Page 11 – Sparky's Answers

1990 Subaru Legacy L, Battery Goes Dead

This 1990 Subaru Legacy L came in with the complaint that the battery would go dead while the vehicle sat for a couple of days. This little Subaru had been to two other shops including a dealership without having the problem resolved. The battery had been replaced three times and the seat belt retractor motors had been disconnected. I connected my multimeter amp leads in series between the battery negative post and the battery negative cable end. There was a nominal .30 amp draw even after letting the system sit for an hour. None of the test accessible fuses in the underhood fuse box showed any sign of a drain.

Moving to the dash fuse box under the driver’s side of the dash …

…I removed the cover to access the fuses for testing.

The 20 amp fuse in the dead center of the fuse box indicated a current flow…

…of .80 millivolts. Removing the 20 amp power door lock fuse also removed the .30 amp drain on the battery. Knowing that there was a problem in the power door lock system and that my testing up until this point had been done with the doors unlocked I decided to lock the doors and check the result. The drain went away. My thinking at this point was that there was a problem in a solid state module. The only issue with that train of thought was that according to the wiring diagram there are only four actuators and one switch. No modules in the system. Then my thought process changed to bent linkage inside the driver’s door.

To access the linkage and the single switch, the door panel has to be removed. There are three phillips headed screws at the lower front corner of the door panel that have to be removed.

The interior door handle trim panel is held in place by three locking tabs. One under the handle as shown below and one above the handle in the same general area.

Then the trim panel needs to be pushed slightly towards the front of the door to release the third clip.

Then the cover shown below has to be removed to access the screw behind it.

There may or may not be a piece of foam that has to be removed in order to access yet another phillips headed screw.

This triangular panel needs to be removed either grabbing or prying at the upper end and pulling it loose from the door.

Then the door panel can be grabbed and the lower front edge and pulled loose from the door. Working around the edge to loosen all of the push pin clips. After the edges are loose the door panel can be lifted up and then off of the door. Looking down at the inside of the door panel the power window switch assembly can be disconnected.

This door panel has been off several times and there was sticky black adhesive all over the place. I had to carefully pull the vapor barrier loose at the lower rear corner, roll it forward and secure it in place with tape to keep the sticky adhesive from going everywhere.

After following the wiring harness down and reaching inside the door I was able to disconnect the power door lock switch. I did remove the switch and door latch assembly thinking that I would find some sort of damage that was causing the battery drain issue but after careful examination I determined that the linkage and the switch were not the problem. By the way the drain was also gone with the switch disconnected.

Instead I turned my attention to testing the circuits going into the power door lock switch. The red wire has power at all times and is supplied by the power door lock fuse. There is supposed to be a constant ground on the red/yellow wire. All other wires are supposed to read open. Meaning no continuity to ground or power. I found a ground circuit on the black wire. Looking at the wiring diagram I realized that the black wire attaches to each of the door lock actuators. Internally each actuator has a blocking diode built in to the circuitry. I removed all of the door panels and disconnected all three of the door lock actuators. The driver’s door on this model does not have an actuator. It relies on the movement of either the key or the interior door lock handle to actually lock and unlock the door with a mechanical linkage. My drain was still there and it had me scratching my head until the light bulb went off and I remembered that the tailgate also has a lock actuator. After disconnecting that actuator the drain was gone.

I called the dealership to order a new actuator and found out that it was only supplied as the latch and actuator assembly. However it was no longer available. I searched high and low and finally found a new actuator by itself as a Airtex/Wells part number DLA598. Do not confuse it with a SMP / Standard Motor Products part number DLA598. The SMP part fits a Dodge application and not a Subaru. It is listed as a right front door lock actuator for a USA model Legacy L. I think I may have bought the very last one in existence. As a final note I took the old actuator apart in order to replace what I thought would be a faulty diode. The diode tested as being good. I also found a capacitor also installed in the actuator. To get the actuator apart I wound up having to damage the electrical socket portion since it was designed to be assembled one time and not to be taken apart. If I had not been able to find a replacement the repair of the battery drain would have been to simply disconnect the tailgate door lock actuator.

2008 GMC Yukon, Reduced Power Mode, Code P0641 00 Stored

This 2008 GMC Yukon came in with the complaint of reduced power and the vehicle could not be driven over about 35 mph. There were a lot of codes stored but the only one of real relevance was Code P0641 Symptom 00, 5 volt reference circuit 1. I looked at data under the TAC section of the PCM and found the circuit reading fluctuating between 0 and 5 volts. While the 5 volt reference circuit 2 was rock steady. This circuit provides 5 volt reference power to the MAP, FTP, ACP, APP2, EOP and CMP sensors.

