On Monday morning, just as I was beginning the drive home to Waterloo from Ottawa, about six hours in the sweltering heat, I discovered that the blower in my truck had stopped working properly. Between the time I gave the truck to my friend Jeff to drive for a day, and the time I got it back, something in the fan control broke. Jeff of course denies any wrongdoing, knowledge of, or involvement in this startling development. I think the facts speak for themselves.
Truck: 2001 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab.
Symptom: Fan only works at highest speed setting. In all lower settings, the fan just turns off.
I suffered with the A/C at full blast the whole drive home (better than turning it off), then hit Google to see if anybody else had encountered this. Turns out it is a somewhat common problem. The fan speeds are controlled by a high-power resistor in series with the fan motor. Apparently it is quite common for these resistors to burn out. This problem affects many makes of car, not just Dodge.
Fortunately, the resistors were quite inexpensive at my dealership’s parts department, and very easily replaced. The resistor comes as a module that is bolted into one of the air plenums in the passenger footwell. On the outside is a wiring connector, similar to the connector on halogen headlight bulbs (and similarly difficult to unplug). The resistors themselves are on a card that sticks inside the air plenum, presumably so the resistors will be cooled by the air flow.
The original appeared to be a card of fibreglass or mica or something, presumably with the resistive elements printed on it, and then painted black. Seemed very cheap to me, I’m not surprised it burned out. When I removed it, it was covered in moisture. And the paint was flaking off in one corner, which probably allowed moisture to seep in to the resistive element and corrode it. Tests with an ohmmeter showed that only two of the five pins appeared to have continuity with each other, the others were all open circuits.
The new resistor card cost me $13. It was somewhat different in design than the original. The replacement is using a ceramic core, with resistance wire wound around it, and dipped in epoxy. This is more like high-power resistors are supposed to be made. On the top is what appears to be a thermal fuse. The new module has continuity with all pins, the resistance to pin 1 from subsequent pins steadily increasing, up to pin 5 which had I think 2 or 3 ohms resistance.
I suspect that the fan speed selector provides power to one of pins 2 through 5, representing speeds from highest to slowest. Pin 1 is then used to supply the motor. Pins 2 through 5 appear to be a 2 or 3 ohm power resistor with multiple taps. The first tap (pin 2) is actually at 0 ohms resistance (pins 1 and 2 are shorted together), giving full voltage to the blower motor.
On the whole, this is actually quite an inefficient motor speed control. At speeds other than off and full-speed, considerable power is wasted as heat in the resistor. A more modern and efficient design would use a switch-mode transistor control. That would allow infinite variation in fan speed, waste less power, and probably last longer too (if implemented properly). It could probably be implemented on a plug-compatible module. That would be an interesting aftermarket part: an infinitely variable fan control. The hard part would be replacing the knob on the console.
I was having the same problem on my 2003 durango except I had no fan on any speed. I picked up a resistor and tried to install but was unable to disconsect the connector. in the process I snapped the locking mechanism on the connector. after an hour of trying to disconect I got frustrated and just reconnected. To my surprise it now works on all speeds except high. My question is am I putting my family at risk driving on the highway with this vehicle. Any chance of a fire
Blower speeds just dropped out yesterday. 2003 Dakota.
Thanks for the info, and thanks for leaving it around this long!!!
Thanks for the heads up it was easy to do .knowing it was bolted in saved me from breaking the plug.much easier when you can see what your doing.
Thanks for this post! It helped me diagnose and fix the problem with my Heating/AC system in my 2001 Dakota Quad Cab that I purchased from a private party two weeks ago. I am the third owner of this beautiful truck. The parts were easy to find at a local NAPA store for just 14.77, and wasn’t even all that difficult to remove! Just a bit annoyed with the removal of the nut behind the passenger foot vent. The OEM part was definitely odd-looking compared to the new part which looked a lot better, looking much more functional than the OEM part.
This advice was great,The mirror was the best was able to see everything I was done in 10 minute. Thanks
happened to me, no speeds worked. put in the new resister in napa parking lot, everything working fine. price 13.66 tax included…. thank a bunch
Thanks for the post! It sure helped me with my problem.
