2002 T&C - replacing Blower Motor Resistor

The blower motor resistor has gone bad (air blows only on high) on our 2002 Town&Country. The dealership told us the resistor is located behind the glove compartment. I hate the thought of having to spend 60+ in labor for a $15-20 part (quote from dealership). Goodyear wouldn't even give us a quote when asked if they could replace the resistor. For that matter, they down right refused to say IF they could replace the resistor. How difficult is it to replace in the 2002 T&C for someone who is not mechanically inclined? Husband has managed to replace air filter and rear brake light but he's not sure if he would be able to tackle replacing the resistor. It appears the most challenging thing will be reaching it -- my husband is big and 6'1". Are special tools required?

It's probably the easiest job on the car. Open the glove box. Push in on sides of glove box bin and lower the door. Pivot glove box downwards and disengage hingehooks from the instrument panel. Remove the glove box.

Blower Motor Resistor is on the firewall directly behind where the glove box was and I think it will be obvious to you. There are 2 wire harnesses plugged into it. Disengage them, remove the 2 screws holding the resistor block and that's it. Get new one from dealer parts for around $20 and install in reverse order of instructions above and you'll be back in business--total time 15-30 minutes. No special tools required.

C.B.

P.S. Buy the replacement first and it will help identify the old one when you see it.

Did you get it fixed?

C.B.

After reading post from "cbwilsha", I contacted local Chrysler dealership. Service pulled up our records and quoted $20 for the blower motor resistor or $80+ for them to install. We ordered the part and picked up on Thursday. Saturday morning my husband, who is 6'3", was able to easily and quickly remove the glove compartment and just as easily and quickly locate and remove the old resistor. Imagine our surprise and frustration to discover we were given the wrong part! We had to wait until today to contact the parts division. Two voice mail messages went unanswered and I had to take an extended lunch break to drive to the dealership with both old and new parts in hand. Turns out our T&C requires the more expensive resistor ($70+) and it was NOT in stock. The clerk credited back the charge twice (first attempt she rang credit up as a charge!). As I left I informed the parts staff they could disregard the two voice messages I had left earlier in the day to hopefully avoid a 2nd unnecessary trip. So much for customer service!

Is there a reputable on-line Chrysler parts company that we could order the new resistor?

Bottom line, my non-mechanically inclined husband was able to remove the glove compartment quickly and easily and easily located and removed the blower motor resistor. I'm sure once we get the new one it will be a cinch to install!

After reading post from "cbwilsha", I contacted local Chrysler dealership. Service pulled up our records and quoted $20 for the blower motor resistor or $80+ for them to install. We ordered the part and picked up on Thursday. Saturday morning my husband, who is 6'3", was able to easily and quickly remove the glove compartment and just as easily and quickly locate and remove the old resistor. Imagine our surprise and frustration to discover we were given the wrong part! We had to wait until today to contact the parts division. Two voice mail messages went unanswered and I had to take an extended lunch break to drive to the dealership with both old and new parts in hand. Turns out our T&C requires the more expensive resistor ($70+) and it was NOT in stock. The clerk credited back the charge twice (first attempt she rang credit up as a charge!). As I left I informed the parts staff they could disregard the two voice messages I had left earlier in the day to hopefully avoid a 2nd unnecessary trip. So much for customer service!

Is there a reputable on-line Chrysler parts company that we could order the new resistor?

Bottom line, my non-mechanically inclined husband was able to remove the glove compartment quickly and easily and easily located and removed the blower motor resistor. I'm sure once we get the new one it will be a cinch to install!

Glad you are making progress on it.
But how did your husband get 2" taller overnight?:grinyes:
One thing to watch is a blower motor gets weak they will pull to many amps and pop the resisters/or blower motor module. One thing to keep in mind if it blows it again.

Tekinfamily--Sorry to hear you got such a runaround at the Dealer. I don't know of any parts places myself. Maybe someone else will.

C.B.

I started reading because I had to replace my resistor block about a year and a half ago. Mine was on a 1998 Caravan. It sounds like you got a grip on things in spite of the dealership screw-ups. Fortunately the resistor block on mine was only about $15.00. It was removed and installed from under the hood in the firewall. A buddy of mine replaced it in the parking lot after work one evening. Regarding reputable dealerships, I don't know if there is such a thing. That is like asking if Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are real. I need to take our Caravan in for a new "clock spring" in the steering wheel on a recall. The air bag and horn are disabled. But when my wife called the dealership, she was told she needed to talk to a certain individual to set up an appointment. He never returns the calls. I guess they figure there is no money from the manufacturer compared to double gouging for parts and labor from the other customers.

Hi tekinfamily,
Thanks for the return message. I'm glad it went well. One thing that my parts guy told me was, if you are driving on a long trip and have the fan on the lower settings for awhile, you should turn the fan up on high for a few minutes each hour, to cool off the resistor. If it runs on low speed constantly, the resistor will sit there and get hot and this is what can make it burn out. The high fan speed actually will cool it off. This is of course with the AC or outside air. Not the heater. I just got back from WI and had the AC on most of the time but the fan on low. So I set the vent setting to the floor and ran the fan on high once in awhile. Hope this helps.

Try Damon at www.makeitmopar.com
He offers 25% off and good parts service.:2cents:

This is update to our saga to replace the blower motor resistor in our 2002 T&C. I came across Moparparts.com located down in Florida. When I typed in the resistor part number it came up "not found" so I called them (toll free number). Individual came across as knowledgable and very helpful. Turns out the Mopar resistor was "restyled" and new parts number with a cross-reference required for the new part. (I have a feeling the "restyling" was the result of faulty design in the original unit.) Moparparts.com had the resistor in stock and approximately $42 plus a very reasonable shipping & handling charge (less than $6.). Our local dealership quoted $72 for the part, not including tax and s/h fee.(Obviously a huge mark-up to pay for their new complex!)

The part was ordered late Monday afternoon and arrived on Friday. Husband easily and quickly plugged it in. Blower cranked right up, just in time with the warmer temps that moved in over the weekend.