Small blower motor spins back and forth

[vegaschef364]

Hello, novice diyer here, but trying to learn more about electrical. I have done some basic wiring but that's about it. I have one of those outdoor blow up Santa ornaments, 8' tall, I tried putting it up today and the small fan just started spinning back and forth about every 3/4 of a second. Never gets to full speed either way. The lights for the ornament seem to be working fine, the power cord goes to the motor first, then to the lights. Any ideas on what could be causing that, or if it can be fixed with a reasonable amount of time. I am trying to avoid ----ing it because they are expensive, plus I am trying to learn more about motors and how to troubleshoot/fix them. Thanks in advance for any advice. And if I should be posting this somewhere else, or wording things differently please lmk.

 

[westward10]

Can you show some pictures of the motor.

 

[vegaschef364]

Can you show some pictures of the motor.

 

[Avo Mk8]

The electrical details on the fan motor seem to say 12V dc 0.5A if I'm seeing it correctly.
It seems like the power supply driving the fan is alternating polarity every 3/4 second if the fan is literally going one way then the other! I wondered if it was being powered by AC because of a fault, but I don't think it would be moving at all if that were the case.
Are the lights you speak of, actually flashing, or alternately flashing?
If anything is going on like that, it sounds as if the motor wiring has been made to a wrong connection somewhere!
Too late to take it back I guess!!

If you have a 12V DC power supply at 0.5A or above, or even a 12V car battery, you could try chopping the fan cable and connecting it to that (the way round that blows not sucks!)

 

[vegaschef364]

The electrical details on the fan motor seem to say 12V dc 0.5A if I'm seeing it correctly.
It seems like the power supply driving the fan is alternating polarity every 3/4 second if the fan is literally going one way then the other! I wondered if it was being powered by AC because of a fault, but I don't think it would be moving at all if that were the case.
Are the lights you speak of, actually flashing, or alternately flashing?
If anything is going on like that, it sounds as if the motor wiring has been made to a wrong connection somewhere!
Too late to take it back I guess!!

If you have a 12V DC power supply at 0.5A or above, or even a 12V car battery, you could try chopping the fan cable and connecting it to that (the way round that blows not sucks!)

Wow you have good eyes lol. I can barely read it up close, and yeah that is correct on the motor. The light is flashing and appears to flash at the same time the motor switches direction. I attached a pic of the power supply, it is 12v 0.6A. The connection looks like it has some corrosion on it. I found a 12v 2.2A adapter I can use. And for my daily electrical lesson, the higher Amp is fine because that measures how fast it delivers the power, but the motor will only allow it to come in at a 0.5A so the higher Amp does not hurt anything, correct?

 

[Avo Mk8]

And for my daily electrical lesson, the higher Amp is fine because that measures how fast it delivers the power, but the motor will only allow it to come in at a 0.5A so the higher Amp does not hurt anything, correct?

Correct. The motor will take what it needs from a supply, and as long as the replacement adapter is DC output, not AC, and rated at 0.5A or above, it should be fine.
I don't like the look of the corrosion on the pins of the cable - suggest you clean off the residue. Looks like water has got in somewhere. If it got in the power adapter that might account for the behaviour?
Are the lights supposed to flash, or is the power adapter doing it because it's faulty?

You could use your alternative 12V adapter (assuming it is DC out) to power the whole thing, even if it means chopping 12V cables to wire it up. Keep the polarity right + to + etc. so the fan goes in the right direction!

 

[vegaschef364]

Correct. The motor will take what it needs from a supply, and as long as the replacement adapter is DC output, not AC, and rated at 0.5A or above, it should be fine.
I don't like the look of the corrosion on the pins of the cable - suggest you clean off the residue. Looks like water has got in somewhere. If it got in the power adapter that might account for the behaviour?
Are the lights supposed to flash, or is the power adapter doing it because it's faulty?

You could use your alternative 12V adapter (assuming it is DC out) to power the whole thing, even if it means chopping 12V cables to wire it up. Keep the polarity right + to + etc. so the fan goes in the right direction!

Nailed it! Thank you for your help