1996 Dodge Grand Caravan LE AC/Heater Blower, Relay and Resistor Block Problems 101

[mux]

Originally Posted by HeadlessHorseman1

Wellllll... there I was parked at a stop light, light turns green and I accelerate. Then... BANG! I lose all power and my transmission literally sounds like a large coffee can filled with nuts and bolts being rattled around.

It was U-G-L-Y. In addition, I blew a half-shaft. Not one of my better days.

That leaves little doubt.. hahaha..

[Krazy Jeff]

Sorry for the late reply, got tied up with work and life--you know how it gets.

Anyways, I did try your suggestion to blow and grease (sounds like porn LOL) up the relay's connections. It must have worked, because it has been a few days now and the blower seems to be working okay without the symptoms I reported here (click here)

But I do have now a new symptom to report. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen and it has me scratching my head. The blower seems to turn off when I put my vehicle in reverse. It will then turn on once I put the vehicle in the Drive gear. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen. I am wondering if you could suggest a troubleshoot on this as well?

Thanks a million for being such a helpful person.

[HeadlessHorseman1]

Originally Posted by Krazy Jeff

...I do have now a new symptom to report. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen and it has me scratching my head. The blower seems to turn off when I put my vehicle in reverse. It will then turn on once I put the vehicle in the Drive gear. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen. I am wondering if you could suggest a troubleshoot on this as well?...

You got me on that one... I have NO idea. Maybe if RIP (AF Advisor) sees this post he can offer some insight. You might try sending RIP a private message... He's seen ALL kinds of stuff. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

[polarisxcr]

I have a 99 dodge grand caravan sport. Started by replacing the resistor, then the fuses and relay finally the switch mounted in the dash. I have power going to the relay in the power distrabution center. There is no power going to the fan switch on the dash or the fan resistor or the fan. I also have no power going to the fuse under the dash for the blower motor. If I put direct power from the battery to the fan I can get the fan to work. Any sugestions were to go next. Thanks headlesshorseman for your post I thought with all this info I could fix it. Any other ideas?

[HeadlessHorseman1]

Originally Posted by polarisxcr

I have a 99 dodge grand caravan sport. Started by replacing the resistor, then the fuses and relay finally the switch mounted in the dash. I have power going to the relay in the power distrabution center. There is no power going to the fan switch on the dash or the fan resistor or the fan. I also have no power going to the fuse under the dash for the blower motor. If I put direct power from the battery to the fan I can get the fan to work. Any sugestions were to go next. Thanks headlesshorseman for your post I thought with all this info I could fix it. Any other ideas?

It sounds like your problem is somewhere between the fuse and the switch. You will have to get a wiring schematic and follow the wiring from the fuse to the switch, testing along the way. If you recently installed a replacement stereo head unit, you may wish to re-check the wiring and plugs in the vicinity of the device. Sometimes just moving stuff around under the dashboard can cause a problem. Good luck!

[HeadlessHorseman1]

After nearly THREE years, my Blower Motor is no longer pushing air, so now I get to troubleshoot the problem all over again. Seems like this always happens in the winter, when it is least convenient. Back in January of 2005, I replaced the Resistor Block, Relay and Blower Motor. Truth be told, I run the Blower Motor all the time, in any weather, hot, cold, wet, dry. If it turns out to be the Blower Motor, this will be my third replacement since 1999...

...The 40 amp fuse, relay and resistor block all checked out OK. It was the Blower Motor. One trip to Advance Auto, $53 in hand and about an hour later, I am back up and running. I replaced the relay (a spare I purchased 3 years ago) to absolutely ensure that full amperage is passed to the blower motor. Total cost: $67. Total satisfaction: 100%.

[dhjort]

Oops!! My subject line says 1991 but my van is really a 1999 Dodge Caravan. I think this matters a lot because I thought they changed the role that vacuum plays in the climate control system in 1999.

I have used this great thread to replace the blower motor on my 1999 Dodge Caravan. The instructions worked like a champ and saved me $300 in labor a couple of days before Christmas - thank you very much!

Now I have good airflow out the panel vents and the heat works like a champ too. The fan operates at the various speeds as expected so I am pretty sure that I don't have problems with the resistor either.

The problem is that I can't get the air to blow out the lower vents on the floor or get the defroster to work at all.

When I change the setting on the vent selector I can hear a small click sometimes like something is trying to change but I don't know what to troubleshoot next.

The van is not safe to drive up here in the Northwest because we really need the defroster in our wet, cold environment.

[HeadlessHorseman1]

Originally Posted by dhjort

...The problem is that I can't get the air to blow out the lower vents on the floor or get the defroster to work at all. When I change the setting on the vent selector I can hear a small click sometimes like something is trying to change but I don't know what to troubleshoot next. The van is not safe to drive up here in the Northwest because we really need the defroster in our wet, cold environment.

There may be a fix for this problem available elsewhere on this forum. If RIP or viperegg reads this, perhaps they can redirect you to one or more threads that specifically deal with "blending doors." I know there is a re-programming routine to get these doors to properly operate. I have never needed to do this, so I do not know precisely how this is done. Sorry about that.

