hi guys --

i've got a 1988 suburban that i got used last january. good deal, but lots of little minor stuff that needs attention. the entire time i've owned it, the heater blower has operated at only 1 (fairly slow) speed, with the switch in the 'high' position (doesn't work at all in the other positions). i finally got around to locating & removing the resistor for the motor, planning to replace it so as to have multiple (hopefully faster) speeds available.

to my surprise, the blower still works (at the same slow speed) even with the resistor completely out. is this normal, or is it a sign that the wiring is screwed up somehow? the old resistor doesn't show any obvious damage, so i'm wondering if i've somehow got messed-up wiring and the resistor's not the problem. don't want to waste the $20 on a new one if it's not the issue.

any input?

thank you!

drew joseph

 

Welcome to the forum.

With 12V direct to the blower motor, it should run on high speed, IOW w/o any resistors. I'm going to say that you need to oil the bearings which is not easy or get a new motor.

 

yea 73 is right here. lube the motor bearings so you never have to go in there again. The resistor drops the current to give you multiple speeds. Without it you only have high. And when I had Fords it was always cool because all the resistor were interchangeable as long as it could connect to the harness. I had LTDs and I couldnt get resistors so I d put ones in from Explorers.