2003 taurus fan inop

[kurty25]

The blower fan in my 2003 Taurus only works on high... I read in another thread that it was something wrong with the resistor something or other, but I have no idea what they were talking about. Could someone tell me what the problem is in plain English and how I can fix it? A little background: The fan died completely and suddenly about 2 months ago so I replaced the fan and now I can't get it to work unless it's on high. I'm a diesel mechanic, but I work on Construction Equipment and don't really get in to the electrical stuff, that's what my buddy is for. Any help would be fantastic, because this is driving me bonkers!

[shorod]

There is a resistor block that limits the current to the blower motor. Think of the electrical for the blower motor as a hydraulic system on the construction equipment. The battery/alternator is like the hydraulic pump. Wires are like the hoses, and resistors are like the couplers. The blower motor in this example will be like the hydraulic cylinder. The hose carries the fluid to the cylinder. There are usually miscellaneous couplers between the hydraulic pump and the cylinder. If you connect a hose directly from the pump to the cylinder, assuming the pump is good (battery and charging system) and moving hydraulic fluid (current in wires), the cylinder (blower motor) will move quickly with a lot of force (blow a lot of air). However, if you put a small coupler (resistor) in the line, the amount of fluid (current) that makes it to the cylinder (blower motor) is reduced, limiting the speed at which the cylinder (blower motor) will move.

So, as you hopefully can understand here, if your resistor block is open (blocked hydraulic coupler), the blower will not work. However, high speed blower operation is a straight path (no couplers) from the switch assembly (hydraulic controls) to the blower motor, which is why high blower speed still works.

The blower motor resistor block will be mounted in the air stream, and is usually near the blower motor, probably behind the glove box. There will be a connection to it with 4 or 5 fairly heavy-gauge wires connected to it.

-Rod

[Traigo]

Originally Posted by kurty25

The blower fan in my 2003 Taurus only works on high... I read in another thread that it was something wrong with the resistor something or other, but I have no idea what they were talking about. Could someone tell me what the problem is in plain English and how I can fix it? A little background: The fan died completely and suddenly about 2 months ago so I replaced the fan and now I can't get it to work unless it's on high. I'm a diesel mechanic, but I work on Construction Equipment and don't really get in to the electrical stuff, that's what my buddy is for. Any help would be fantastic, because this is driving me bonkers!

I have two Tauruses from this year and both have had this problem in the last month, followed shortly by a total failure of the heating system. I don't know a lot about automotives, but the repair shop in both cases told me that water (rain or melted snow) had leaked into the heating system through a faulty seal and apparently this water was keeping the blower motor from operating. The had to open it, drain the water, and order some parts to reseal it more effectively. In one case I the blower motor went out completely and I had to replace it. I found your post because the odds seemed slight that this would happen to both my cars unless it was a defect affecting lots of Tauruses, and if this is happening a lot there should be some kind of recall. However, I have no idea how to bring such a thing about.

[way2old]

To add to shorod"s post.

The heater blower motor resistor (19A706) has the following features:

The assembly is located in the passenger compartment on the heater core and evaporator core housing (19850) next to the blower motor assembly (19805).

Three resistor elements are mounted on the resistor board to provide four blower motor speeds.

Depending on the heater blower motor switch position, series resistance is added or bypassed in the A/C blower motor circuit to decrease or increase A/C blower motor speed.

An overheating device (thermal limiter) will open the resistor coil when the temperature reaches 121° C (250° F) interrupting the blower motor operation in all speeds except high.

The thermal limiter cannot be reset and is not serviceable

[kurty25]

For Triago: go to Ford.com and you can find the place to make complaints at that website. Only problem is, there have to be enough people complaining about it and it has to pose enough of a health/safety risk for Ford to be willing to pay for the recall. I'm no Ford expert, I just know large Corporations.

[Giddyfab]

Just like every one else. My heater blower quit working on all modes except high. Then within a couple days high went out. I tested it and found the resistor to be bad, but when I by-passed it, the blower motor was also bad. That's when I knew there was more to the story than what I was seeing. I noticed that the resistor had rust on it. This was not good, when I opened the fan motor casing I found water in it. This is not suppose to happen. The seal is faulty (defective) .

I contacted a good friend and found out that there is a bulletin out on this at Ford dealerships so Ford is aware of this problem, but not obligated to tell customers. So if you still have a warranty it's covered only if you contact Ford. If you do not have a warranty no longer than you are responsible to pay the bill. They have not put out a recall because not enough people have complained. Most take it in to service and Ford repairs and charges them, usually without telling them about the defective seal. I am currently fighting with my local Ford dealership and have called and made complaints. My vehicle is not fixed at the moment, but I am determined.

Please contact Ford and complain they knew about this defective seal, but yet did not have the common courtesy to inform their customers and have the problem fixed before it cost approximately $400-$500 for those without warranty instead of saving the $300-$400 .

Please Post your complaints: www.ford.com

Something needs to be done about ripping off customers, and making them pay the price for another's knowing mistake.

Lourie

[shybri69]

add me to the list as well, Brian from Toronto, Ontario, had my 2003 taurus for a couple of years now and yesterday she started sputtering on me and today, nothing no speeds at all and it's still just a tad friggin cool up here.
I've "chatted" with the top dog at the Oakville plant, but, just like you all said, unless a lot more come forward, nothing will be done and go figure I just passed 60,000.

[duchesswl]

This won't help you fix it, but my 2003 did the same thing, only functioning on high - took it back to the dealer and they told me that there is a body seam that was not properly sealed during manufacture that causes a water leak that makes the fan go funky - they replaced the fan and sealed the body seam and so far, so good - that was when it was 6 months old. No more Fords for me - too many other issues!

[grs7]

Where is the defective seal and body seam? I have the same problem on a 2001 Taurus. I had to replace the heater fan and only have the highest blower speed. Looks like I need to change the heater blower resistor too.