Smelly blower motor

[SDSU <jknittle@sundown.sdsu.edu>]

Hi Quattro group

Got a question I hope someone out there can help me with.  I am a fairly new
subscriber to Quattro, so if a similar problem has already been answered, I
apologise for dredging it back up.  Anyway, while I unfortunately do not own
an Audi, I do have a 1984 VW Scirocco with factory AC (sanden compressor).
Some time ago, the 4-speed blower motor swich melted while the fan was on.
I replaced the switch and then found the 30A fuse in the dash blown.  So far
the problem sounds fairly straightforeward, a bad blower motor or a short or
something.  I replaced the fuse with a 30A circut breaker hoping to save
time by not having to replace fuses every second during troubleshooting.  I
removed the blower motor and bench tested it by hooking it back up to the
car and runing it for a very short time.  It seemed to run fine, at all four
speeds but shortly I noticed a nasty burning wire smell (I think the circut
breaker wasn't workng correctly).  When I unhooked the fan and turned the
swich on, nothing happened at all four positions so I am fairly sure there
is no short up to that connection.  My question is this - do I need a new
fan?  I understand they are fairly pricy so I would like to be absolutely
sure that the fan needs replacing before buying a new one.  Does anyone know
of another test I could perform?  How about a bad resistor pack?  Any help
would be appreciated.

Jim