Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Room Air Conditioner

Just turned on a room air conditioner which hasn't been used in a year. The fan doesn't seem to blow. Any ideas? Having a party and the weather is unseasonable warm!

I gladly trade your unseasonable warm, for my winter deep freeze.

Just one question are we to assume that the rest of it works fine including the compressor ?

There are quite a few things that could cause the fan to be inoperative, I will assume that the compressor is coming on which should be obvious to you (you should be able to hear it). If the compressor isn't coming on then you need to verify that you have power to the wall receptacle before you do anything else! If the compressor is running but the fan is not, unplug and remove the unit from its casing (most slide out, some have to be unscrewed). Next, try to spin the blade with your hand, does it spin free? If it doesn't, look for something that may be stopping it. If you don't see anything but it still doesn't spin freely, the bearings in the motor are tight. At this point you may be able to oil the motor and buy yourself some time before the motor bearings lock up completely. On the top of the motor you may see two (2) plastic, rubber, or aluminum plugs. Remove the plugs and oil the bearings with SAE-20 oil, spinning the blade as you apply the oil. If you are fortunate, you may be able to buy yourself some time and have that party in a cool environment but be expecting the motor to fail.
If the motor spins freely when you check it and assuming the compressor does run, you more than likely have a bad fan motor (burnt or open windings, etc.). You can trace the wiring from the motor back to make sure that there are no obvious burnt or broken wires. Beyond this, you will need to call for professional assistance. Don't spend too much money on a window unit until you weigh the difference between the cost of repairs vs. the cost of a new unit. If it is a small window unit and it is over five years old, I wouldn't bother calling a technician on it. I would get a friend that may have some electrical experience to look at it.

I appreciate your response. I don't know if the rest works fine. I was afraid to let it run with no fan action for fear it might overheat. It turned on but no air came out. I switched the fan from high to low and there was no change in air flow or noise level. How can I tell if the compressor is functioning?

Thanks again.

Thanks, Dr.Carrier! I will try your recommendations. The unit is ten years old and is in a bonus room with a pool table. Central air is supposed to cool the room but doesn't do a decent job. I only use the wall unit about twice a year when we have parties and guests play pool. I hate to think it has to be replaced but perhaps it just wasn't used enough. Also, I wonder if birds have nested in it. A family of swallows seems to hang around it. Thanks again.