I have a 1996 Pathfinder LE and the blower fan (heat/ac) does not always come on. Does not matter which fan setting I use, checked all buttons, controllers etc.

Thinking either the relay or the fan. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for any insight!

It could be a lot of things. Don't rule out a bad spot on the motor windings, poor contact at the harness connector terminals, shorting or opening wire... If you can duplicate the problem, I would start by checking for power to the motor, followed by checking the ground circuit. If there is power and ground and the motor is not working, then it's the motor.

Just two cents worth here.. And the years are a little different , but my intermittent blower problem was the resistor. Just saying

Het my fan only works on flat out been told it could be the fan speed resistor does none know where this is in a 97 model

The fan resistor is a known cause of problems and is easy to replace or fix. It is located on the passenger side behind the glovebox mounted into the airbox with two screws. Nissan is very proud of this part and the $100 plus pricetag shows this.

But, you can fix it yourself for around $10.00

This is the little guy you need to fix


This is what you need to buy, I suggest Mouser




Plus soldering iron, solder and thermal paste.
This is what is under the plastic cover


There are 5 total solder joints that need to be removed, hence the solder wick. Touch them all with a soldering iron and pull solder with wick to free connection. After this is done, circuit board pulls out and you are left with the three prong transistor and the thermal cutoff.


Remove the small screw inside to free the transistor and retainer. Apply paste to surface and reinstall new parts. The cutoff is held under the black retainer. Slip circuit board down over the new terminal ends and solder in place, trim excess connections and put plastic cover back on. Reinstall unit and enjoy your fan at all speeds

It was my fan speed resister picked 1 up from the wreckers for $10