Rich Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Greetings all. It seems that it is always something with a 14 year old car. My 1997 Eldorado has 125K well maintained miles. I purchased the car new and still drive it daily, and thoroughly enjoy the car. Today as I was sitting at a traffic light I heard a relatively loud "POP", smelled something burning, and noticed that the HVAC had shut down. The panel indicated that it was still running but it had clearly shut down. Total quiet, absolutely no hum or sound at all. Spun the temperature knob on the panel up and down but there was no change. Also no response to fan speed adjustments, although the panel indicated the changes that were dialed or punched in. When I got home, I ran it for codes on the DIC. The following were returned: PCM P0603 H This code was also there about two weeks ago. Control Module Long Term Memory Reset IPC B1552 H Keep Alive Memory (KAM) Error PZM B0533 H This code was also there about two weeks ago, Fuel Sensor Open / Shorted to B+ PZM B1552 H Same as above IPC code, except this is a PZM code. PZM B1558 H BCM EPROM Checksum Error PZM B1983 H Device Power Circuit Low Nothing here seems to directly relate to the HVAC system, but I'm not a tech and clearly don't know. Has anyone here ever experienced anything similar? Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be, and whether or not this would be a big repair? I just want your opinions before I take it into a dealer for theirs. Thanks all for your help. Regards, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Just a guess, but my money is on the blower motor. Not uncommon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott y Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 And good day to changing that...PITA!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I say blower motor also. I dread the day of doing another one GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 The blower motor is shot if you smelled burning electrical odor through the vents. Not that bad to change it out. If your's is the original style with the steel inertial plate on the face of the blower, buy the foil/fiberglass heat shield in addition to the new generation blower motor. GMSPO used to include the heat shield with the new blower motor but now make you buy it separately. I guess they figure there are no 1st generation blowers left in the field. The old motor will come out if you remove the inerticl plate, then reinsert two of the inertial plate screws, rotate the blower so the narrow portion is toward the cam cover and it will come right out. The new design blower will not go in as easily... I found the best way is to lower the subframe slightly to gain clearance - do not force the new blower in or the fan blade will be damaged. Also, do not cut the blower housing. Lowering the subframe takes only a few minutes and will save you from exhausting your swear word vocabulary... Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 The new design blower will not go in as easily... I found the best way is to lower the subframe slightly to gain clearance - do not force the new blower in or the fan blade will be damaged. Also, do not cut the blower housing. Lowering the subframe takes only a few minutes and will save you from exhausting your swear word vocabulary... When I replaced the blower on my '97 I didn't lower the subframe, but disconnected the torque strut on the passengers side and replaced the one on the drivers side with a turnbuckle. That allowed me to roll the engine forward just enough to give me the clearance I needed to install the blower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 I'm dropping it off at the dealer on Monday morning but the tech told me I'd need to leave the car for a few days as they are very busy and I didn't have an appointment. If they have a cancellation he'd get right on it. He quoted me a price of over $500 for the blower motor and for two or three hours of labor for installation, if in fact it is the blower motor. I saw the blower motor online (GM Goodwrench OEM part) for about $325, and let the dealer know this. I told him it would be great if his parts guy could do a little better than what he quoted me. We'll see I suppose. I'll let you all know how this works out. Thanks again for your wisdom. Best, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 I'm dropping it off at the dealer on Monday morning but the tech told me I'd need to leave the car for a few days as they are very busy and I didn't have an appointment. If they have a cancellation he'd get right on it. He quoted me a price of over $500 for the blower motor and for two or three hours of labor for installation, if in fact it is the blower motor. I saw the blower motor online (GM Goodwrench OEM part) for about $325, and let the dealer know this. I told him it would be great if his parts guy could do a little better than what he quoted me. We'll see I suppose. I'll let you all know how this works out. Thanks again for your wisdom. Best, Rich Make sure the dealer does not cut the blower housing to install the new motor. Some will charge 3 hours of labor and then butcher the HVAC case to install it in an hour... I would make sure they understand this up front. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott y Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 There's not likely a whole bunch of meat left to cut away...those HVAC blower motor air boxes are the most ridiculous choice of material that I,ve seen yet. Just not up to the heat I suppose... