Hello – my 2001 Chrysler T&C has been slowly losing its a/c over the last 2 years. Initially it lost 3 of the 4 fan settings such that it would only blow on the highest setting. It otherwise functioned well, cooling as necessary. I was told this was an electrical problem in the panel that would cost $500 to repair so I elected to leave it be. Over the past 6 months it has slowly lost the final fan setting. Not as suddenly as the other settings, but slowly: sometimes functioning normally, sometimes functioning but barely, and sometimes not at all. And now, of course, I’ve arrived at a consistent lack of function. It seems to be a fan problem since cold air still ekes out of it, the belt and compressor seem to be working fine, and the rear a/c functions too. Just wanted to confirm before I started tearing apart the dash/electrical since I’ve heard this could also be an issue with the vaccuum hoses. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Greg
The air handler (evaporator fan) motor is probably bad. It should be a cheap fix, much less than $500.
- Ignore Star’s posts as he has no idea about automotive A/C
- I don’t really know much about A/C either, but my guess is an electrical problem in the switch. And I can’t see it costing $500.
It sounds like you have more than one problem here, but they’re probably related.
Loss of fan speeds points to a burned out fan motor resistor.
On and off operation and finally quitting points to a worn out fan motor.
A worn and dragging fan motor will draw a lot more current than a good motor. More current means more heat and this can burn up fan resistors, fan switches, etc.
I would replace both motor and resistor. They’re generally easy to replace and are located near each other; usually behind the glove box.
Ignore Star’s advice on automotive A/C. He’s either a troll or a comedian; it’s undecided at this point.
The blower fan speed settings are controlled by resistors in series with the power for the blower. The resistors are a common failure item and will affect all but the full speed. This is way it worked on full speed. By following the wires from the blower they should lead you to the panel with the resistors mounted on it. They are facing inside the air duct for cooling. Replacing them should be less than $65 dollars.
The cooling problem may be due to a problem with the blend air vents or the AC system itself. You may want a AC shop to look at that and get a estimate of repair from them.
If the fan was only working on the high setting then it sounds like a resistor block failure. Start there.
As noted by other posters… ignore STAR, he has no knowledge of automotive A/C.
OK, you would think that the moderator would see all of the regular posters pointing out how STARS responses are way off base. You would think they would get him off this board.
I would recommend all of the regular posters to continue to flag STARS responses. Maybe then the moderators will boot him.
A tip of the hat to you guys!
Thanks!