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Pontiac Grand Prix Heater blower relay switch

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Comments

  • craig32craig32 Member Posts: 30
    Did the dealership charge u for the parts that weren't the cause?? (that's why were're 'do-it yourselfers
    , right?)
    You said u 'yanked' at the resistor (cause the 2 far screws were difficult), so did u have to break it free?

    I'm trying to just get the fan working (cause tll it gets worse, i can handle the occasional dytime run lights problem), & thought of a last resort (or 'quick/temp. fix):

    Connect power wires/a sep switch directly to the fan (assuming it works, of course). If it works, it could save down time.

    Opinion??
  • christy10christy10 Member Posts: 19
    you can change blower motor like i did and it still won't work till you change ignitiion switch. i did all the things that deal with heater and now of them work till i change that ignition switch and it work that day.. it is a wire in ignition switch that cause the problem till you fix it your waste your money on other things like i did...
  • christy10christy10 Member Posts: 19
    when i had my ignition tested they said orange wires was heater and test and came back they were shorting out so if you guys want to test it before you buy it take that steering column apart the underneith one and you will see all these wires and test the orange one and yellow one it will show that ignition switch was bad and having the diagnois it only cost me 60.00 next day order part and it came it 2 days after ordering it, change it and drove it all weekend with A/C and all speeds work and lights work and rear defog works also, so i have ALL the same problems you all had and it is a good chance that it is IGNITION SWITCH just change it before you do heater resistor or blower motor like i did and was very mad it wasn't them...
  • appjej123appjej123 Member Posts: 9
    I'm with Christy on this. My car is a 2000, with almost 80k on it. My fan slowly died out, 1,2,3 until only 5 worked, then the daytime running lights started acting up. The ignition wire solved the whole mess, it was the orange wire as well.

    I had the windshield cowl leak too, so my resistor board was fried black as well.

    It's been over a month now and everything is running perfectly!

    Good luck.
  • fluxcapfluxcap Member Posts: 8
    On the first trip to the dealership they replaced and charged me for the resistor. On the second trip they replaced and tried to charge me for the blower fan. I told them I wasn't paying anything more until my problems were fixed. They said fine, but asked that I bring the car back the next morning so they could put the old fan back in. They never saw me again.

    I did not break the resistor when pulling it out. I was firm but gentle. I just wiggled it back and forth till it came loose.

    I'll help you with any information about removing the fan and resistor, because like Christy, I have spent hours examining and testing these items. But like Christy, I must also tell you that you are wasting your time. The solution will only be found in the ignition switch.

    Even if you hotwire the fan (12volt source---->on/off switch----->fan), I think you will still have a problem. You will have a fan that operates at one speed, however, if you bypass the dash controls, I'm not sure you'll be able to control the temperature of the air coming out of the vents. And more importantly, the ignition switch controls alot more than the a/c and driving lights, so eventually you are just going to encounter more and more problems.
  • mikeisworkingmikeisworking Member Posts: 2
    haha sorry about that, I had the thing taken apart for so long, I forgot about the...trim? I think it is. mine is a 97 GTP. There is some trim that has the little light on it, you have to pull that down, then get a flash-light and look up behind the glove-box and you will see the blower motor and behind that...between the motor and the fire-wall is the resistor. (it may be hard to recognize...I knew which one it was because I got the parts first and knew what they looked like and what I was looking for. but the reason these are bad is because of a water leak under the windshield. Check the threads the on "water leaks" to find out more about it.
  • mstrouse54mstrouse54 Member Posts: 3
    I've got a 96 Dakota on which the A/C compressor wasn't working. In messing around with it I discovered I could cause it to come on briefly by wiggling the relay switch. I thought that the relay was bad so I changed it out with another that was working OK but still had the same problem. I unhooked the wires going into the relay and by connecting them directly and bypassing the switch can get the compressor to run. Anyone have any ideas on what the problem is?

