Hi, I have not been able to determine a problem I'm having with my 2002 S430 climate control blower. I have voltage going to the regulator but none from it to the motor. I read there was a recall on earlier S430 but do not see the same recall on mine on my alldata account. Does anyone have input on this subject. Thanks to all.

p.s. I have read 15 pages of posts on this site using the same title for this post to search.

Wouldn't this indicate a bad regulator?

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1991 300E - 212K and rising fast...

yes i thought so too and put the new one in this evening with no change...still no voltage coming out....just going in

I had the same symptoms (though intermittent) and bought an aftermarket regulator from Deutschepartsusa on Ebay. Everything was perfect for a week, but then the new regulator failed and took the blower with it. I returned the part to Deutscheparts, but they refused to refund my money. So if you got your new part from them, they may have just sent you my bad one.

When you check for voltage output from the regulator, is it with the motor unplugged? I assume that you can confirm the motor is good by giving it 12 volts straight from the battery.

When you say the regulator has voltage going to it, I assume that you mean a constant 12 volts. I don't remember how I diagnosed mine, but I must have looked for a change in an input to the regulator when I changed the fan setting on the push button unit. I think you need to rule out any problems upstream by verifying this changing input to the regulator. I hope your control unit is still good.

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1996 C280 289K Traded
1997 E420 167K Traded
2001 S430 240K Traded
2010 E550 4matic 80K
2000 GMC Jimmy 198K Gone to Boneyard
2003 Camry LE 196K
2011 Mazda3 i Sport 31K

Thanks Steve I will check the motor with direct current and the controllers ability to vary the voltage but I believe the voltage is not varied going in to the regulator..that stays a constant 12 volts, I believe the third, gray I think it is, wire is what tells the regulator what to do and the voltage coming out to the motor is how the system works. Maybe I reading the output wrong. there are two prongs the motor plugs into, Im reading the voltage and getting none from either the old or the new regulator. Anyway Ill post the test of the motor tonight. Thanks for any help anyone can give.

Brian

Im also a little curious about a few other things. ..should the regulator have come without being in a sealed package...this is the first time I've received an electric part that wasn't sealed and what does the third wire on the harness providing current to the regulator do and is there or are there fuses associated with the blower motor other than the 40 amp in the block on the passenger side fender/ firewall?....thanks

I'm not sure about fuses, but my recollection is that I checked about three of them when I was looking at this. The fuse listing is in the tool tray on the spare tire.

I checked to see if I still have the old regulator in the garage, but I must have thrown it away. I think the regulators have three wires atttached to them. I would guess that they are ground, 12 volts, and a wire from the controller that probably has a small voltage that varies based upon the fan speed setting (I don't know this for a fact). The 12 volts is probably only there when the car is running.

When I was having problems I had the dealer look at it, but I'm not sure it acted up for them, because they suggested replacing the regulator, even though they said it might be the blower. I decided to drive around with a voltmeter on the passenger seat to narrow the problem down. I actually suspected the motor at first, but decided it was the regulator after all.

I don't know much about motors, but my concern is that yours might be shorting out. That's why I think you should check the regulator output with the motor unplugged. If the motor is screwed up, I would be concerned that it may be damaging the regulator.

When you manually change the fan speed on your push button unit, you do see a change in the displayed blower speed, don't you?

__________________
1996 C280 289K Traded
1997 E420 167K Traded
2001 S430 240K Traded
2010 E550 4matic 80K
2000 GMC Jimmy 198K Gone to Boneyard
2003 Camry LE 196K
2011 Mazda3 i Sport 31K

Thanks for the info. I will go check it out

In the 140 chassis the regulator is in the ground side of the motor. The power should always be there. I would check for a good ground on the motor frame

I think we're talking about a 220 chassis.

__________________
1996 C280 289K Traded
1997 E420 167K Traded
2001 S430 240K Traded
2010 E550 4matic 80K
2000 GMC Jimmy 198K Gone to Boneyard
2003 Camry LE 196K
2011 Mazda3 i Sport 31K

yes we are.....update, with direct 12 volt was able to tap on the casing and get the motor to think about turning so I opened the casing and to be sure the brushes are shot. Just got back from ace hardware which have almost an exact fit set of carbon brushed so I will install them and see what happens. I still don't understand why there is no voltage at the output of the regulator. Will post more in a few

Here is the ending. I opened the motor and the brushes were shot. Went to the hardware store and 2 carbon brushes (very easy to find a virtually exact match) and $10.70 later I was back home and replaced the brushes. Not hard to do. I'd be happy to go into detail if any wants me to. The factory wires were not soldered, just clipped in v-clips. I reassembled the motor and it is working like a charm. I still don't know why i did not get a voltage reading from the regulator without the motor plugged in but that's going to be another puzzle for another time. Total time actually working including diagnostics approximately 3 hours. I hope this helps. I'd also like to take a minute to thank the people who helped me out.

Take care.

Brian

Follow up;

The carbon brushes sold in the US are not long lasting. There is a supplier in England that offers hardened brushes that last.