2007-2011 S80/V70/XC70: blower motor replacement

[VCA]

This procedure covers 2007 and newer S80 and 2008 and newer V70/XC70s.

My 2008 S80 needed a new blower motor. I'll start with a warning...you must have special tool 9997284. Not an option, not a "maybe" ... you must have it to do this job successfully…I wasted two hours devising ways to get the fan out the first time to no avail, while the fan popped out in 5 seconds with the tool. The tool is about $79, and considering how much you're saving this doing it yourself, it's well worth it. There is no way to remove the blower otherwise (short of tearing the dashboard out of the car completely).

Time: 4-6 hours for the first-timer.

Tools required:
Volvo special tool 9997284
T20 torx driver
8mm and 10mm nut drivers
Ratchet set with 8-13mm sockets
Small diagonal cutters
Small needle-nose pliers
Head-mounted light (no, seriously)
Flexibility (if you're not that flexible, consider removing passenger seat and carpeting completely when we get there)

Optional tools:
Weatherstrip clip removal tool (or similar clip removal pliers)
Trouble light
Mirror
DiCE and VIDA to verify CEM operation and reset SRS if SRS light stays on

Attached are the VIDA printouts for each job.

Step 1: park car in a convenient place to easily get to the passenger side (you'll also need access to the driver's side, but not as much), and while you've got the car on, put the AC in recirculate (this makes removal of a part possible later)




Step 2: move passenger seat all the way back, unlock all doors

Step 3: remove negative battery cable and wait 3 minutes before proceeding

Step 4: Lower steering wheel all the way out and down

Step 5: Pull black instrument trim panel towards you





Step 6: Use a spudger/bone tool to remove top steering column cover, starting from one corner and working across




Step 7: Remove the 4 T20 torx screws that hold instrument cluster in

Step 8: Tip cluster towards you using bone tool to pry top




Step 9: Remove, unplug one electrical connector on left, and set aside

Step 10: Using a flashlight, locate blower motor, reach in (blindly) and disconnect electrical connector by squeezing the tabs top and bottom




Step 11: Remove right door opening threshold trim by pulling straight up, the part pivots towards the rear of the car, so work front to back




Step 12: Remove front door opening trim by pulling up at the bottom, then towards you from the vertical part, finally sliding the part off the catch at the top






Step 13: Remove dashboard side trim with bone tool/spudger




Step 14: Remove tunnel console trim by prying nearest the seat and working towards the front of the car




Step 15: Remove soundproofing (two T20 torx screws)




Step 16: Remove glove box fasteners (two 8mm bolts and four T20 torx screws inside; two 8mm bolts and two T20 torx screws underneath door)








Step 17: Disconnect glove box light electrical connection at rear (green connector)




Step 18 [may not be required, depending on model year]: Remove glove box light by prying downwards, disconnecting the leads




Step 19: Pull glovebox out, if resistance found, stop, crawl underneath and locate electrical harness zip-tied to right corner of glovebox and (blind), cut zip tie, then continue to pull glove box out until a grey electrical connector is found (valet lock), unplug and deroute wire feeding it by pulling forward on the female socket to disengage it from its mounting point.






Step 20: Remove duct




For the next few steps, you’ll want to pull the carpet back towards passenger seat

NOTE: the bracket underneath the airbag is sharp, watch yourself!

Step 21: Locate CEM and remove five connectors -- the three mass connectors are removed by pressing down on the center of the latch and rotating the lever away from the connector, which will unlock it, the other two connectors may be removed by pushing the latch and pulling connector body out




Step 22: Push up on rightmost latch on top of CEM and rotate CEM towards you to a 45-degree angle




Step 23: Remove CEM, set aside

[This step applies if your car has the iPod accessory module]
Step 23A: Locate and remove iPod module, unplug two connectors and set aside
NOTE: you MUST use caution when unplugging the connection with the orange cables—these are fiber optic cables and you must not bend these cables tighter than a 2.5 inch radius



Step 24: Using weatherstrip removal tool or similar, remove all round cable clips from CEM bracket; the white/gray connector at the top must be demated using the lever provided, then slipped off its bracket by pushing down on the black clip holding it in and sliding it to the left. Demate the two power cable connectors on top of the bracket, then remove them by squeezing the tabs that hold the connector to the mounting hole.

Step 25: Remove CEM bracket, 3x 13mm nuts (torque to 24Nm upon reinstallation)





NOTE: you may find it helpful to put the carpet back down if it was not removed fully from vehicle at this time.

Step 26: Look upwards toward the top of the dash, and remove Air Quality Sensor (if vehicle is equipped) by unplugging it, rotating it anticlockwise, and removing; then unplug and deroute 3-wire recirculation damper motor cable.




