heater fan not working

25

Asked by opposedtwin Dec 31, 2007 at 03:43 PM about the 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

the front heater fan on my van is not working. i pulled the fuse and it looks like all the others (not blown) is there a relay on this circuit and if so is it ok to pull it and check it or would that destroy it? my napa store does not have a manual in stock and they say they can't get one that's newer than an '02. any info woukd be appreciated. happy new year!

14 Answers

83,685

There are a couple of things you need to check here. The way that the heater fan works is this: Input from the coolant temperature sensor sends input through a high speed and low speed fan relay in the Integrated Power Module (underhood fusebox.) This then triggers a relay mounted down low on the driver's side near the radiator which kicks the fan on or off. The fan is set to work in a "stay alive" mode if the coolant temperature sensor input is invalid, or if it loses input from either of the two relays in the IPM. So it should run all the time if the coolant temp sensor is disconnected, or either of the relays are pulled from the IPM. The relay on the frame is the most likely culprit here if it is not running at all. Do those tests, then take that relay off if you can't get it to run at all. It costs about $60-70 at the Chrysler dealer. It won't hurt it to remove it. Good luck!

21 people found this helpful.
170

Dodge Caravan 2003 the heater used to working in height

11 people found this helpful.
290

What would I check first ? My 2005 dodge caravan when I turn the heat on and it's not blowing out like it should be what should I check first? Fuse

29 people found this helpful.
290

I had a blower that would not run or would run intermittently, the stop running. I replaced the blower resister, problem continued. Replaced the blower motor, still intermittent running. I began jiggling wires, checking fuses, nothing, but noticed pressing on the fuse box could trigger fan off and on. I noticed bolted ground connection to fuse box seemed oxidized, not corroded, or rusted, but old looking. Unboltded the terminal, cleaned with wirebrush and sandpaper. Reinstalled terminal, now everything working fine after about 20 miles driving with AC and blower on high. Not a whipper of intermittent problem. Guess it was a ground fault.

12 people found this helpful.
220

I have the exact same problem that Guru1T6CB had. I also replaced the blower motor, resistor AND the relay. The blower still did not work...for about a month. Then, one day it decided to work...and it worked just fine...for about a month. Today, however, it does not work. Any suggestions?

13 people found this helpful.
290

Steve, after a couple of weeks I've had no reoccurrence with the intermittent blower problem. I'm convinced it was the connection at the fuse box. The large bolted bolted connection while it didn't appear corroded or anything was causing a ground fault. It was tightly fastened, I gave it a shot of penetrating oil before attempting to break it loose, then used a 13mm socket and CAREFULLY broke it loose. Then cleaned it with wire brush an sandpaper. I made sure to clean the penetrating oil before reconnecting. I did this operation with the battery disconnected. The blower motor pulls about 24 amps and so it makes sense that higher amperage pull would cause this. Makes sense that a poor connection could also cause a fault with very low Voltage circuits such as sensors.

13 people found this helpful.
290

You have to be impressed with Dodge design to completely enclose the fuses in a box that even has a rubber o-ring seal and tight clips closure. However, the large bolted wire connection has to enter the the box somewhere. This is the only component that is at least partially exposed. Considering protecting this connection with battery terminal coating stuff.

4 people found this helpful.
220

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I finally tracked my intermittent blower problem down to the plastic wire housing that plugs into the brand new resistor. When I pushed hard on that component, the fan would start to run, so I crimped the two clips on the end of the wires and plugged them back in. Now they're seated snugly on the resistor pins and the fan stays on. Since it's been in the 90's this week, I am thoroughly enjoying an air conditioned cabin again!

9 people found this helpful.
50

Thanks Steve! I was having an intermittent blower AND it would only work on high when it worked. I replaced the resistor and it would then run at any speed when it worked. I tried all the suggestions above and it turned out that jiggling the wires on the resistor pack fixes the issue so I need to clean those contacts and probably add some bulb grease and I'll try crimping the connectors down tight. I need the blower to work so I can defrost the windshield this winter.

5 people found this helpful.
110

Guru1T6CB - I have the same problem you described - BUT for the life of me, I cannot find the screw you cleaned for the ground - can you give details on exactly where that screw is located and how I can access it. Thanks.

11 people found this helpful.
10

What kind of screws hold in a 2013 heater blower on a Dodge Caravan there's three of them? Are they metric?

1 people found this helpful.

Resistor pins looked oxidized and I Swiss filed them , cleaned and plugged back in! Now fan seems to be fine. Reading all these comments saved me some money and agony! You can't be without a heater motor in Seattle! Thanks to all who shared their problems . It told me where to look before I bought a new resistor!

I had the same issue. Kept tracing all the way back to the fuse. Pulled fuse and used a volt meter to see if I had some voltage at the fuse pins. Nothing? Pulled the rear fan fuse that works and had 12v. So now what??

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