Hey all,

Heater fan wasn't working when I drove the car the other day, was fine last time. I hear the relay click on, but the fan doesn't work at any settings. It's been suggested to me that this means the heater motor has failed.

I found some guides online regarding accessing said motor but, despite saying they're for the RB5 specifically, and/or for that year's (1999) classic, they're not correct. Can any here advice on how to access the blower motor on an RB5 so I can check it out please? I admit, I failed at the "remove glovebox" stage as the instructions were wrong. I'm VERY hesitant to force things, just in case I break something. Been made to look a little silly a couple of times when a part has just needed a bit of force, but I'll err on the side of caution.

It's funny, I know very little about "stuff" on the Impreza, as - touches wood - things simply haven't gone wrong in my 27 years (in two months time) of ownership. As such, I've done very little tinkering and fixing of things. My old Ford Focus, well, reckon I became a bit of a expert at keeping that things going... at only 5 years old lol.

If anyone can advise, I'd appreciate it. Car is booked in to a garage next week, but if I can confirm the issue beforehand that's time saved for them.

Cheers.

 

Have you checked the fuses??
Attached pdf is the supposedly MY98 onwards A/C wiring diagrams (different to my MY97 workshop manuals so probably correct).
Have looked at various Subaru Parts catalogues, but it seems that spare parts/diagrams relating to Heater Unit and Heater Blower are for some reason not listed/shown for MY98 onwards UK/European models.
Which is probably why the guides you have read aren't appropriate.

Using a "genuine" RB5 VIN




Why not listed - I don't know even though the A/C cooling items are.

 

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I'm going to check the fuses tomorrow when I have a free moment, just a sanity check, looking at the easiest item first. It's funny though, even looking online and getting data for the exact models gives "it might be here, or there" type answers. I assumed all cars of a certain MY would be largely the same, bar some optional extras. With the weather getting better - I have no garage - I can hopefully have a better look.

 

HI Gary,
im not much help at the minute but I left my car running and blower on full, I went back to car 20mins later and not blowing at all, I have checked the 2 small 15 amp fuses behind coin slot they looked ok, I’ll hopefully look under dash tomorrow and let you know if I get it working. Really strange how it just stopped after all these years.
txt soon.
Ash.

 

Usually what happens is that water/damp gets into the blower motor and causes the bearings to start to partially seize which in turn causes the resistor pack on the heater motor to blow

 

Yeah, it's a pain. It was perfectly fine, fan blowing well - I usually just set it to "2" on screen and feet, but had used it on 3 and 4 to aid demisting. Park car on driveway, turn fans off and shut the car down. Next time I get in, start, turn the fan on and... nothing, other than the relay clicking as usual.

I've read that too. Though it's odd to experience no degradation prior to it failing. Working perfectly fine, then not working at all.

Not had the chance to look at things yet... I'm hopeful I'll still get the chance before it gets dark.