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I'm wondering if anyone knows where the blower motor resistor is located, i have a feeling that this is what my problem is. My Blower motor does not come on, but once in a great while it will work. I do not have power to the blower motor either. Any suggestions would be a great help!
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
The blower resistor is in the heater housing behind the right side of the dash, forward and left of where the temperature control cable attaches.
But your problem probably isn't the blower resistor. The resistor only affects the lower fan speeds. If you turn the switch to high, the resistor isn't part of the circuit so it wouldn't affect fan operation.
I suspect that the blower relay is a more likely source of the problem. A sticking relay could cause intermittent operation. The blower relay is under the dash attached to the bracket on the right side above the center tunnel.
The blower resistor is in the heater housing behind the right side of the dash, forward and left of where the temperature control cable attaches.
But your problem probably isn't the blower resistor. The resistor only affects the lower fan speeds. If you turn the switch to high, the resistor isn't part of the circuit so it wouldn't affect fan operation.
I suspect that the blower relay is a more likely source of the problem. A sticking relay could cause intermittent operation. The blower relay is under the dash attached to the bracket on the right side above the center tunnel.
couldn't find it
looked on shbox.com and the picture was for a camaro.
i'm stumped......and cold. the high is supposed to be 47* tommorow
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Picture of under the dash on the right side looking at the center tunnel/console area (the arrow points to the front of the car and #2 is the blower relay):
Last edited by WhiteBird00; Oct 21, 2024 at 08:33 AM.
Reason: Restore picture of blower relay location
finally found it! it was between the cd player and the gauge cluster. i had to remove the cd player to find it. and btw the relay was the problem. thank you!
um, well scratch that. bought a brand new relay and nothing has changed. I did notice that on shbox.com it was described as the HIGH blower relay. which has me thinking its only for HIGH operation. I did jump the two large gauge wires at the relay and the blower motor remained on high no matter what setting it was on. I would try to test the control panel but i'm not sure which wires i need to be looking for power at.......any ideas?
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Okay, time to get the tester out - you can use either a test light or a multimeter.
There should be five wires at the relay: red, orange, dark blue, purple, and black. The red wire should show power at all times (battery source). The black wire should be ground. The orange wire should show power when the ignition switch is on and the fan switch is on high. The dark blue wire should show different voltages depending on the fan switch position (if using a test light, the light should start dim and get brighter as you switch to higher fan speeds). The purple wire goes to the fan motor - we know it's okay because you said the fan works when you jump the relay.
Now, depending on what results you get from those tests, we can determine if the switch, resistor, or wiring is the problem (or at least which one is the next to investigate).
Okay, time to get the tester out - you can use either a test light or a multimeter.
There should be five wires at the relay: red, orange, dark blue, purple, and black. The red wire should show power at all times (battery source). The black wire should be ground. The orange wire should show power when the ignition switch is on and the fan switch is on high. The dark blue wire should show different voltages depending on the fan switch position (if using a test light, the light should start dim and get brighter as you switch to higher fan speeds). The purple wire goes to the fan motor - we know it's okay because you said the fan works when you jump the relay.
Now, depending on what results you get from those tests, we can determine if the switch, resistor, or wiring is the problem (or at least which one is the next to investigate).
ok, first of all thank you so much for being such a great help. thank you!
now my results
fuse is good
black- good ground
red- constant
purple- fine obviously
orange-no power when key is on and blower is on high
blue-no power at all at different fan settings
now in the midst of typing this i figured i would check to see if i had power to the fuse, went out and checked it and realized the blower motor was working properly. I started playing with eyerything and realized the fuse was not getting situated correctly because on one side the prongs were spread apart. then i remembered i used the "wrap a wire around the fuse" method on that exact fuse. thats the last time i do that.
I dont know your real name but thank you ALOT for all your help WhiteBird00. We need more people like you on this site that offer help as much as you did without name calling
Hoping to revive an old thread...
I have a 98 z28. All of the fan settings work except the high setting. I've done some reading and have gotten different information. Initially I thought it was the blower motor resistor but have since read that the resistor doesn't have any function when the fan is on high. I've read something about a relay for the fan on high setting. Can anyone provide any input?
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
The HVAC fan has four speeds. The switch gets power through the #6 HVAC fuse (20A) in the fuse panel on the left end of the dash. The first three settings pass power through the blower resistor using different combinations of resistors to reduce output voltage to lower the fan speed. The fourth setting bypasses the blower resistor to provide full voltage to the blower motor.
There is a blower motor relay that switches power source when high speed is selected. For the first three speeds, the relay is at rest and the blower motor gets power via the HVAC switch. When high speed is selected, the relay trips and power is supplied from the battery through the I/P-1 fuse in junction block 2 under the hood. This is a 40A fuse that provides power to a number of other circuits so it is unlikely to cause your problem (because you'd have other things not working as well) but it can't hurt to check it anyway.
The most common cause of all speeds working except high speed is that blower relay. When it fails, it will pass power for the three lower speeds but not trip to provide power in high speed. The GM part number is 12177233 (superseded from original number 12193601). The relay is located under the dash on the right side of the center console as shown in earlier posts.
My AC blows perfect in all settings most of the time. Every once in a while the airflow through the vents is diminished and I can hear the fan motor still spinning and adjusting to the different speeds.
Okay, time to get the tester out - you can use either a test light or a multimeter.
There should be five wires at the relay: red, orange, dark blue, purple, and black. The red wire should show power at all times (battery source). The black wire should be ground. The orange wire should show power when the ignition switch is on and the fan switch is on high. The dark blue wire should show different voltages depending on the fan switch position (if using a test light, the light should start dim and get brighter as you switch to higher fan speeds). The purple wire goes to the fan motor - we know it's okay because you said the fan works when you jump the relay.
Now, depending on what results you get from those tests, we can determine if the switch, resistor, or wiring is the problem (or at least which one is the next to investigate).
I'm new here and I'm having a similar problem with my blower motor not working. It seems like WhiteBird00 is very knowledgeable, unfortunately I can't private message for some reason yet. Does anyone know how I can contact him?
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Originally Posted by Mrjps17
I'm new here and I'm having a similar problem with my blower motor not working. It seems like WhiteBird00 is very knowledgeable, unfortunately I can't private message for some reason yet. Does anyone know how I can contact him?
Besides... my signature says "Please do not send PMs for questions that can be answered in the forums". The idea is that others may have similar problems and questions so you should post them in public threads so everyone can benefit from the discussion. I'm sure it was some Google searching that brought you here in the first place and that wouldn't happen if everything was being discussed in private messages.
That being said, please describe the symptoms you're experiencing and we'll see if we can't help you figure it out.
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Blower Motor Resistor? 
thats the last time i do that.
