2018 Ford Transit Connect XLT Wagon LWB
Let me start by saying that it does appear that I have fixed this problem now and detail for anyone in the future who has these same symptoms what my fix was.
The Symptoms:
--It was still during the summer and I had the a/c running on max. I got out to deliver a package and it was fine. When I got back about 30 seconds later I noticed the fan didn't seem to be blowing as hard but I didn't think too much of it and thought I was maybe a bit crazy. Several minutes later on my way to my next stop I noticed that I wasn't crazy because the fan speed slowed down drastically. I turned the control to off. I left it off until after I left my next stop when I turned it back on. It was now blowing at full speed again. Several minutes go by and it starts slowing down again. So I turn it back off. I wait a few more minutes and turn it back on, this time only onto the number 3 position. It then works fine the rest of the day without slowing down in this position (probably 4 - 5 more hours of running).
Next day when I turned it on, it didn't last long at all before the speed dwindled to nothing. It remained in a state where I could turn it on and get a minute or two of air before it would die out. Then eventually it stopped working altogether. Then about a month after that I turned it on to demonstrate to someone the problem and it actually came on but again only ran for a few minutes and died out.
Fixing it:
-- I knew that the problem was likely either the blower motor resistor or the motor itself. So I ordered both parts from Advance Auto. And yes I did use a Carquest Premium blower motor and was able to re-install it even though I had heard or read (can't remember which) from somewhere else that this fix "requires" the Motorcraft blower motor. I got a friend to help me and we watched a youtube video which I will link at the bottom of this post. We first tried to change just the blower motor resistor since we thought that was the "easier" item to change. Here's the thing though, it is absolutely not an easy part to change at all. After 6 hours (Yes 6 actual hours of two men working) we finally got the resistor changed. And we still could not get the screw that holds it in place back in. We barely managed to get that screw taken out. So now my resistor is held in place with some 3m duct tape instead. Then we tested it. And the problem persisted.
So the next thing to do which I didn't start for another month or so was the process of changing the blower motor. Let me tell you, it isn't a quick or easy process. Now, my van has a right hand drive aftermarket conversion on it for my job. So I had extra work that you likely won't have unless you're in the same profession as me. I had to remove the passenger seat (driver seat is already gone for me). Remove my right hand drive kit. Then to gain some extra working space I removed the top piece in the center of the dash so I could take the radio out. I then took the next trim piece out and then popped popped the shroud around the gear shift up so I could take the next trim piece off and finally the center console area trim panel out. Then I had to drop the BCM/fuse panel off of its mount on the passenger side (you will probably have to remove your glove box first. The PDF at the bottom might help you some too. Then I used a mini ratchet (may call it a stubby ratchet) and a long Torx T25 bit with a long extension and a endoscope/boroscope/whateveryoucallitscope to see what I was doing to get on the 3 screws around what I will call the cage around the blower motor. Once you get it out from under the driver side you will have to unplug the motor. And then you will need 2 people for sure for the next part. One person has to hold the unlocking tab from the driver side and the other person has to twist the blower motor itself clockwise 45 degrees from the passenger side. Then the blower motor will extract through the passenger side.
Now for the replacement I remember hearing that because you need to be able to grab the motor you must use a Motorcraft replacement because the aftermarket ones don't have big enough holes in the fan to be able to hold on to it. But what you can do like with the Carquest Premium blower motor is take a small screwdriver and gently pry the locking tab off the end of the motor shaft. Then slide the fan blades off the shaft. Now re-mount the blower motor. Then slide the blades back onto the shaft noting that it is keyed to only let the blade slide on a certain way. Then press the locking tab back onto the shaft. Then basically reverse engineer what you did when taking it apart to put it back together. Now the way I got those screws back into those hard to reach areas was with using the scope to see and then dipping my T25 bit in some RTV silicone and then pressing the bit into the screw. Anything tacky or goopy like that should help hold the screw onto the bit without so that you can actually get it into those holes without it falling off the bit a million times.
Conclusion:
-- I now have my vehicle back together and it seems to be working correctly again. I have had it blowing for about 10 minutes without any sign of it slowing down and I hope it continues to work right. I believe the problem is that the brushes in the factory blower motor are cheap crap and burned up. I would rate this at least a 6-7/10 on the difficulty scale job. It requires a lot of time, a lot of patience, and a lot of painful contortionist movements to fix. I don't know what it would have cost me to have my mechanic do for me but I would guess he would have charged over $1000 for this job that cost me about $200 in parts. If you are reading this then I hope my write up has helped you because information on this particular problem seems quite sparse for these 2nd generation Transit Connects. I found plenty of videos detailing the change on the 1st gen models which seems like it was much easier to do.
The video I mentioned several paragraphs ago
blower moter removal.pdf