My fan was only working on high (about six weeks ago), so I replaced the resistor as suggested in the forum. THe fan worked properly for about 5 weeks, then stopped working at all speeds. After a couple of days wondering why I decided i may have connected something improperly so i reached under the dash and wiggled the connector on the resistor. To my surprise (and delight) the fan came on and functioned normally again…for about ten minutes. Then it stopped working again. As the very busy person I am (aren’t we all?), i wiggled again, the fan came back to life, and I made a mental note to “look at” the connection and see where it was loose. This went on for four days; fan quits, driver wiggles plug, fan starts. I got very adept at doing this even while driving (not recommended). On day five, shortly after the wiggle, i noticed a “melting plastic” smell filling the cab. Upon reaching down to wiggle yet again I realized the wires to the plug were the source of the smell. They were hot enough to burn me when I touched them. After letting everything cool off, I removed the “new resistor” and it was burned in one pin of the plug, plus the insulation was burned off the wire going to that plug for a half-inch. I though maybe I had gooten a bad resistor so I bought another and plugged it in. When I turned on the fan, the wire started heating up again (it did this in all fan positions). Im at the point now where I’ve puuled the blower motor but want to test it before i shell out $100 to replace it. Anyone have any suggestions? The standard auto parts stores dont have a way of testing the blower motor. It runs fine until the wiring heats up so i don;t know if it’s getting bad and starting to draw too many amps or if there is a wiring problem I need to track down. Thanks for any help!
Could be a lose connection of the wires on the heat-up or the motor going out. You could take to a alternator shop and have checked out and or repaired fairly cheap. Or go to a junk yard.
Im having the same problem, if you unplug the connector on the resistor and look inside the plug the pin with the fattest wire is melting and not making proper contact. I think the blower motor is pulling too much current and causing this chain reaction of resistor failure and melting pin. If you remove the blower motor and give it a spin you will notice it will stop suddenly, it should coast to a stop, it is my belief that the bushings in the motor are bad.
I will fix this problem this week by replacing the motor and resistor then sawing off the plastic shell around the resistor pins then cutting off the plug from the wiring harness and soldering the wires directly to the pins.
Ill post the results after I think its fixed.
what was the out come as i have the same problem and have a burnt wire in the plug and the resistor thought it was the motor so i have changed both just a month ago but didnt change the plug end and now it is blown again need help please and thanks
how did it work out by soldering the wires direct to the pins
Stumbled on this site while looking to solve the blower problem in hopes there was an easy fix … there was and I thank you for providing it …
FWIW: Priced the part at Auto Zone and AID Auto … the latter was cheaper by three-four bucks …
Still trying to iron the kinks in my back from doing the repair, but the sucker works great …
thanks very much for the advice
have same poblem with my 2002 durango replace 4 plugs and resistor going to replace blower motor tomorrow will everyone know how that works thanks for help
I cann’t get any info how to wir the plug going into the resisn a 2004 dodge dakota
I CAN HELP DID MIME TODAY
Jim
Possibly you can help me. I have the 1998 Dakota extended cab 3.9 motor and I can not locate the resistor. Can you tell me the exact location. Thanks frustrated and looking for help. Emai wobabill@gmail
Com
Had the same problem with only certain speeds working on my ac in my 01 dakota. Wiggled the wire going to the ac motor resistor and it worked fine but now the black wire closest to the outside of the resistor plug is getting hot. Is it just a bad contact. I replaced the resistor itself but the same problem occurs. I have to wiggle the wire every now and then to get the highest fan setting to work. Kinda seems like i wasted 16 bucks on the resistor. If anyone has figured out what is making the wires hot let me know please. Thanks for the post by the way though. Helped me out alot.
My 2001 fan motor DOES NOT have a resistor at the fan motor. The wires go straight in motor housing with plug connector about 3 inches up wire. Was told resistor on firewall in engine compartment… NOT. ANY help appreciated. (tested motor with jumper, fan runs)
It’s mounted on an air duct in the passenger footwell. That way, the resistor gets cooled by the flowing air.
Heading to Napa for the part,thank you for the info and for saving me from an expensive mechanic or (worse) dealer bill !!!
got part from autozone, installed in truck.ran for two minutes started smoking..
what would cause that..
I own a 2003 dodge dakota quad. Bought it new. I have had to replace the resistor 3 times now!!!! Is there a recall? Is anyone else having problems like this? I just replaced it last November and have to put a new one in now! Getting tired of this! Any input out there?
I also have an 2003 DAKOTA and am replacing the resistor for the third time as well, 122,000 miles
02 Dakota blower only works on high, headed to NAPA for resistor pack…….thanks for the info.
My 01 Dakota blower works fine, the problem I have is that the selector to change it from defrost to foot to face does not work. Is this a vacuum problem or will the same resistor replacement fix the problem?
Unlikely to be related. The resistor is just for blower-motor speed control.
I had a problem once with my mix control valves, where it kept cycling back and forth between foot and face all by itself. As I recall, the dealer fixed it (under warranty) by recalibrating the valves in some way. There’s probably a variable resister in there that feeds the valve position back to the controller.