    Thanks.
  • compton6974compton6974 Member Posts: 2
    Just Bought a 97 Grand Prix and noticed no air coming from vents, after reading all of these post i am completely surprised!!! My dayloght runners are not messing up and i do not have rear defrost, but that is because of one of the leads on the back window are broken off, i am about to try and take the blower out, check the resister, and then see what happens. I dont know if this car had the same problems of speeds disappearing or not, but the car did sit for a long time!
  • coneyconeconeycone Member Posts: 5
    :confuse: ok..i have an 01 pontiac grand prix gtp with 88k on it. I have already replaced the blower motor resistor once and it fixed the problem totally. OK, so the same thing happened again! So i bought a new resistor and it didnt fix it this time. I dont have heat or air and NO SPEEDS work (1-5). I dont have any problems with the daytime running lights or the rear defrogger.

    I have a remote starter in the car and the shop who did it said if the fan doesnt turn on with the remote start, well its not the "ignition switch" thing because that actually bypasses those wires (the orange and yellow) . Are they mistaken?

    Please...in need of some desperate help here! WINTER is upon me in Pennsylvania and i need my defoggers....

    ANY help would be greatly appreciated..thank you!
  • craig32craig32 Member Posts: 30
    Unplug the connector lead that plugs into the heater's blower motor fan (under the pass. side onder the dash).

    then , connect a volt meter pos. to it, & connect the meter's neg lead to a ground. Then turn ignition on, & turn on the fan switch. How many volts are at each fan setting?

    (eg, are u getting enough voltage? Example: our '02 Grd Prix reads at appx 6-8 volts, & has the same heater/air fan prob. as you, so, in our car, something is preventing enuf working voltage from going thru, ..so lets eliminate this same condition/factor in your car).

    Question: is the shop referring to the ENGINE FAN, or to the cabin fan??
  • coneyconeconeycone Member Posts: 5
    Thank you so much for your quick response! I will find these answers today, as my friend is the one who works at the shop. Again, thank you for your immediate response on this!
  • craig32craig32 Member Posts: 30
    Your welcome!

    Please ask your friend somthing for me: (for us both reallY):

    What component could cause there only to be 6-7 volts at the blower motor connector?

    A parts store persoon says it could be a relay, but don't know WHICH relay, or where to find it?
  • appjej123appjej123 Member Posts: 9
    I have a '00 Grand Prix, I also have an after-market remote starter. Mine did not bypass the orange and yellow wires. Replacing the ignition WIRES, not switch, resolved all problems with fan, daytime running lights.

    Hope this helps!
  • coneyconeconeycone Member Posts: 5
    which wires were changed? So bottom line, it IS one of three things, correct? Blower motor, blower motor resistor and/or ignition switch thing that i hear about? Now you are saying to just replace the 2 wires on the steering column? SO confused!!! Remembering I am a newbie here! haha..thank you all so much for your help!
  • barletta1barletta1 Member Posts: 1
    CHRISTY10, i HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBELM WITH 1-4 NOT WORKING ONLY 5. NOW 5 STOPED WORKING UNLESS i PUT FUSE IN MAX AC IN FUSE BOX, BUT THEN BLOWER NEVER SHUTS OFF UNTIL FUSE IS PULLED.

    COULD YOU SEND DETAILED INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO REPLACE THE IGNITION WIRING?

    I ASSUME THE WIRING IS CHEAPER TO REPLACE THAN RESISTOR AND BLOWER?

    THANKS FOR YOUR HELP IN ADVANCE
  • craig32craig32 Member Posts: 30
    Please clarify: How do you mean the fan works if you 'put' fuse in Max ac in fuse box (do you mean 'pull' the fuse, since there's a fuse there already??
  • dfarinhadfarinha Member Posts: 8
    I have an '03 Grand Prix, the fan doesn't work at any speed (heat or A/C!) What could be the problem? Could I fix it on my own with used parts? How expensive would it be to do on my own w/ new parts? :confuse:
  • craig32craig32 Member Posts: 30
    Need more info:
    -did the fan gradually fail, or all at once?
    -how many miles on the car when this happened?
    -Have you check the fuses (there's about 4 connected w. the fan, heater system, etc.)?

