Repairing a Blower Problem Is a Common Heating System Repair

All furnaces need a blower to heat your home. Electric and gas furnaces may heat the air in different ways, but they both need a blower to move the warm air through the ducts and out the registers. Fixing a bad blower is a common heating system repair. Here are signs a blower is bad, and information on how a repair technician can fix it.

Signs Your Furnace Blower Is Bad

If the blower is broken completely, it won't come on at all. You may notice the furnace doesn't make its usual blowing sounds, but even worse, your house will start to cool down. If the blower works intermittently, your house may not stay warm, even if you hear the blower run off and on.

Reasons a Blower Goes Bad

The blower might malfunction simply because it's dirty. Dust can build up on the fan blades and make the blower wheel difficult to turn. A blower motor spins the fan, and a capacitor helps start the motor. If the capacitor goes bad, the motor may not start. The motor itself could be bad, and in that case, the blower may work erratically or not at all.

Repairs That May Be Needed

The heating system repair technician needs to narrow down the cause of the problem. If a capacitor is bad, the old capacitor can be replaced. The technician will probably check the motor too since a bad capacitor can cause the motor to burn out. It might be possible to repair a bad blower fan motor, but if not, the technician can replace it if it's bad.

If the blower fan is caked with dirt and dust, the only repair that could be needed is to take the blower wheel out and clean it. This might require using a brush to scrub all the dirt from the individual fins on the wheel. Sometimes, the problem might be with how the blower is mounted in the furnace.

As the blower spins, it creates vibrations that could cause the wheel to get loose. If this happens, your furnace might get noisy too. This repair is simple since all the technician needs to do is reposition and tighten the fan wheel.

Blower problems are often quick and fairly inexpensive to repair. However, it's important to remember that one bad part can lead to the failure of other parts. It's best to get quick repairs done rather than run the furnace when it is malfunctioning, as that might lead to burning out the blower motor.  

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