[polarisxcr]

Heater fan is up and working. I replaced the fan motor and resistor with another new one. My old fan burnt out the first new resistor. Wierd thing is my old fan still works works if I hook it up to direct power. It must have to much resistance. Now over to the chev forum as my truck heater fan now works when it feels like it.

[HeadlessHorseman1]

Originally Posted by polarisxcr

Heater fan is up and working. I replaced the fan motor and resistor with another new one. My old fan burnt out the first new resistor. Wierd thing is my old fan still works works if I hook it up to direct power. It must have to much resistance. Now over to the chev forum as my truck heater fan now works when it feels like it.

What you describe may NOT be weird at all... I think I've been there, seen that... it sounds like the blower motor relay *contacts* may be partially burned or pitted and not passing full amperage to the motor... that's why your old motor runs connected directly to power and does not run installed (getting power through the relay). Do yourself a favor and spend another $15 or so and replace the relay... your new motor will run better AND longer, because your current relay is definitely on its way out. Good luck and Merry Christmas!

[garcar]

Like so many others, my fan only blows on high speed. Got a new resistor block at the dealer for $6. Yes, six dollars only.

For my 1994 GC, the resistor is seen under the hood, at the extreme top left of the firewall, oriented vertically. It is fairly accessible from that side, but looking from the other side, it is nowhere near the glove box.

And that's where I'm stopped. Instead of being held in with spring clips, the old resistor is held in by HEX BOLTS. These bolts are just spinning when I turn them, and won't pull out. And there seems to be no way to get to the other side to remove whatever nut might be holding them, short of a massive disassembly of the dash.

But if there are nuts on the other side of the firewall, how did they put them on? When the car was first assembled, just to make replacement of the resistor impossible?

My only thought is to start smashing at these hex bolts with a hammer and screwdriver and try to knock their heads off. I'm a little worried that might destroy the holes and make it hard to fix the new resistor in place.

Any better ideas?

[HeadlessHorseman1]

Originally Posted by garcar

... My only thought is to start smashing at these hex bolts with a hammer and screwdriver and try to knock their heads off. I'm a little worried that might destroy the holes and make it hard to fix the new resistor in place. Any better ideas?

IMHO, smashing>=bad. If it looks like your Resistor Block is located near your glove box, you might take the glove box door and box off to see if you can locate your spinning bolts. Get a helper to spin the bolts from under the hood while you look into the glove box area with a flash light. Just my . Good luck!

[mudnut]

Originally Posted by Parky50

I found the Resistor Block located directly behind the glove box on my 2001 Caravan. Simply open the glove box and push in the two tabs on each side to open the door all the way and there it is !!!

Part # 4885583-AB RESISTOR 8035022

Heater Blower works like a charm now !!!

Thanks to all for the information and direction...

My wife's 2001 Caravan had an issue posted in this forum. Heater blower only worked on the Hi setting. After reading this forum, (what a wonderful place), I found the above entry and called the Dodge dealer. They gave me a different part number #68039175-AA, 8035022. He asked me whether our vehicle had Automatic Temp. Control, I said "No".

So your part # may also differ. But the original part# got me to the right place. Thanks for the posts.
I took a few pictures of my installation, which was behind the glove box door. 2 screws and 2 wire harness connectors and it works perfect.

Here are the pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mtrewart...36766268206306
http://picasaweb.google.com/mtrewart...36757678271698
http://picasaweb.google.com/mtrewart...36774858140914

Hope these help.

Mark

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

Originally Posted by garcar

And that's where I'm stopped. Instead of being held in with spring clips, the old resistor is held in by HEX BOLTS. These bolts are just spinning when I turn them, and won't pull out. And there seems to be no way to get to the other side to remove whatever nut might be holding them, short of a massive disassembly of the dash.

My only thought is to start smashing at these hex bolts with a hammer and screwdriver and try to knock their heads off. I'm a little worried that might destroy the holes and make it hard to fix the new resistor in place.

Any better ideas?

If you cannot reach the nuts from inside the van, then...

1. Guess at the size of the bolt
2. Find a drill bit that size
3. Drill through the top of the hex head in line with the bolt.

When you reach the bottom of the head, the head will fall off and the rest of the bolt will drop back behind the firewall. If the bolt is already spinning and you cannot retighten it, you'll have to hold it still to drill it. Use a box wrench for that. If you guess too small the drill will penetrate deeper than the bolt head depth. If that happens, first try using a center punch to break the bolt head off. When that doesn't work, just come back with the next size larger drill.

Then you'll have to figure a way to reattach the resistor to the firewall.

[HeadlessHorseman1]

Originally Posted by mudnut

... Here are the pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mtrewart...36766268206306
http://picasaweb.google.com/mtrewart...36757678271698
http://picasaweb.google.com/mtrewart...36774858140914

Hope these help.

Mark

Thanks for coming back and posting the results of your work on your wife's 2001 Caravan... Thanks also for going to the trouble of taking pictures... this thread just keeps getting better and more useful... Happy New Year!