Fan in Furnace quit - advice please

[MuskieJunkie]

Yesterday when it got up to 85 degrees in my house I noticed the fan had quit blowing air. I can see the AC unit kicking on and off but the furnace fan will not blow air even if I turn the thermostat fan switch from "Auto" to "on". I checked the circuit breaker and nothing was blown

I have a 1988 Trane XE 70 forced air furnace with AC and a programmable thermostat.

Should I buy a new fan and put it in there to see if that fixes my problem or do I need to call a repair man. Thanks

[jwhjr]

We just had the same issue on our AC and the fan control board ended up needing replacement. You can check for power to it when the AC is on to check. Also, check for the lines freezing up by the outside unit.

[paceman]

Sounds like the blower motor went out, Better call the repair man.

[WallEYES]

It's not the board...most likely the blower motor...another possibility is the door switch...mine had bad contacts and removed the swith and wire nut the wires together

[MuskieJunkie]

I'm thinking blower motor also, thanks for the advice here's some more info:

If I flip the fan switch to on or turn on the AC the fan will run for about 1 minute then quit. It makes some weird noises along the way.

If I run the heat the fan will run continuously but not really blow hot air - still making a loud groaning noise.

I had the whole electrical board replaced about 5 years ago, fan is original.

The repair guy can't get out until late this week, I could throw a capacitor in there just to see if that helps as they only cost $20. A new fan is $240 and I could replace it myself. The repair guy is $120 just to come out and look.

[MuskieJunkie]

It's not the board...most likely the blower motor...another possibility is the door switch...mine had bad contacts and removed the swith and wire nut the wires together

I'm pretty sure the door switch is good, the furnace is working some times, when I take the door off nothing will turn on (as it shouldn't).

[Tom7227]

Check at Grainger's and see if you can get just the motor. http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/start.shtml

They are extremely helpful. If you took the old motor to one of their stores you would have a much better chance of knowing if they can match it. I suspect if would be a lot less than $240.

[Pinusbanksiana]

Some blower fans have a capacitor on line and these can and do go bad. Fortunately it is a cheap fix usually. I would start my looking here first.

[MuleShack]

Take the belt off of the motor and spin it to see if the bearings are going out of the motor or the fan itself. You said it was groaning, so one of them must be going bad.

If it was the fan bearing, the motor would/should still spin it...so it's probably the motor going or overheating.

[JBar]

You might have a few problems to me sounds like your fan center relay is not working properly If i remember right this unit used a fan center relay contoller and not a control board if it does the relay is located behind the top cover of the furnace on the top left side. but if your motor is making noise you possibly also have bearing failure of your motor. Your blower is problably a direct drive no blower shaft bearings or belt.

[JBar]

sorry about that you said it does have a circit board but i would also make shure it does not have a fan controler for the fan switching funcition in these years that was common. if this is the case the relay can be replaced