2000 v70 xc. Started about 2 months ago. Noticed blower was weakening (less air pressure at vents), then intermittant for a week or so (at full on the pressure would rise and fall with no relation to driving speed or anything else) then blower just stopped working.
I opened the dash and checked the two wire connection and got a reading of 11.74 volts on high with smooth drops as the speed switch was moved down. Pulled the blower and hooked it directly to a battery on my bench. Nothing until I tapped the wheel which caused it to begin to turn then speed up but nowhere near the speed I expected. I cleaned the contacts and charged the battery. When reconnected the fan jumped to full speed and nearly sucked in my t-shirt! However, when I picked it up and tilted the motor (fan facing up, motor housing down) it died down to a stumbling slow spin. Uprighted motor and right back to full speed. Nothing I've done seems to change this. Is this normal? or does this indicate a connection issue in the housing? Can the housing be opened and then reclosed?

 

Opened it up and found one of four plastic housing holding the brushes is broken. Could this cause the issue described above?