Blower motor is on when ignition is off

[beefmaster]

I recently noticed that the blower motor in my wifes 2002 V70 is running, even when the the key is out of the ignition. This is starting to worry me as I don' want to have to jump the battery or even replace the battery, let alone have the blower motor burn itself out, especially in the recent heat have we have had. Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions where to start, relay, ECC anything?

[jimmy57]

Is this 45 min or so after shutdown and then for a 10 or so minute period? Tjat car should have evaporator drying feature called afterblow that runs fan when conditions are met to dry the evaporator to prevent mildew/biological odors.

[willie83]

Mine does the same thing on occasion. Really worried me the first time I noticed it.

[beefmaster]

I really have not checked the time delay of when the blower turns on to when the car was shut down. Willie83, how can you no longer be worried? I am concerned that we may get stranded somewhere! Well my wife is taking the car to the dealer tomorrow to have the recall on the fuel pump taken care of so she will question the blower thing as well I am sure.

[willie83]

I didn't know about the evaporator drying cycle the first time it happened. After using the air conditioning and the weather conditions are right, the blower will automatically turn on and blow until the AC evaporator canister is dry, but it waits until you are done driving and have turned the car off for a while. As Jimmy said, it will keep bacteria and such from growing in the canister.

[Mikeyp5000]

My wife has complained of the same thing in her car the past few weeks. Sounds like all is good. I had a feeling there was a reason for it. I am new to Volvo's so I understand how little things like this could confuse somebody and that's why this forum is so helpful.
Mike

[jimmy57]

This is a copy of afterblow function but it is older. There are different versions of the software so the delay before it runs and the run time might be different on your car.
Here it is:

NO: 87-53
DATE: October 5 2007
MODEL / YEAR S60 2001 -
S80 1999 - 2006
V70, XC70 2001 - 2007
XC90 2003 -
SUBJECT: Air Conditioning System Odor / Afterblow Function
REFERENCE: VIDA
This TNN superseded the previous 87-53, dated November 21, 2005. The changes
include: updates to the 1999 – 2004 method and added new method for 2005 and later.
Please update your files.
DESCRIPTION:
There may be cases of odor from climate system vents on the vehicles listed above. Ensure
the odor is not from some other source and all other A/C system checks have been
completed. If necessary the Afterblow function can be activated to dry out the ventilation
system and evaporator. There are two ways to activate the Afterblow function depending on
the Model Year (MY). For MY's 2005 and later see page 2 for MY's 1999 - 2004 see page 3.
NOTE: Up through 2002 Afterblow was activated from the factory, 2003 and later Afterblow
will be Retailer activated only.
SERVICE:
In all cases basic fault tracing needs to be performed prior to the afterblow activation. Once
this has been completed see the appropriate instructions for Afterblow activation.
Check / Verify that:
- There are no refrigerant leakages (not PAG oil causing the odor).
- AC drain is not clogged - drains sufficiently i.e. no water standing in the climate box.
- No water standing underneath the floor carpets.
- Cabin air filter inspected / verify it's been replaced according to the maintenance schedule.
- Battery is in good condition.
If all the above has been checked and confirmed that they are not the cause of the odor then
the Afterblow function should be activated to minimize the risk of odor.
NOTE: MY 2005 and later it is only necessary to activate / deactivate Afterblow one time per
vehicle. If ANY new software is downloaded the Afterblow function will stay activated.
Tech-Net Notes
“Fixed Right – First Time”
Volvo Technicians, Service and Parts Managers
Copyright ©2007 Volvo Cars of North America, LLC. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 3
MY 2005 and later:
MATERIAL for 2005 and later:
Description Quantity Part Number
Activate afterblow software 1 30782577
Deactivate afterblow software (if needed to turn off) 1 30782664
Activation / Deactivation through VIDA:
- Software Tab
- Software product
- Select 30782577 (or 30782664 to deactivate if needed). Enter part number if not listed
- Download software
Read - Out the status "active / not active" in VIDA:
- Diagnostics
- Vehicle communication
- CCM / Advanced
- After - run passenger control status (wording may change in future VIDA updates.)
Note: Active or Not-Activated
When certain criteria are met the interior fan will start to blow 50 minutes after the car has
gone into the sleep mode. The fan will blow for 15 minutes at half speed with the air
directed to the dashboard air outlets.
Make sure the customer is informed of this new function.
ACTIVATION CRITERIA:
Battery voltage greater than 11.9 V
Ambient temp greater than 75°F (24°C) when engine is turned off.
Runs only one time every 20 hrs.
MY's 1999 – 2004:
Activation and Read - Out the status "active / passive" in VIDA:
- Diagnostics
- Vehicle communication
- CCM / Advanced
- Programming the Climate Control Module (CCM).
When certain criteria are met the interior fan will start to blow 50 minutes after the car has
gone into the sleep mode. The fan will blow for 7 minutes at full speed with the air directed
to the dashboard air outlets.
Make sure the customer is informed of this new function.
Copyright ©2007 Volvo Cars of North America, LLC. All rights reserved. Page 3 of 3
ACTIVATION CRITERIA:
A/C compressor has been engaged for more than 4 minutes (continuously) out of the last 11
minutes before engine was turned off.
Ambient temp app 82°F (28°C) and A/C compressor running for more than 50% during a 10
second period

OH, another thing to fret over: the interior temp sensor fan will run when you unlock the doors and enter the car before the key is even inserted. NORMAL. Some control modules "wake up" and perform some functions so the systems are readied for use. The climate system awakening and doing temp measurements allows it to have a had start on it mode and fan speed.
If it is very quiet and you enter car close doors and listen you can hear the fan usually.

OH #2: The engine cooling fan has conditions where it stays on when you turn off the ignition. Conditions being: 1. engine temp is above 215F +/- 2. the car was run above a certain power level in the prior 6 minutes before ignition is off 3. Faulty or missing signal from engine coolant temp sensor.

#1 and #2 are done to cool engine off and keep underhood temps from going so high as to make vapor lock more likely when a restart is attempted within a short time.
#3 is the default mode used so the fan runs for the same reason as #1 but since the ECM doesn't know the temp it is safer to run fan when not needed than to not run when it is needed.

If your blower for interior is on immediately after you turn off ignition THEN WORRY. This would be the symptom that does kill the battery. The transistorized fan speed controller can fail and run blower until battery is dead. IT is pretty rare and usually has some symptoms that precede the battery kill. The symptoms being that fan is squealing and/or has diminished output for no reason (like stopped up cabin air filter).

[deadmerelda]

OH wow. This is interesting because my 03 v70 stinks for a minute when I kick on the a/c and had no idea. I just changed the cabin filter but I guess there is no afterblow function active. I just let a dealer touch my car last week to get updated tranny software.

Thanks for the info!

[beefmaster]

Thanks jimmy57, very helpful. I would never have known to look for "after blow". Hopefully this will be helpful to others as well.

[carboncow]

I'll add the delay and length is hugely different between our 2001 and 2003. The 2001 runs for what seems like a long time.