The wiring color codes are:

MAP, FTP, EOP = Gray

ACRP = Gray/White

CMP = Dark Blue

APP2 = Tan

The 5 volt circuit is generated within the PCM and is bussed out through six different terminals.

PCM Connector X1 Terminal 33 = FTP

PCM Connector X1 Terminal 34 = ACRP

PCM Connector X1 Terminal 36 = APP2

PCM Connector X2 Terminal 41 = EOP

PCM Connector X2 Terminal 43 = MAP

PCM Connector X2 Terminal 44 = CMP

MAP (Manifold Absolute Pressure), FTP (Fuel Tank Pressure), EOP (Engine Oil Pressure), ACRP (Air Conditioning Refrigerant Pressure), CMP (Camshaft Position), APP2 (Accelerator Pedal Position 2)

This vehicle was a VIN “K”, indicating that it has four wheel drive. Since the FTP is at the rear of the vehicle and odd wiring issues commonly occur at the front drive shaft I decided to have a quick look. Pretty obvious that we a have a problem here.

Lifting the harness clearly shows that the harness had been rubbing on the front drive shaft enough that it had worn through the split loom covering.

I could see some signs of the internal wires being rubbed through the opening in the split loom.

Pulling the wires out and inspecting them revealed that the gray and the tan/black wires had been cut into by the front drive shaft.

I cut the wires right where they had been rubbed then installed heat shrink tubing and reconnected with a quality splice terminal.

Everything back together and secured. I positioned the harness in the clamp at the center of the next picture. I also wrapped that harness just below the clamp with a wire tie. This creates an obstruction on the outside of the harness that will prevent it from “walking up the clamp” from transmission movement.

Obviously I used a scan tool to monitor the voltage on the 5 volt reference 1 circuit and was able to locate this problem in a timely manner. One could also use a voltmeter and backprobe the respective wire at one of the easier to access sensors or the PCM. Anything less than 5 volts would indicate a problem and a visual inspection of the harness would be needed. Particularly in the area noted above. If nothing was spotted the next step would be to disconnect all other sensors on this line until the voltage was restored. One at a time and rechecking voltage along the way. I have read reports of shorts with the CMP, EOP, FTP and ACRP sensors and their related wiring as also being causes of this code.

2010 Buick Enclave CXL, A/C Does Not Cool Well

This 2010 Buick Enclave CXL came in with the complaint that the a/c is not as cold as it should be during the heat of the day. The problem is that with the ambient temperature being 98° F and the heat index at 112°F the best the vent temperature would drop to was the mid fifties. This was after ten minutes of driving at 50mph. Granted that feels pretty good compared to the outside air, but it is not what should be expected from a late model GM vehicle.

This repair will generally apply to:

2008-2015 Buick Enclave
2009-2015 Chevrolet Traverse
2007-2015 GMC Acadia
2007-2010 Saturn Outlook

This Buick Enclave has automatic a/c controls as can be seen in the next picture. I noted that pressing the recirculation button made no audible change in the sound of the blower motor. Typically on any vehicle the sound of the blower motor should get significantly louder when the air flow is switched from fresh air to recirculation.

Checking the HVAC codes with my Tech 2 found a code B0228 symptom 61 , recirculation position feedback circuit actuator stuck. I cleared the code and tried to command the actuator to move to no avail. The actuator was indeed stuck. A little trick to determine if there is a problem with the control head or the wiring is to disconnect the actuator and see if the code changes. If it does, it at least suggests that the control head is active to changes in the circuit beyond the code that had been previously stored. The wiring also has to be generally intact for the same reason. The code did change so I proceeded to replace the actuator.

The actuator is located behind and to the left of the glove box.

I started by removing the push pin clips that hold the lower hush panel to the underside of the dash. I used a small screwdriver blade to pry the center pin from the fastener.

Once the pin is pulled to this general position the whole fastener can be removed from the dash.

There are two push pin fasteners that hold this panel in place.

Opening the glove box reveals the stop pins on both sides of the glove box interior.

They rotate to the left and slide out of the glove box wall.

There is a rod on the right hand side in addition to the stop pin. I would recommend supporting the glove box door as you release the rod from the gear mechanism.

Once the glove box door has opened completely the right hand side can be lifted up and off of the hinge pins. It is a little snug and takes some effort to release it.

The recirculation or air inlet actuator is just to the left of the blower motor and what looks to be slot for a cabin air filter. I could not get the right angle in order to see it in a picture.

It took both hands working through the openings to remove the three t20 torx bit screws that attach the acuator to the inlet door housing.