    Also, your meesage is under the title 'blown relay switch' so do you think it is that, & WHY??
  • maximkamaximka Member Posts: 4
    Hi,
    I have a problem , may be some one can help.
    Rescently I bought Pontiac Grand prix 2000, 50K Miles. My heater doesn't work properly. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. It is totaly unpredictable and random. Also, I have noticed that engine heat level sometimes goes down. Sometimes it runs almost to the half and then it gous down to quoter. Is it normal?
    Can it be due to bad thermostat? or any other reason it can be?

    Apreciate any help or information...

    Also, I noticed that thermostat is cheap around $12 online. Is it hard to change? Are there any manuals online that you know?
  • natehurnnatehurn Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 Grand Prix and like most everyone else out here, my fan slowly stopped working, the last position (5) went out this morning. I replaced the fuses dealing with the fan. The car has approx. 59K miles. Please help.
  • dfarinhadfarinha Member Posts: 8
    It would work sometimes (like when I ran over some RR tracks, it came on), the other day I was messing with the fan speed switch taking it from 1 - 5 also turnig on the A/C, defrost, etc. I heard the fan blowing but it was on speed 5 and the amount of air coming out was like it was on speed 1! My car has 79k miles on it, and all fuses are working! I did notice that when I was changing speeds my radio display started to flicker!!!!!
  • craig32craig32 Member Posts: 30
    Although i can't advise on the heater problem (since mine is broken, too), I can tell you about the engine heat level:

    I had also wondered if going to the 1/2 way point was normal,...apparently it IS!
    Our '02 always , at MOST, goes to the 1st notch after the 1/2 way mark of th temp guage, then creeps back, sometimes jus a little, other times to the 1/4 mark, th eecooler mark, depends on car speed/outside temp, etc.

    When i rented a pontiac/chevy cars before, they ALL stayed around the 1/2 point,..so i am secure with it (my '72 charger usually only ran at the 1/4 cool mark, so each car's different!).

    We need people that have had the heater fan problem, & fixed it to tell us what caused it!!!
  • mawilliz1mawilliz1 Member Posts: 7
    I had a similar problem with my blower on my 2002 GP GT. The blower would work on 3-5 but not on settings 1 or 2. I had to replace my blower motor resistor. It is a relatively cheap part from autozone.

    It is located under the glove copartment on the passenger side. you have to take out the three plugs holding the carpet on then look back behind the blower motor. take off the three screws holding on the blower motor, that way you can get to the resistor. take off the only screw on the front of the resistor assy. , then use a 7/32 wrench and ease the screw that you can see out of the back of the assy. then just use plyers and take it out. then just do every thing in reverse to put the new one back in!!!

    it really sucks and is a [non-permissible content removed] to get out took me about an hour. I think some swivle sockets would really help, I just dont have them.
  • mawilliz1mawilliz1 Member Posts: 7
    The thermostat is not hard to change. follow the top hose from the radiator to the engine. Where it connects to the engine, it will either have 2 or 4 bolts or a hose clamp or both. take the hose off the engine and the thermostat will be right inside. pop the old one out and pop the new one in. voila!
  • craig32craig32 Member Posts: 30
    Keep in mind, though, that there's a trick to this:

    you can use small jumper wires to 'check' first that replacing the resistor willl fix the problem, 1st (meaning don't permenantly install it, just run wires thru it, from the resistor to the blower motor, and from the resistor to the resistor wire harnass that comes from under the dash.

    That's what i did, 1st, so i could return the resistor ( also tried it with a new blower motor), in case these items weren't to blame after all (& in my case, they were NOT defective).

