- :
- Protege5 2003
Sorry it took solong to reply... Thanks for the info. I managed to get a new replacement Switch. It works in all positions but 3 intermittently now. at first when I connected the new switch, it only worked on position 1 with a couple light tugs of the wires they all started working. I am taking that as a bad sign. The Controller board.... Do you know where this is located? If i follow the wires form the Switch, do they go directly to it, or?
Also, was anyone elses old AC switch discolored and Yellowed? Mine was. The new one is super white.
The controller board is inside the climate control unit. When you had it out to change the fan speed switch the controller board was literally in your hand. The edge of it is where the connector with a lot of thin wires plugs in.
If the new switch did not work in position 4 then you must have had a bad connection. Pull the thing out again, tighten up the connectors slightly by squeezing them with pliers, and then put them back on. (Battery unplugged while you do this!) It should take a little oomph to push the connectors onto the spades, if not, they are not tight enough.
My switch was not discolored. I worry about that symptom - it could be an indication the blower is going and drawing too much current. Or not, that would also happen if the connections loosened up and there was arcing at the contacts. I'm not sure how much current the blower is supposed to draw at speed 4 (straight to ground, look in the shop manual), but if you have a hefty multimeter that can measure many amps, then you can test the blower. The multimeter leads must be pretty heavy too, or they can get too hot, melt, or potentially even catch fire.
You want to measure the current between the vacated blower speed 4 spade and ground, ideally with a spade on the lead going to the former, and a clamp of some sort going to a chunk of metal under the dash. I would hesitate to measure the current with the "pointy" leads on most multimeters because the contact might not be good and the resulting arc could be bad for the leads, the spade, or you. Remember that when an ammeter is wired this way the blower will start the instant the car is turned on - it is wired as if fan speed 4 was selected.
Edit: here's a video showing how to do it at the blower on a different car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK3dmfBjRI8
Last edited: