2003 Chrysler Town and Country Van came in with the complaint of the blower operates on high speed with key on and cannot be adjusted down. This procedure will also apply to Dodge Caravans with auto a/c. The controls and indicators seemed to work normally. I checked the wiring diagram and component locator and found that the blower power module is located behind the glove box. Good place to start.
After opening the glove box there are two stops the have to be depressed inward in order to drop the box down.
The blower power module is directly behind the lowered glove box. It is held in place by two 8mm hex head screws.
After removing the two attaching screws, the blower power module can be positioned for testing.
Turn the key on and while manually rotating the blower switch from low to high you should see a voltage change between about 2 volts (high)up to about 10 volts (low) on the blue/light blue wire. It is the middle wire in the left connector pictured below. Because the blower was working on high speed there was no need to do any other testing, however if you were to have low blower or no blower you would need to test further. Check for 12 volts – on the black/orange wire and 12 volts+ on the dark blue wire in the three wire connector. If either is missing check respective fuse and ground connections. Next check for 12 volts between the blue wire and the dark blue /yellow (sometimes black as pictured below) wire in the two wire connector to the right of the pictures. If either signal is missing in the two wire connector and the three wire connector tested good then the power module is faulty. If 12 volts power and ground are present then the blower motor is faulty. Usually bumping the motor with the key on and the blower switch on high will make the motor work for a little while because it will reset the worn brushes.
Three wire connector:
Black/Orange wire should have a constant ground.
Dark Blue wire should have 12 volt switched power from the front blower relay. The front blower relay is located in the Integrated Power Module (underhood fuse box).
Blue/Light Blue wire should have a varying voltage from about 2 volts(high blower command) and a nominal 10 volts(low blower command).
Two wire connector:
Check for a nominal battery voltage reading across the two wires. Key on and blower set to high.
I removed the mounting screws to gain better access to the wiring for testing.
Be careful to keep the aluminum cooling fins away from the metal brace for the glove box. It will complete the ground circuit for the blower motor and will scare you when it sparks.
Place an insulating cloth between the aluminum fins and the brace if you want.
A good look at the blower power module.
Installed the new blower power module and all is well.
From your description the blower motor itself may be the problem and that is where I would start testing.
I have a 2001 Chrysler Town & Country Limited. It has automatic temperature control. Here is what HVAC is doing. The rear works just fine, the front; however, does not. The AC only blows part of the time, it doesn’t matter the setting. If we sit still too long/idle it stops blowing. We can feel the cool air coming through just a little if we’re at a constant speed driving down the road. Then the blower will kick in eventually. There seems to be a slow grinding sound when it kicks on. The heat in the winter blows normally; however, no matter where the setting is put, even when turned off, the heat blows at low speed on our feet. Please tell me what needs to be repaired. I can’t afford a repairman.
Hi Mike,
Your symptoms can match up with a slightly low refrigerant charge. With a low charge the driver’s side will feel warmer during the heat of the day but feel cold in the mornings and evenings. Also when the ATC system detected that the system was not cooling down properly it closed the fresh air door which blocks the outside hot outside air from entering the passenger compartment. This can mask a low refrigerant charge by taking away the heat load of the outside air. It is normal for the vent temperatures to vary 10 to 20 degrees F when opening and closing that door.
Sparky, I’m taking the chance you’ll answer my question… I thing I have computer/controller problem on a 2001 T&C Limited w/auto a/c controls. The driver side blows warm air and passenger colder when both set on LO. Rear blows very cold. Refrigerant is full and compressor/clutch seems to be working. Sometimes on AUTO the driver side goes cold. Yesterday on AUTO, it automatically changed from fresh to recirc and it started blowing ICE cold from all vents. Today, back to warm driver, cool passenger, and cold rear. Thanks, Mike S.
It sounds like you have manual control in your van. If so you will have a blower resistor instead of the blower speed controller. It should be located in the same position behind the glove box area. I would start by testing there.