    That way you can return them to the auto store!!/get refund.
  • wildfan74wildfan74 Member Posts: 9
    I have a 2002 Grand Prix GT with about 81,000 miles and lately my heads up display and daytime running lights will not work if I have the fan on any speed, but if I start the car with the fan off then they both work, but as soon as I turn on the fan to any speed then the heads up display goes completely black and turns off and my daytime running lights do not work, I have to turn on the headlights manually, plus when I do have the fan on, there is no heat.....please help. I am having my mechanic look at it tomorrow
  • mawilliz1mawilliz1 Member Posts: 7
    Sounds like you have a power feed problem,check the battery cable connections,also check the positive battery lead that goes from the battery to the underhood electrical center,just trace the smaller positive wire to the center,make sure its clean and tight,also check the 60A maxifuse for the headlamps,this fuse controls both headlamps and HVAC control,pull the fuse out and check for burned terminals or melting,i believe your problem is at that electrical center.
  • wildfan74wildfan74 Member Posts: 9
    Thank You, I will take a look at the electrical center and see if I can find anything. I have already had my mechanic look at it and he couldn't find anything that appeared to be bad, but he did clean up the ground connection and everything worked better than ever for about a half of a day, and then it all went down hill again from there. I want to think that it has something to do with the HVAC since everything else works until you want to turn on the fan, that is when the auto lights and HUD stop working immediatley and the fan still doesn't work no matter what speed you have it on.
  • bizboo45bizboo45 Member Posts: 1
    Can anyone help???
    My powered seat on the drivers side is stuck almost all the way forward. I'm 6'8" tall so it causes a bit of a problem while driving.
    When I try to make the seat move back, only one side of the seat moves...the other side does not. Anyone know what may be causing this?

    Anyone else who owns a GP think that the bottoms fall out of these things after about 80K miles or so? It seems like I am having one problem after another!
  • pugsmompugsmom Member Posts: 2
    I am curious if this worked for you or if you found out what your problem was. My 2000 Grand prix is doing the same thing (heater/ac blower not working and when I turn on the heater my auto headlights do not work) and we can not find where the issue is....
  • appjej123appjej123 Member Posts: 9
    I don't have the heads up display, but replacing the ignition wires resolved all fan\auto headlights and such.

    I took my mechanic an article from this site and he fixed it right up.

    Should work for you as well!
  • pugsmompugsmom Member Posts: 2
    Thank you so much for the help. My dad works on cars so he is my mechanic. He couldnt figure it out and I found this site. Took him the info. He changed the ignition swutch and ...knock on wood...so far everything is working great. i am VERY happy...expecially since it is snowing and COLD and I now have heat...Thanks again!
  • coneyconeconeycone Member Posts: 5
    So I have not had heat for the past 2 months. Well, i live in Pittsburgh and well its winter time here. So here is what i have learned in researching this FAN problem.

    If you have the issue of your Blower NOT working on speeds 1-4, this is probably your Blower resistor part. (a bit difficult to remove, but doable, price $25)

    If you have the issue of your Blower NOT working on any speeds 1-5, this is going to be the Blower motor resistor or the Blower motor (very easy to uninstall and reinstall, price $50-$150, pending manual or automatic climate control).

    If you have the issue of multiple things going wrong, HUD, Heated seats, Daytime running lights shutting off, rear defogger - This is most likely your Ignition Wiring ( i think the yellow and orange wires) thing that you read about on here.

    I hope this helps, or at least saves you some diagnostic towards your problem.
  • maximkamaximka Member Posts: 4
    Hi,
    thanks to all for your help. here is what I did and it solved the problem partially.
    Originaly I had problem with heat and car not getting right temperature.

    Here is what I did:
    1 - I changed thermostat - it didn't solve anything.
    2 - I went to mechanic and he proposed to change antifreeze, since mine had original one (the red one) and it is proven not to be a good one. It leaves a lot of dirt on the walls .. so I flashed old antifreeze, washed everything with water and put new green antifreeze, it solved the problem with heat. Now I get good heat for a week w/o any problem. However car still do not go to half point on the teperature bar. But, I guess it is not a huge problem.

    3 - I have sort of new problem, samething as other describerd here. When I turn heater on headlights doesn't work, i have to turn them manualy, and also defroster doesn't work. I have to restart car for a few times, so it will start working normally. I will try the ignition wiring solution as it proposed here and let you guys know.

