Heater and AC fan problem, 2000 Contour

[Hurricane145]

I have a 2000 Contour that has what seems to be a common problem with the heater fan. It has recently quit working on the lower fan settings but not the two higher ones. In searching the forum I saw mention of a resistor pack that may be bad. The links provided to get more info didn't take me there. The links may be old I guess. Is the resistor pack the likely culprit? Is the pack that white rectangle (held in with a screw I believe) with the 4 wire connector between the console and the heater fan? I saw mention of a recall on some years for this problem but no mention of a recall for the 2000 Contour, is that correct? Thanks Mike.

[Davescort97]

Likely it is the blower motor resistor pack thats defective. The first 3 speeds have separate resistors of different value and the MAX speed is a direct connection. Probably 2 of the 3 resistors are burned out. To find the resistors trace back the main positive wire going into the motor. Most are down on the heater housing close to the motor.

[thisnametooktolong]

Guess what, that is a common problem!

In the heater box, there is a resistor pack that controls the speed of the fan by the fan switch changing what resistor the fan is in line with. For all speeds accept high, there is a thermal protection diode that is shown in the schematic as a fuse. That diode sole purpose is to open for fire protection if the resistors get to hot.( IT is not a fuse! do not repair it with a jumper or a fuse) you can buy the diode at radio shack, or steel one from an old coffee pot that still works. Then simply solder the new/used diode around the old one. OR you can just change the entire resistor block that is mounted on the heater box. Just remember that you must solder the new diode in with the anode and the cathode so that it is forward biased when the switch is on. (aka, pointed the same way as the old one.)
The diode is marked by either a black or white stripe, or one end is tapered. The stripe or the pointed end is the cathode

[Hurricane145]

Thanks for the info about this. I will look into it. It doesn't look like a difficult fix in any event.