My old problem was that the blower would not run all of the time. I'd hit a bump and it would start, then shut it off, and it wouldn't come back on. Either heater or AC made no difference. I found that I could thump the blower and 80% of the time it would come on.

I came here for help. Everyone was saying "replace the blower motor". Well, I fixed it rather than replace it. Here's how...

First, the blower is just in front of the passenger's right knee.
Blower location, 2001 Dodge Ram 2500
There are 3 screws. I think they are 7/16. Two of them are easy to get out. The third one is a bear because it's in back, out of sight, but it can be done with patience. Unfortunately it has to be put back in later or the motor won't hang right!

Let the motor down. You will see the squirrel cage. The whole thing is connected by one electrical connector. Undo that connector and take the assembly out to a work area.


On a work bench, remove the pretty, shiny cover. The motor is full of black very very fine powder. Be careful not to get it all over everything. It's like fine graphite. I think it was only one spring clip holding it all together, in the middle of the squirrel cage. (I am remembering from 6 months ago).


In the motor section, there are 3 slots (see red arrow). Holding it over a trash can, or over open ground, away from your clothing, turn it so that one of the slots is down, then SOFTLY tap the whole assembly with a hammer. I used a steel claw hammer to gently tap it and I had no problem. The black sooty powder will come out of the slot and get all over everything. Keep rotating it and tapping it until the powder quits coming out. Then just put it all back together and reinstall it.

Motors run with brushes. I believe that the black powder is the remnants of those brushes. It collects in the bottom of the housing and clogs up the works. By tapping on it, you are removing that clog. Now...if I am right, then I question how long it will last before the brushes are completely shot. But I did this with mine and the motor has not failed once in 6 months, and I use it a lot. If nothing else, it will give you time to find another motor, and I would not recommend a junk yard because those brushes are likely to be pretty far gone as well. If you can find the brushes, you might be able to fix it yourself.

Good luck, and I hope this helps someone else.

 

Nice writeup. Thanks gor good pics also!