    P.S. - Also as i understand it is very easy to change ignition wires, just change six wires and thats all? Does any one have any diagrams? let me know. Should I go to mechanic or I can do it myself?

    thank you for your help.
  • maximkamaximka Member Posts: 4
    silly me. Just read through forum and found link with directions.
    Do you think it is safe to by from GMpartsdirect?
    will described GM PART # 26068757 will work for allyears of pontiac grand prix? I have pontiac grand prix 2000 GT? If not do you know part number it will work with?

    thanks,
    Maksim
  • maximkamaximka Member Posts: 4
    Update: My mechanic changed ignition switch. He put aftermarket part.. all together with labor cost $160. For now(2 days later) it works fine and looks like problem has been fixed.
  • hurleygirl_98hurleygirl_98 Member Posts: 1
    I am so GLAD that I found this site. I have been having problems with my 2001 Grand Prix blower for awhile now (and SUFFERED this winter without any heat!) and about a month ago my heater core started leaking. I am getting the heater core replaced this week and was going to have my mechanic replace the either the blower or the resistor, but after reading this, I will definetly have him change the ignition wires! Wow, why do they have to make these cars so difficult?? However, a few days ago I stared having problems with the driver side wiper not working right, it barely wants to move, but the passenger one is working fine. Does anyone else have this problem? And if so, does it have anything to do with the ignition wires? I kinda hope it does, because then I could kill two birds with one stone!
  • bugshytbugshyt Member Posts: 1
    I been have the same problems as eveyone else with this not heat no blower lights go out thing. Just changin the int. wire really work because i was about to by a new daytime lamp control module. which is about 300 bucks. can any one help me get this problem fixed. :cry:
  • victoryismine0victoryismine0 Member Posts: 1
    Hi, ok I'm not sure if I'm having quite the same problem as everyone else. My blower never works with my car running. However if i just turn the key on, without starting the car, it works. But if i try to change the speed, it automatically kills my blower. But if i just leave it on 5, with the key just in the on position, car not running, the dam thing will run like a champ. But as soon as i try to start the car or change the speed, the climate control unit loses power, I can't even get the a/c or rear defrost light to come on when I hit the button. Oh and this is on my 01 Grand Prix GT. Can anyone please tell me if it is the ignition wires or perhaps something else? Thanks in advance. Oh and I live in phoenix and its already in the upper 90's so I can't go long without my a/c!
  • treacottontreacotton Member Posts: 2
    Hi.. I have a 2001 GTP and I WAS having the problem of AC only working on 5, computer display not working or extremely dim, daytime running lights being effected. I recently just had a private mechanic work on it and say it was fixed.. well the resister pack was burnt up and he replaced that. He replaced the blower motor and still didnt fix it so then he had a guy do a wiring diagnostic on it and said he found some wires melted or burnt. That was supposed to be fixed... before it was fixed the new resister pack got burnt up so he replaced that again. Figured the old blower motor wasnt bad so put it back in. Now my daytime running lights look ok, ac works all speeds but the computer display is still not working right. It is better than before and SOMETIMES works but most of the time it is either dim or flickering on and off. When the display flickers, I notice that the AC compressor light on the AC controls pulsates at the same time. I am fed up with the mechanic and want to get this fixed. I am hearing about people replacing "ignition wires" but I dont know what those are or how to do it. I assume your not talking about the spark plug wires cause I dont see how that would effect the computer. If anyone can send me a link or some suggestions on how to get this LAST issue resolved I would GREATLY appreciate it.
  • gdainesgdaines Member Posts: 2
    I have 2001 grand prix, similar problem to many with heater/ ac blower, rear defrost, and daytime running light working sporadically. I understand that all three function through a common relay switch (not referring to the blower resistor pack). Does anyone know where this relay switch is located?
  • gdainesgdaines Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for your help, good info.
  • rrogan1rrogan1 Member Posts: 1
    Hey, I've looked through this thread and noticed a few problems I have. I'm just not sure if I have a problem with the ignition switch or not because I don't have many of the problems. My blower motor only turns on at 5, and I just recently replaced the blower motor resistor because it was damaged by water from the A/C I believe. Now the new resistor is acting up, and I'm thinking could be due to the ignition wires. The only thing is that I don't have problems with my running lights, or rear defroster. The clock does show weird digits sometimes though, and the rear speakers turn on and off randomly too. Do you think it's the ignition wires, or could it just be that the resistor got damaged by water again. I haven't seen any puddles in the passenger side like I did before when the old resistor died. Thanks for any help.
  • craig32craig32 Member Posts: 30
    This may not solve your problem, but it may help get you on your way:

    My blower gradually started failing on each of the fan settings (last1 being #5, then failed on that, too).

