Blower Motor Repair in Montana

What the Blower Motor Does

The blower motor is the part of your furnace that moves air. The burners or heating elements make the heat, but without the blower, that heat never leaves the furnace — it just builds up inside the unit until the safety limit switch shuts everything down. The blower pushes warm air through your ducts and into every room, and pulls cool air back for reheating. When the blower motor fails, the furnace may still be making heat, but your home stays cold. And a blower that is failing — running slowly, running noisily, or stopping and starting — is a problem that gets worse fast, because a furnace that cannot move air will overheat and shut down.

Signs Your Blower Motor Is Failing

• No airflow at all — the furnace runs but nothing comes out of the vents
• Weak airflow — some air, but far less than usual, and rooms far from the furnace stay cold
• Squealing or grinding noises — worn bearings, the most common blower motor failure
• The blower never stops — a control or relay problem keeping the motor running constantly
• The furnace overheats and shuts down — the blower is not moving enough air to carry the heat away
• A burning smell — an overheating motor, which should be checked immediately

Common Causes

• Failed capacitor — the capacitor gives the motor its starting torque. When it fails, the motor hums but will not start, or starts slowly. This is the most common blower repair, and the cheapest.
• Worn bearings — the motor's bearings wear out over years of use, causing squealing, grinding, and eventually seizure.
• Dirty blower wheel — dust and debris on the blower wheel unbalance it and reduce airflow.
• Control board or relay failure — the furnace's controls stop sending power to the motor at the right time.
• Clogged filter — a filter packed with dust makes the blower work far harder than it should, and can burn the motor out early.

Repair or Replace the Motor

A failed capacitor is a repair — quick and inexpensive. A motor with worn bearings can sometimes be repaired, but often the motor itself needs replacing, especially on an older furnace. A repair professional will test the capacitor, the motor, and the controls, and tell you honestly whether a repair makes sense or the motor should be replaced. On a furnace that is otherwise in good condition, a blower motor replacement is far cheaper than a new furnace — and it restores full airflow and even heating to the whole house.

Related Services

See also: No-Heat Furnace Repair, Furnace Maintenance & Tune-Up, and Furnace Replacement.