blower motor here: Blower Motor Circuit Diagram (1997-2001 2.0L Honda CR-V).
The wire that feeds it battery power is the blue with white (BLU/WHT) stripe wire. The wire that feeds it with Ground is the blue with black stripe (BLU/BLK) wire.
The fact that it's a simple 2 wire electrical component makes testing is a breeze.
Where To Buy The Blower Motor
The blower motor on the 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 2.0L Honda CR-V isn't an expensive part. The following links will help you comparison shop and save a few bucks:
TEST 1: Testing The Amperage Draw Of The Blower Motor
The very first thing that we're gonna' do, to find out if the blower motor is defective or not, is to find out how much current it's using.
The amount of current (amperes) that the blower motor should be using should be below 40 amps. If it's using 40 amps or more, we can conclude a right off the bat that the blower motor is defective and needs to be replaced.
To find out the amount of current that the blower motor is using we are going to do a simple multimeter resistance test. Then we're going to use that resistance value to find out how much current the blower motor is using with Ohm's Law.
A current draw test is usually done with ammeter but using Ohm's law (with a multimeter) to figure out the blower motor's current draw is a very accurate way of finding it out.
These are the test steps:
- 1
Disconnect the blower motor from its electrical connector. If you need better access to its two male terminals, remove it from its place.
- 2
Place your multimeter in Ohms mode.
- 3
Measure the blower motor's resistance across its two male spade terminals.
IMPORTANT: If you have removed it from its place, you need to make sure that the its fan assembly does not turn when you test its resistance. - 4
Divide 12.5 by the resistance value you got in step 3.
Let's say that you got a resistance reading of 0.4 Ohms in step 3. You would then do the following calculation: 12.5 0.4 = 31.25. Which tells you that the blower motor has an amperage draw of 31.25 Amps.
Let's examine your test results:
CASE 1: Your test result shows the blower motor is using less than 40 amps. This is the correct and expected test result. With this test result You can conclude that the current draw of the blower motor is within specification.
The next test is to manually apply battery power and Ground to your Honda CR-V's blower motor. For this test go to: TEST 2: Applying Power And Ground To The Blower Motor.
CASE 2: Your test results shows that the blower motor is using 40 or more amps. This test result lets you know that the blower motor is defective and needs to be replaced.