    I still have my blower not working on my '02 grand prix, and i've done the following:
    put 12 volts directly to the blower equaled it was good!

    I then replaced the resistor (twice, to make sure), and it was also good.

    ****I then thought to ck the voltage after the resistor, going to the blower, and it read (trying it at ALL the fan settings) 6.5, to about 7 volts (=not enough for the blower to work!!).

    A mechanic i spoke with said that it sounded like the voltage was 'shorting' somewhere, and that i should ck the voltage at the fuse panel.

    He said if the fuse was getting 12 volts, then the short was 'after' the fuse panel (either between the switch & the panel, or the switch itself).

    I mentioned this thing about others having the problem behind the steering wheel (eg, the wiring, ) & he said anything is possible.

    Keep in mind, if it's in the ignition wiring, you'll have to take a lot of things apart (if it's the switch, even more!).

    Consider also, the dex-cool/gasket problems (i'm selling the car!!)

    *****Has anyone else taking readings & gotten low voltage after the resistor (going into the blower)???

    What caused it????
  • ssherman1ssherman1 Member Posts: 1
    Had the same problem as most above on my '02 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP - blower not working, puddle in passenger side, everything else works fine. Only had to replace the blower ($90) not the resistor. Replacement not too bad with the right type and length of tools.
  • elfriedaelfrieda Member Posts: 3
    On my 2003 Grand Prix, first my radio reception goes out, can only get very close stations, the cd player sounds unbalanced then won't eject cd, finally does eject it one day then I can hear it continually working with no cd.That stopped now. After that my AC started hesitating before coming on, now it will only come on if it is turned on before starting car, any attempt to adjust it, and it turns off. Or... it doesn't come on at all when started, but will come on much later on it's own...or not.
    What could the matter be?
  • bearmdebearmde Member Posts: 2
    I just finished replacing the heat resistor module on my 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix that everyone states is needed to get fan speed 1-4 working. My car will work on five only. Well it still only works on five only. I tested the switch by using a jump wire from hot to make sure 1-4 are working and the switch is good because it still does not work. Now I have been told that it is possibly a blower motor control module. This module is on drivers side, by left leg, near outer panel of door. It is also a very expensive part. It seems the switch relays are small, and they go through this module to a set of stronger relays then on to the heat resister module. Has anyone ever heard of this going bad and are there any after market ones that are available.
    The next issue, is still with the blower. With the lights set to come on automatically like most cars are today, if the switch is off, the lights will come on. The second that you turn the blower switch to 1-4 the lights will go off, and only come back on by going to off or 5. Somehow this is all tied together. Any ideas from the experts on this panel. Thanks.
  • harleyhopharleyhop Member Posts: 1
    Hi I'm an master auto tech and I recently had this same problem on a 2002 GP the trouble lies in your " Ignition Switch " the orange wire that comes from it feeds the HVAC, Day Time Running Light, Rear Defogger and some others. So I hope this helps you and others with this problem. P.S. I would personally get one from the dealer might cost a few bucks more but worth the piece of mind.
  • jataylor300jataylor300 Member Posts: 1
    The blower motor on my wife's 2000Grand Prix GTP simply stopped working one morning. Does anyone know if there is both the Blower Motor Control Module and the Resistor pack when the car is equipped with climate control? The on-line and Chiltons manuals I have do not identify what makes up the components of the Climate control system. I can't even find pictures or locations of the resistor pack (if used) or the BMCM. Anyone have any advice re: location and serviceability of these 2 components?
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