Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I recently acquired a bone stock 1950 Standard 8 and love it. My friends with 49 and 50 Packards tell me the blower motor is very quiet, so quiet, one may not hear it. I am pretty sure mine is not working. with the car running, when I push in the button that should activate it, my amp gauge does not move one bit, leading me to believe it is not coming on. What is the best way to test it and is there a dedicated fuse or relay for the blower motor? Thanks, as always, for your wisdom.

Ray

A minor point of correction, hoping you don't object. Your car is not a Standard Eight. Its properly an Eight, though you could call it a standard Eight if you wanted to emphasize that it wasn't a Super or Custom Eight, but it is not a Standard Eight. The word "Standard" as part of a model name was dropped after 1932.

Yes, the blower motors are normally very quiet but the lack of ammeter deflection would suggest it is not functioning.

There should be a 30amp inline fuse between the ign switch GA terminal and the heater sw. It is hard to say which switch or end of the wire it would be closer to so you will just need to start at the heater switch and head toward the ign switch looking for a fuse holder in the wire.

Out of the heater switch should be a single wire going toward the loom or maybe a hole in the firewall. There should be an inline connector probably on the engine side located a short distance from the blower motor. You could check that the blower motor wire is connected and then disconnect it and place a meter on the switch side of the wire to see if there is voltage getting past the switch.

If you have voltage and no blower then others have found blowers that have seized up from leaves and debris caught in the housing due to a missing screen or sometimes the oil drying or turning gummy in the bearings.

Thank you both for your input and advice. I'll get into the dashboard as soon as I am home after work today!. Thanks again.

There's a large amount of info on this site in the home or literature tab. You'll want to get familiar with, like what you should call your model, so you don't get hammered on the fine details.(Rough crowd) There's wiring diagrams in one of the manuals. Might even be something on troubleshooting the blower in service?
Also, if you don't find under '50, '49 applies as some '50s are leftover '49s.(23 series)
I know I took mine out, it's on the shelf, when I dismantled but had the pass. sheet metal off, and don't recall how easy to access the fan with it on. I would suspect, if you can get to it, disconnect from switch and hot wire (reverse polarity universe (- = "+")) and see if it runs. Depending the condition of the wiring (mine was mouse munchies) energizing it could be risky. I recall Howard saying something in past about some of those switches being tricky too.

Here are some "fixes" rather than "repairs" tricks you can try to get the blower motor running.

Sometimes a light tapping on the housing will free up a stuck motor. Be careful and only do light tapping. The plastic handle end of a screwdriver is a good tool to use.

I have also cut a slot in the housing at the shaft end, opposite the fan end. Just make the cut deep enough to get through the housing material. Then squirt a small amount of oil, 3-In-1 works well. Lastly seal the slot with silicone or something like it to keep dirt and moisture out.

Like I said fixes not repairs, but they sometimes work.

Quote:
Hey Fish'n Jim, Just wanted to comment on your remark there. When I first came on the site with my '39 Six, I was calling it a '110' and someone came on and corrected me, saying it wasn't until later models that '110' was used. A 'minor' oversight on my part, and probably a forgivable error given my newbie status to Packardom, but the point is I DID appreciate being corrected, and thought Owen Dyneto (Dave) was very polite and unobtrusive with his correcting remarks. Certainly wasn't SAID harshly and I doubt it was received that way either. Chris.

for what it is worth-blower motor in my 47 Super Clipper quit working-it is underseat unit-but mtr is probably same or close to what you have. I got the motor apart and for some reason varnish or something had locked the rotor and stator. Cleaned them up and now works. I suspect the motor was subjected to a low voltage due to additional resistance on connection points. By the way the motor split in middle-careful with the brushs.