Step 27: (Now it gets memorable, take your gloves off, you’ll want manual dexterity for this). Remove 3 Torx T20 screws holding the recirculation damper unit. You will be unable to see the one nearest you, remove it first…the other two are closer to you but behind the unit. Remove damper unit by twisting it slightly anticlockwise while coaxing it out. You may wish to have a trouble light and a mirror to see what’s going on if you can’t do it by feel.




Step 28: Mount inner part of tool 7284 (alignment pin) on fan hub and tighten thumbscrew




Step 29: Holding tool 7284 straight up and down, place tool over alignment pin and seat tool fully in fan, tighten thumbscrew.




Step 30: Either get an assistant to push down on locking tab while pushing in and turning tool 15-degrees anticlockwise or, using needle-nose pliers, break mounting tab on fan by pulling up on it (I used this method)




Step 31: Remove tool from fan. Mount tool on new blower as in steps 28 and 29.




Step 32: Replace blower, holding it at approximately 15-degrees anticlockwise from straight up and down, then turn clockwise so tool is straight up and down. Attempt to pull blower straight away from mounting point to check that all four locking lugs have engaged.

Step 33: Remove tool by undoing outer thumbscrew, then inner thumbscrew.

“Assembly is the reverse of disassembly” with the following caveats:
- The 3x T20 screws on the recirc damper are non-magnetic, so use either tape or a gripping screwdriver to replace them
- When re-powering the car, connect the negative battery cable, insert key, then press and hold start/stop until all lights come on (putting the key in II essentially). DO NOT be in the car when doing this just in case an airbag chooses to deploy at random…do not enter car until SRS light has turned off (approximately 30 seconds) or stayed on for more than 5 minutes (meaning there’s a fault). It’s normal for the CEL to flash.
- If you have a DiCE and VIDA, complete the job by running CEM procedure “Checking communication and control module” under Vehicle Communication -> CEM

[mbinder]

Hi all,

could you please advise where is the blower resistor on V70 2010 , I have digital clima with air sensor and parking heater.

Thank you.
Michal

[jbornmann]

I am trying to replace the resistor on my 2007 S80 V8. I was able to get all the way to removing the recirculating units. Any hints on finding the 2 T20 screws you can't see? I couldn't feel them on the back of the unit.

Thanks

[leoism]

impressive, i just had this job done by dealer who charged me for 2.5 hours.

[pierremcalpine]

Just finished mine - this guide is superb! Thanks for putting it together. Total time: 2.5hrs. All in all not a terrible job but the OP was correct, those three recirculation motor screws are a b*%tch! Also note that where the OP suggests a T20 torx bit my vehicle actually had T25 screws installed.

I would add three tips:
1) when putting the recirculation motor back in, fit the screws into the plastic inserts first and then put the recirculation motor in. This will make it much easier to tighten up the three screws.
2) Since you will be disconnecting the battery you will need to reset the auto window close function for each of the four windows after the job is done. I forgot about this and had a mini heart attack thinking that I had either forgotten to re-plug something or damaged the CEM. To reset the windows roll each of them partially down. Then roll them up but don't pull the trigger all the way (i.e. don't activate the auto close). When the window reaches the top lift the trigger fully until you hear a little nudge/activation. This should do it. You'll need to do this for each window.
3) I had trouble understanding how to remove the levered connectors on the CEM. The instructions called for pressing down in the middle first and then lifting the levers. To be clear, in the center of each connector there is a button that you need to press down on. Once pressed, you'll notice that the lever can then be lifted without issue. This was probably clear for most but for whatever reason it took me a while to figure it out.

[bmyrthil]

Where is the resistor? After all that work, I don't recall seeing it. My next step will be to replace the resistor, if I can find it. I replaced the blower motor and it still doesn't work. Is there a fuse/relay for the blower?

[dpujara]

VCA or anyone who has worked on this issue; please clarify the question regarding the resistor. Did any of you replace or considered replacing the resistor before going through the effort of replacing the blower motor? The person who posted on this issue before me asked the same question but received no answer.

[bmyrthil]

I purchased the resistor, but never found it or replaced it. I actually re-seated the new blower and it worked. I later tested the old blower and that worked too. The old one wasn't seated properly when I took it out, but I didn't consider that it was the problem. In any case, I now have a new tool, an old motor and a new resistor in my garage collecting dust

[VCA]

In my case, the failure was a very noisy bearing in the fan motor, not an electrical failure. I've attached the location of the resistor (part 30767040; it's a full-blown control module on these cars) for the 2008 S80, this is probably valid for all P3 cars up to 2013 MY.

[dpujara]

Thank you VCA and bmyrthil for your responses. There is a 40 amp fuse that controls the blower motor. When I first looked at the fuse, it looked OK to me so I assumed that either the resistor or the blower motor has blown. However, today I decided to try out a new fuse anyways, and to my pleasant surprise, the blower motor started running again. This 40 amp fuse looks like a relay cube. Unlike the 15 amp and 10 amp "thin" fuses which if blown, look "blown" upon visual inspection; this one looks just fine visually even though it may be burned from inside.