Thanks for leaving this on so long. I have a similar problem with my Dakota Quad cab (2004). After reading your post I removed the resistor card and found a corroded spot by one of the two raised conductors (U shaped) on the card (visable in your picture). One circiut was open. Thanks again for the great description and pictures. My 2004 parts were identical.
Thank you & my Daughter for telling me this web-site….after pulling intire dash out.LOL..
I am having the same problems with my 2001 Dakota, replacing the resistor about every 90 days, with a week of wiggling before it completely goes out. Now my entire system has shut down, the blower, compressor, cooling fan. I have already replaced the connector to the resistor. My Dodge tech tells me this is a classic symptom of the blower motor going south. It has probably fried the a/c control panel on the dash. Now I have to figure how to get in to the dash at the controls without tearing anything up.
By the way, O’reilly’s and AutoZone both cover the blower resistor on a lifetime warranty. Been there and done that many times.
It appears that this resitor is a problem for many. I also have a 2001 Dodge Dakota and I have repalced the resistor three times. The last time, I replaced the harness.
I am suspecting that the problem is the blower and that will be replaced now with a new resistor and hopefully the harness is not too fried.
Does anyone know if GiGi replied after posting his comment on his fix to the problem?
I have had similar problems to all of you. 2003 Dodge Dakota. I as well couldn’t get the connector(plug)off. I cut the wiring close to the plug and removed the resistor with plug still atached. I realized i wasn’t going to disconnect the two without breaking the plug and resistor. Eventually I found that the plastic inside the resitor and plug casing had melted and fused together. I bough a new resistor ($13) and new wiring package ($103) from Dodge. I have now spliced the wires together (with marettes)and connected everything back together. The fan works now, but on all speeds except for the lowest I can hear the resistor making a very loud clicking noise. Is this a dangerous method? Also is there an easy way to pull the individual wires out of the plug to change them out. They seem to be locked in there, maybe there’s a release somewhere.
Thank You!
2003 Dodge Dakota fan only worked on high.
Part was $25 here in Canada at Parts Source.
Here is what Im doing with mine 2003 Dakota. The whole problem comes from is that the blower motor is junk. It draws so much electricity, it will eventually burn out the resistor. It starts out as one speed stops working at a time and then it all stops. Changing the resistor helps for a while, BUT eventually the resistor and the CONNECTOR, that it goes into the resistor starts to melt, burn. All because of the motor drawing too much power. To permanently solve this is to buy an efficient blower motor. Not hard to put in at all. NOW, if the connector is melted, burnt, get a new one at the same time. I got a wiring kit and a new resistor from Ann Schmidt, Chrysler-Dodge Dealership in Ohio. You can go to Ebay and get the kit for 68.00 plus shipping. ALSO, NAPA is now offering the connector for about 60.00 if you get one from the warehouse or about 74.00 at their regular store. BUT… sorry for the caps….. Call first. I went to the warehouse last Sunday, right after Saturdays snow storm and they said it was not in stock yet. Even though the website said it was. I emailed NAPA and still no response. I then went to Ebay. The only other thing I can say is try not to run the fan at the highest speed or keep it down as soon as you can. Use the lower speeds if you do not get a new blower motor. This should solve the resistor burning out and if your is like mine, it always burns out when I need it the most. I hope this helps out. Bill
ok, I’m a girl who has no clue but got sick of paying to keep getting my car fixed. My blower motor stopped, then I would wiggle the wire under the dash of my 2003 Dodge Dakota 4×4 (a trick I learned from my last car), when the truck decided to just work on high then started smelling like something burning I went online and read about blower motors and low and behold it’s a common problem for Dakotas
I looked up the part on ebay and ordered the resistor for 11.00, laid on my back on the passenger floor with a flashlight and unscrewed the part that looked just like it then realized the wiring harness, a name I have now learned was what smelled and is melted together. I ordered the wiring harness and was told of this blower motor problem by a few people, read about it here and chose to take it all back to my favorite car guru who simply “gave me the look”, laughed and he’ll be installing a new motor and my money saving parts on Friday. I’m stickin to the kitchen.
Wondering with these 2003 Dodge dakota what is the current draw on the high speed. I got 18amps on the highest setting of the fam motor. Whats normal for this motor?
I new about changing a resistor for only one speed on a fan motor. I went to take apart and found the connector was melted. Doing my research on multiple websites found out the my motor is drawing 18amps. A good one should be no more then 14amps. I live in Canada and I found out that there is a few multiple online parts you can find, amazon and rock auto to name a few that have really cheap and quality parts. I will be changing fan motor, resistor, and connector all for $110. Thanks everyone.
this has been good but i have replaced the resistor and still
only have the high fan speed any sugestions?