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 There's not likely a whole bunch of meat left to cut away...those HVAC blower motor air boxes are the most ridiculous choice of material that I,ve seen yet. Just not up to the heat I suppose... The material you are referring to is the plastic cover. There is metal under the plastic and fiberglass insulation. Some lazy dealers will cut the metal in order to remove the blower and then patch it up. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 BS I have seen it before. the flatrate way out. And I 200% agree on the plastic outer. Horrible GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I picked up the car this morning. The service adviser told me they replaced the blower motor with the new upgraded unit. I was charged $515 for the part and $480 labor (four hours). Seems ridiculous and grossly over charged. I understand this is a dealer but... It's done and over with but I do feel like I was taken advantage of. My wife hates this car so much I can't even begin to tell you. She thinks I should just dump this car and stop making it seem like she's asking me to put down the dog. "It's just a car!!!" Whatever. Can't wait to take the Eldorado on a nice long drive. That will put me back into the proper frame of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I dont know how much money you have put into this car over the last 12 months but, I want you to know that there is NO free lunch. Either you pay a new car payment and NOT have repairs because its under warranty OR...you have a used car OUT OF WARRANTY and you pay repairs. Either way, you pay. What you need to do is this, calculate the repairs for each of the last 2 years and divide them by 12, if those repairs are more than a new car payment, then you can and should get a new car. You also want to watch to see if the repairs are increasing year by year.... That gives you info as to what you should do with the car. That said, replacing the fan is a very easy thing to do in my opinion. An AC DELCO blower motor is $290 at www.rockauto.com plus we get a 5% discount so that equates to $275.50 You come to caddyinfo to get help to do this type of job, if you did this yourself the job would have cost you $275.50 plus shipping for the part If you decide to keep this 14 year old 1997 vehicle, you MUST be able to do some of this work yourself. This was not a hard job to do. You can NOT keep an old car like this without doing the repairs yourself OR unless you have deep pockets. By the way, when you compare these repairs to a new car payment, make sure you compare it to a new car with similar performance, luxury, size, etc. There is no free lunch, only a cheap lunch if you buy the parts and do the repairs yourself. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining, I was just venting. The car has had about $2,500 in repairs over the past year not including oil changes, a battery, and a serpentine belt. I guess around $3,000 total. Can't drive a new Cadillac for that. When I was younger, I performed my own oil changes, cooling system service, brakes, etc., but am not inclined to take on more involved jobs than that now. Further, my house has a large driveway but no garage. I couldn't imagine doing a job like this in my driveway in the middle of February. I'll just shut up and pay. Thanks all for your opinions. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining, I was just venting. The car has had about $2,500 in repairs over the past year not including oil changes, a battery, and a serpentine belt. I guess around $3,000 total. Can't drive a new Cadillac for that. When I was younger, I performed my own oil changes, cooling system service, brakes, etc., but am not inclined to take on more involved jobs than that now. Further, my house has a large driveway but no garage. I couldn't imagine doing a job like this in my driveway in the middle of February. I'll just shut up and pay. Thanks all for your opinions. Cheers! I know you were not complaining, but I was trying to put it into perspective for you. You know its cheaper to buy the parts and do the job yourself, and that hurts when you get the price from the dealer I fully understand about working in this weather without a garage, its rough work. When you want to tackle a job, you know we can save you money, come back so we can help you Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Rich, Make sure the dealer installed a heat shield on the new blower - it is a foil backed piece of compressed fiberglass. That should have been part of the repair. My '97 STS had the original blower motor in it when I replaced the headgaskets in 2006. I didn't replace the blower at that time and about a year and a half later, the blower puked.... It would have been a 5 minute job to replace the blower while the engine was out. I will say that it did not take me four hours to install the blower.... maybe an hour and a half. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93SixtySpecial Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Further, my house has a large driveway but no garage. I couldn't imagine doing a job like this in my driveway in the middle of February. I work on my cars during the winter all the time, and I'm in ND! No garage either. Once you get out there and start doing it for a while, you tend to forget about the cold. It's just best to remember to take a break to warm up now and then. Try replacing a steering shaft in a Silverado at -20F. Can't feel your fingers for a while! -Dusty- 2006 Cadillac DTS Glacier Gold Tri-Coat with 175,000 miles 1993 Cadillac Sixty Special Gold Mist with 185,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.