I used a two inch T20 bit with a 1/4″ ratcheting wrench to remove the screws.

Just in case you were wondering the actuator that you can see through the openings is the passenger side temperature door actuator. On this vehicle they are both the same part number.

There is also a wiring harness connector that has to be disconnected. I had to feel around for it and there was definitely no way to see it well enough to get a picture. Be careful when actually sliding the actuator off of the door shaft. There appears to be a white piece of plastic that connects between the actuator and the actual door shaft. On this vehicle it appeared to slide out a little bit and gave the impression that it can come all of the way out and allow the door to drop down out of position. That would be real bad and would take hours to rectify. My advice is that it is better to be safe than sorry.

The old part on the right and the new part on the left. The old part had part numbers T3983001 and 010100841B. The new part had numbers T3983001 and 010141912A. You can purchase the part by clicking here.

When reinstalling the glove box the translucent part that I am holding has to be rotated down so that the rod will align with the slot.

After the actuator was installed and recalibrated the vent temperatures were now staying between 42° F and 46° F. Earlier I mentioned that there should be a substantial change in the fan noise as it is switched between fresh air and recirculation. On this vehicle the difference is there but it is minimal.

I of course used my scan tool to perform the recalibration but if you do not have one here is the procedure.

Begin with the ignition Off.
Remove the HVAC/ECAS 15 amp fuse for at least 10 seconds. The fuse is located in the interior fuse box.
Install the HVAC/ECAS Fuse.
Start the engine and immediately put your hands in your pockets.
Wait at least 40 seconds for the HVAC control module to self calibrate. I recommend 50 -80 seconds.
Turn the ignition off for at least 10 seconds but no more than thirty seconds. Restart the engine and check HVAC operation.
If no problems were encountered by the HVAC module during this process the recalibration is complete.

2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer, Blower Does Not Work After Resistor Replacement

This 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer came in with the complaint that the blower would not work after the blower resistor had been replaced. This Trailblazer clearly has manual HVAC controls.

However the customer was sold the wrong part or asked to buy the wrong part. I do not know which for sure. The part on the floor board in the next picture is a blower speed controller for a vehicle that has automatic HVAC controls. Luckily, I was able to install the correct blower resistor and a new harness connector with no damage to the vehicle system. I would suspect however that the blower speed controller is no longer any good.

The blower speed controller for these vehicles with Auto Controls:

2004-2006 Buick Rainier
2003-2009 Chevrolet Trailblazer
2003-2009 GMC Envoy
2003-2006 Isuzu Ascender
2003-2006 Oldsmobile Bravada

The blower resistor and repair harness kit for these vehicles with Manual Controls:

2004-2006 Buick Rainier
2002-2009 Chevrolet Trailblazer
2002-2009 GMC Envoy
2003-2006 Isuzu Ascender
2002-2006 Oldsmobile Bravada

2007 Suzuki XL7, P0496 & Hard Restart After Fueling

This 2007 Suzuki XL7 came in with the SES light on and an odd complaint that the engine would not restart after refueling. The customer stated that she had learned that if she depressed the gas pedal about 25% to 50% the engine would fire up and run. That solution would suggest a problem with either too much fuel or not enough air at closed throttle. I checked codes and there was only one code stored, P0496, Evaporative Emission System High Purge Flow. That code along with the vehicle complaint solidified the diagnosis of too much fuel at closed throttle on a warm restart.

To further diagnose the problem the Canister purge solenoid assembly would have to be removed. It is located at the rear bank of the engine. The engine cover will need to be removed to remove the canister purge solenoid for testing.

The oil filler cap needs to be removed. If possible the area should be blown free of any debris before removing the cap.

I try to make sure no debris has made it into the oil fill hole and then put a clean shop towel into the hole while it is left open.

Then the engine cover or finish panel can be lifted up and off of the engine. There are two rubber detent washers that attach it to two posts on the driver’s side of the engine.

The canister purge solenoid is located as shown below between the coils and the upper intake.

There is a thumb latch that has to be depressed on the harness connector before it can be removed.

There is a lever latch that has to be released on the passenger side hose before the hose can be pulled from the solenoid assembly.

Closed position secures the hose to the solenoid tube.

Open position for removal of the hose from the solenoid.

The hose on the driver’s side has a white bar that has to be depressed.

Before the hose can be pulled loose.

The mechanism released and in the lock position to keep it secured to the solenoid.

The bar fully depressed so that the lock is released.

A single bolt with a 10mm head holds the canister purge solenoid assembly to the intake.

The old part on the left and the new one on the right. By the way, the test to see if it is faulty is to just simply blow through the solenoid. If you can blow through it, it is no good. If you cannot then it is at least good from a sealing perspective. The resistance across the two terminals was 17.2 Ω / ohms.

