The blower motor is a vital component in your furnace system and you’ll want to be sure it’s in ideal performance. Replacing a bad furnace blower motor will brings back your system’s functionality and keep your home comfort.
The furnace blower motor replacement cost by hvac technician will costs several hundred dollars. Now You can save a lot of money by doing it by yourself. This step by step guide will help you through the process on how to replace furnace blower motor.
Furnace Blower Motor Troubleshooting
A failing blower motor will not able to supply warm air throughout the home. If the blower motor is noisy, the set screw on the blower wheel potentially loosened. You can fix this problem by tightening or replacing the screw, or changing the blower wheel all in all.
A lot of dirt and dust in your furnace system can cause the blower motor to overheat. In this case, cleaning the furnace may fix the problem.
If the motor itself is making noise, the bearings in the motor may have damaged. Most older furnace blower motor can be oiled to reduce the noise, but most new furnace do not allow this. In this case you need to replace furnace blower motor..
If the blower motor will never run at all, you should first confirm that the motor is receiving power. If it is, then it’s likely the motor has burned out.
If you replace furnace blower motor without fixing the above issues, you’ll continue running into the same problems.
Replacing the Furnace Blower Motor
Important steps in furnace blower motor replacement is selecting the correct replacement. Here is what you should look for:
- type of drive (direct or belt)
- motor diameter in inches
- voltage
- horsepower
- speed in rpm
- number of speeds available
- direction of rotation (it is best to get a reversible one)
- mounting method (typically a belly band)
- size of run capacitor required
Tools you needs
- Hub puller
- Screwdrivers
- Socket wrenches
This is step by step guide on how to replace furnace blower motor properly and save.
- Shut off the electrical power supply to the blower motor.
- Remove the panel covering the blower motor on your furnace.
- Locate and remove the bolts/screws securing the motor housing to the frame.
- Disconnect motor wires from main unit.
- Slide out motor housing.
- Loosen the set screw next to the motor shaft.
- On the back side of the motor, loosen screws and capacitor leads.
- Unscrew hub puller until it can fit over the motor shaft.
- Tighten bolts on sides of hub puller until it grips the shaft firmly.
- Turn the hub puller clockwise until the motor comes loose.
- Carefully move the motor out of the housing.
- Undo screws on motor so that you can take off the belly band.
- Position the new motor so that its rotation matches the direction that the fan moves the air.
- Reattach motor belly band.
- Center the motor within the fan wheel and connect bolts and capacitor leads on back.
- Reconnect the motor set screw.
- Slide motor and its housing back into furnace and secure in place with bolts.
- Reconnect electrical wires.
- Restore power to unit.
You should complete your furnace blower motor replacement by checking for normal operation.
Replacing a furnace blower motor is a jobs that many homeowner wouldn’t normally want to do. If you are one of them, call an HVAC professional near you for a complete furnace troubleshooting and repair!