2002 Regal Dual Climate Control Module with Resistor Location
mikejones54
Member Posts: 5
Have a 2002 Regal LS with dual climate control. Original owner. AC just started acting up for the first time. All the controls on the panel work and display as normal. Compressor kicks in but blower started erratic behavior the last month by not turning on, in auto or manual. One day fine, the next day nothing. Today it was working, nice and cold, then it made two sound changes and stopped running. Since the panel works fine, I'm thinking blower module with resistor. Gained access to blower but can't figure out where the module is. Anyone have a nice pic or exact location with number/color of wires to search for.
0
Best Answer
-
imidazol97
Member Posts: 27,624
As a leSabre owner of a couple of model years and a do-it-myselfer, I think I can help here based on experience and reading millions of posts by other DIYers on PonatiacBonneville forums--the same H-body as the leSabre.mikejones54 said:Compressor kicks in but blower started erratic behavior the last month by not turning on, in auto or manual.
This is a symptom of the blower itself giving problems in some applications. I didn't check the video, but I assume it shows how to access the blower motor and I assume the blower motor is on the underside of the interior HVAC box.
Locate the blower itself. When you get in the car, turn the key to RUN and if the blower motor doesn't operate, tap the blower motor itself with the tip of your shoe or your hand. If the vibration makes the blower start working, that means it's the contacts, commutator and brushes, inside the blower motor. You may have to move to the passenger seat to get good contact
Another diagnosis for this in the typical leSabre/Bonneville application was that the blower changed how it ran or didn't run when the car hit a sharp bump or vibrated from a tar strip on the road, e.g.. The vibration caused the brushes to make contact again.
Occasionally a leSabre owner would find the contacts for the blower control module plug would be burned and making poor or no contact until vibration made the metals contact better.
If the HVAC is auto temperature control, the BCM itself is electronic rather than a resistor series like used on simpler, older systems and it can also give changing blower speeds or no blower, but doesn't this in odd ways related the electronic components and heat status.
The blower motor itself is #22 in the diagram. There may be a plastic layer for sound deadening to take off to get to it, but the circulat part of the blower motor may not be covered giving access with the noise shield in place. Buy a quality replacement. I'd suggest rockauto.com, but local stores will have replacements as well.
See notes below diagram...
I am assuming the Regal used the same blower motors as the leSabre/Bonnevilles used. From the diagrams on
http://www.wholesalegmpartsonline.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_assembly=400486&ukey_make=1022&ukey_model=14449&modelYear=2002&ukey_category=19390&ukey_trimLevel=15042
http://www.wholesalegmpartsonline.com/productSearch.aspx?&ukey_make=1022&modelYear=2002&ukey_model=14449&ukey_trimLevel=15042&ukey_driveline=0&ukey_Category=19390&numResults=50&sortOrder=Relevance&isOnSale=0&isAccessory=0&isPerformance=0&searchTerm=
I suspect some have resistor like switches with 3 discrete speeds. Others have the continuously variable electronic controlled fan speeds (BCM) where you use an electronic button to change speeds, but in auto mode the car has many speeds available based on settings and HVAC load.
The blower motor contact problem sometimes gave a no run, normal speeds, and strange in between speeds due to poor contact. When I took my blower apart after replacing it, one of the two contact brushes was sticking in its slide holder. So that meant less pressure, poor contact, and arcing which burned the commutator contact area.
Replacing the blower motor yourself is relatively easy. The motor with squirrel cage attaches can be wiggled out in some way. The carpet layers had to be pulled back from the toe area to leave a little extra room making it easier on the leSabre I had. The motor is heavy when you're supporting it while hanging off the edge of the front seat upside down or lying on the floor reaching in on your side.
The rubber tube has to be put back on. It allows the air being pushed by the squirrel cage into the box to flow back over the commutator and the motor for cooling.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
5
Answers
I believe your resistor would be next to the blower motor under the dash.
mikejones54 → imidazol97
You were spot on.One tap to the bottom of the motor and it worked fine. With all the digital these days, you just tend to suspect something electronic as the culprit. Any chance of just replacing the brushes or just get a new one from RA?
Thanks for your note on my wall that this test worked for you. I was hoping it was that easy to verify because I thought your replacement blower motor and the ones in my comparable year leSabre were the same group. Maybe they have different flanges so they have different model numbers.
I took my motor apart but could NOT figure out how to hold the brushes in place and put it back together getting the end of the rotor back into the narrower part of the housing. The commutator was very rough as well. I didn't have any way to smooth it properly.
I bought an Autozone replacement blower because they were the only box store in the area that stocked them The other stores could get them in 1 or 2 days. I picked up one at an Autozone on the other side of the metro on the way to cruise-in that afternoon.
The Autozone, at that time years back, was more plastic and made a little more noise than the original. What I do now is order parts on Amazon or Ebay where I can get the AC Delco version of the replacement parts. Check prices on rockauto for the AC delco piece and consider the shipping charge--you may have to go through most of the purchase forms to get the shipping added on. There are discount codes available on the internet that go into the how did you hear about us box or something like that.
Or look at Amazon/Ebay after you verify the right AC Delco model number from the rockauto.com site. I would not consider getting a pick n pull part. The trouble of squeezing blower out and getting new one back in wiggling it in and keeping the rubber air tube in place and getting the 3 screws in place was enough I just wanted to do it once. I didn't want to replace a used part that went out in 6 months or a year.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,