Resistor block location for blower motor

[viceversa]

92 loyale

 

the blower motor only works on 3 and 4 settings and I understand it is the resistor pack which is bad. I looked for it behind the glove box (in a bone-yard car) but could not find it. Where is it?

[MilesFox]

its down below, near the floor.

remove the lower kickpanel from the dash. and you will see the heater box, its toward the bottom, held on by 2 screws, and a green and red wire to a clip.

 

the coiils are towards the inside of the heater box.

[Skip]

The resistor block you seek is beside the blower motor under/behind the glove box like you said.

The resistor coils sit in the path of the blown air so you will not see them until the block is removed.

It is easier if you remove the trim panel under the glove box door.

Two of the three mounting screw are obvious, the last is one of the blower mount bolts.

The 4 wires to the block are blue (three of which have trace colors)

Hope this helps, here is what it will look like after the panel is removed

[MilesFox]

i wonder what the deal is with thw 3 coils on the resistor.

are they head sensitive, variable resistance, like maf.

 

or just each one is a resistor. i would think that if the middle wan was broken, inly 1 and 4 will work.

and f the first one is broken, only 3 and 4, and if the thrid one was broken, only 1 and 2

 

so basically i am asking what is the purpose of it being exposed to the blown air?

[myossfeece]

yeah I'm not so sure about the point of being exposed to the blown air, But I must do some mantenance to mine because the heat will work on settings 2,3,or 4 but only after the car has been running for about 15 minutes. If you just jump-nyup init then you would not have any heat for about 15 mins or 10-15 miles, and then out of no-where you just up and have heat.

[edrach]

The reason for being exposed to the air is that the resistors are very high wattage and the air flow is there to cool the wires so they don't burn out quite so often. As much as these guys fail, remember that most of them last more than 10 years before they fail. Great picture, Skip, it's about time someone made it easier to find the resistor block. I can't think of how many people come back with "I can't find it" after being told where it is. Your reply should definitely go into our online service manual and be preserved forever.

[riverrat]

Ok that pic is diferant than the riverrat.I just had to replace the blower motor and never found the resistors.I figured it was the brushes and was correct.I did a search though and read a very long thread concerning the ressistors and was disapointed when I did not get to inspect mine in the process of the motor swap.

 

Once again you guys are great,I know alot of the info asked by people is very redundant to you old time experts,yet you always seem to step up to the plate.

 

No pics needed but where is mine hiding?

[calebz]

RR.. that pic was for an EA82 car.. thats why yours doesn't match..

[Partsman]

Skip,

 

Thank you! I thought I had to tear into the heater box to get at the little bugger. Now I can get back setting #1!

 

To the boneyard I go, to get lots of little doodads:D

[viceversa]

Thank you! I will report on progress.

[Fuji Fellow]

I too have had 'fun' with the fan blower and resistor block setup.

For me, it was when my windshield gasket weathered out (Texas sun, ya know), and the windshield started leaking rainwater. The water came down into the air ductwork, and pooled of course at the lowest points: the blower motor brushes, and the resistor block. The blower motor soon rusted and siezed up, and shortly after that the resistor block burned out.

 

I put in a used motor from the junkyard, but with the bad resistor block this motor worked only at the top speed. So from Ebay I got another blower motor as a spare, and some used resistor blocks. Now (after sealing the windshield gasket) the fan motor works again at all 4 speeds.

 

Does anyone know what specific Resistance values those coil resistors are? I know they're quite low, less than 1 or 2 ohms. I was wondering if one could rebuild that resistor block with some more rugged standard wirewound power resistors, something maybe not so delicate as those little ones in the stock unit.

[Scoobydoo]

I just finished fixing the blower resistor block in my car.

When I measured the resistance with a multimeter each resistor was around 1 ohm, although they were all of different wire diameter.

To answer Milesfox's question about which resistor controls which setting:

When the fan is on low, the current goes through all three resistors (for around 3 ohms total resistance) so a break in any of the resistors will keep the fan from working.

When the fan is on setting 2, the current only goes through the two heavier resistors (2 ohms), so a break in the small coil will not matter, but the other two have to be ok.

You can guess setting 3 (only depends on the thickest resistor)

Setting 4 goes through none of the resistors, so even if they are all broken you will still have a blower.

 

In my case settings 1 and 2 didn't work. I didn't want to trek out to the wrecker for a new unit, so I managed to twist the broken ends of the coils together (the nickel-chromium wire won't solder very well). Pretty delicate work. Should've just gotten a replacement. Anyway, it works now.