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Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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jen.martel
Novice
Sep 2, 2013, 6:14 PM
Post #1 of 14
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Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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I have been experiencing a dead battery on my 2007 Toyota Camry 4 cyl. with about 99,000 miles, for the last several weeks. I have noticed my interior fan comes on, while in the off position, and runs as if on high. It usually happens when I accelerate and won't turn off right away, even if the car is turned off. A few days later I end up with a dead battery if the car has been sitting for a day. The fan doesn't seem to be running when I use the car prior to shutting it off. I took it twice to a dealership and they are not sure what is going on. The battery and alternator are both fine and have been tested. Could it be the relay? Everything I have read points to it.
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GC
User
Sep 2, 2013, 7:09 PM
Post #2 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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If the blower switch is in the off position, the blower will turn on when you push the accelerator? Is the blower on or off when you turn the ignition off? If the blower is running while the switch is off and the ignition is off, sounds like an issue with wiring, as that circuit should not be energized with ignition in off position. Do you have a test light and/or multimeter?
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Willing to help, willing to learn... Rob
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jen.martel
Novice
Sep 2, 2013, 7:35 PM
Post #3 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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Correct. It is off and just kicks on as if it is on high. I have noticed it happens when I accelerate. I have tried turning the car off and the fan stays on. I am thinking it is drawing from the battery. It happens exactly every Friday and my battery is dead come Monday. It has happened for 3 consecutive weeks. Nothing is on in the car that could be drawing from the battery that I can see. I don't have anything to test it. I have taken it twice to a Toyota dealership. No one knows what it could be. It is frustrating.
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GC
User
Sep 2, 2013, 7:58 PM
Post #4 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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Shouldnt be hard to nail down if it can be tested while the problem is occurring. But without any tools for testing I cant help much. The blower has to be getting power from somewhere, just have test. If it is acting up with much regularity then someone with decent electrical diagnostic skills should be able to track it down with a little testing. My advice is to take it to a reputable shop and tell them as much as you can about the problem and when its occuring.
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Willing to help, willing to learn... Rob
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jen.martel
Novice
Sep 3, 2013, 4:11 PM
Post #5 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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That is the key, testing while it is happening. I also forgot to mention that when this all started, I got in my car one morning following the first dead battery incident and the fan was running on high. The car had not been started yet and the fan was in the off position. I quickly realized that was probably what caused the dead battery. How strange is that? I also find it hard to believe that the service dept. at the dealership cannot figure it out. I emailed the service manager today and received no response. Thanks for the advice.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Sep 3, 2013, 5:43 PM
Post #6 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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The blower has a built in transistor driver. The transistor has power and ground on it all the time, but isn't turned on until a pulse width modulated signal is sent, over a signal circuit, from the air conditioning control unit which is called the a/c amplifier (brain box for the ac system). Once the transistor is pulsed, the blower motor runs. It shouldn't be too difficult to figure out what is keeping the blower on by monitoring the signal line with a lab scope or graphing multimeter. If there isn't a signal on the circuit, but the blower is running, the transistor in the blower is the culprit. If there is a signal on the circuit, the ac control unit has an issue and further diagnostics would have to be done to figure out why the ac amplifier is sending a signal to the blower transistor with the engine off or when the ac blower is turned off from the panel.
When the blower doesn't want to turn off you could also unplug the 7.5amp AC fuse to see if the blower stops running. The fuse protects the circuit that sends battery power to the ac amplifier. If the blower keeps running with the fuse removed, the transistor in the blower motor is the problem.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Sep 3, 2013, 5:45 PM)
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jen.martel
Novice
Sep 15, 2013, 6:27 AM
Post #7 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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I took it to another repair shop and no one could pin point the problem. Everything that was checked appeared to be working properly. Relay and resistor were both fine. I noticed on this forum that someone had a similar issue back in 2008. I am curious if it was ever resolved. The post was not updated. The fan has not come on on its own for about 2 weeks now. Could hotter temperatures cause it? I live in MA so I am wondering if it is a temperature issue.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Sep 15, 2013, 6:44 AM
Post #8 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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Could be a temperature related problem. It can't be solved accurately unless they can catch the problem while it is occurring.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Sep 15, 2013, 8:14 AM
Post #9 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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If folks don't come back with what fixed what on some funky problem we all lose. From 2008 if you even found that or can again you could try a private message but don't expect much response - too long ago IMO or they never found a problem and bought another car or who knows?
Now it hasn't done it for a while so finding the issue will be a waiting game no doubt and must pull that trick when testing unless you plain see pinched wiring someplace??
T
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Sep 15, 2013, 8:55 AM
Post #10 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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That is what we need, an unsolved mystery cases section, but about 95% of the threads in this forum would end up in it.
Carmine could hire a detective to go through all those unsolved threads to see if he/she can somehow contact the original posters to bring closure.
Detective Tom Greenleaf has a nice ring to it..
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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jen.martel
Novice
Sep 15, 2013, 10:57 AM
Post #11 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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Thank you for the help. I will wait it out. I looked back at Camry07's posts and there is no email address listed so I won't be able to send a message. If anyone else has the same problem, I will be curious to know what the cause is.
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jen.martel
Novice
Oct 4, 2013, 4:43 PM
Post #13 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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The fan has been quiet for a while......until today. After work I got in my car and there was the fan blowing on high, but in the off position. It was 61 degrees at the time so I am assuming the high temperature is not to blame. Any ideas?
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 4, 2013, 5:05 PM
Post #14 of 14
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Re: Interior fan causing dead battery frequently
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I just typed above what needs to be done when the problem is occurring. We can sit here all day playing patty cake or someone can diagnose the problem and determine the culprit.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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