The new canister purge solenoid assembly installed.

2006 Toyota Tundra, Stoplights Do Not Work

This 2006 Toyota Tundra came in with the complaint that the stoplights do not work. testing begins at the interior fuse box. The stoplight fuse is designated as “Stop” and is rated at 15 amps. It is located two up and tow from the left in the mini fuse section of the fuse block.

There was power on both side of the fuse but I did not see the point in showing two pictures. The next step is to remove the underdash cover to access the stoplight switch. There are two phillip’s headed screws that hold the hood release handle assembly in place.

There are a total of four 10 mm headed bolts that hold the panel to the dash structure. Two on the left and two on the right side of the steering column.

The panel will now unsnap from the dash by pulling it towards the driver’s seat. There is a tire monitor reset switch that has to be disconnected.

And the hood cable has to be wiggled through the opening in the panel.

The duct work shown below also had to be removed. First it slides towards the center of the dash. Then the left end will drop down and out of the dash. Follow that up will pulling the duct towards the driver’s door and it is out of the way.

The brake light switch just to left of the steering column.

With the harness disconnected there is power on the white wire.

Jumping between the white and the white/red wire with a fused jumper wire turns the stoplights on.

The new stoplight switch. Surprisingly I had to get one from a local Toyota dealership. All of the ones I found in the aftermarket had a blue plastic base that the harness plugs into and the terminals are arranged differently. On this truck all four wires are in a straight row with a rectangular connector. The other switches show having 2 terminals in two rows in a square connector.

To installing the new switch I ran the threaded stem in until it lightly touched the green bump pad. I then backed the switch out one half turn and tightened the locking nut.

Now the stoplights are back working.

2004 GMC Yukon, Power Windows & Seats Inop, Airbag Light Is On

This GMC Yukon came in with the complaint that the power windows and power seats did not work and the Airbag light was on. Checking the fuses found that the SIR or airbag light 15 amp fuse was blown.

I also found that the 50 amp MBEC fuse was blown.

I replaced both fuses and could not get either one to blow again. The customer remined me that I had changed the SIR fuse for him before. He also stated that he believed it had something to do with the power seats. In particular the driver’s power seat. I thoroughly inspected the wiring under both seats and found no shorts in the wiring. Thinking about how he insisted that it had something to do with the forward/reverse motion of the driver’s seat the next thing that came to mind was the wiring under the carpet that could be affected by the driver’s feet positions. That meant taking a look at the wiring under the carpet. You can see the shorted harness that I found in the next picture.

The wires would short out on the metal bracket that I am pointing to in the next picture. The location is just under the upper edge of the carpet and slightly to the right of the driver’s kick panel. A position where a person might have their left foot resting while driving.

I opted to use heat shrink tubing over the damaged spots on the wiring to reduce bulk. Also installing a splicing terminal at that location would create a rigid spot in the harness that would likely short out again in the near future. To do this I had to first remove the locking comb that secured the terminals in place.

Then I had to release the locking tab on the terminals that I wanted to remove from the connector body. After the terminals were removed it was just a matter of sliding a piece of heat shrink tubing over the terminal and down the wire to the damaged area. I repeated this for the three wires that had been damaged.

Wrapped the harness back up with tape.

Then installed split loom over the harness making sure that the spit in the loom was facing away from the bracket. Doing that would assure years of abrasion resistance.

Afterwards I finished the job by laying the carpet back into it’s proper position.

2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LT, LBEC2 Fuse #75 Blows

This 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LT came in with the complaint that the LBEC2 fuse would blow as soon as it was installed. The owner had tried several with the same result. The two symptoms that the owner noticed that pointed them towards a blown fuse was that the power windows and rear HVAC unit did not work. There were other symptoms but they did not realize what they were when they brought this Tahoe in for repair.

The LBEC2 fuse is located at position #75 in the underhood fuse relay block.

The vehicle came with the low profile or miniature J-Case fuses. During testing I chose to use the standard length fuse as it is easier to install and remove.

As always I consulted a wiring diagram to see how this circuit was laid out. The wiring diagram showed that there was a red/black wire that connects the LBEC2 fuse circuit to the interior fuse block. That fuse block is located behind the end cover at the left end of the dash. The 60 amp LBEC2 fuse supplies power to these fuse circuits:

BCM fuse 10 amp

COOLED SEATS fuse 30 amp

DDM fuse 10 amp and 15 amp

DIM fuse 10 amp

DSM fuse 10 amp

REAR HVAC fuse 30 amp

RT STOP TRN fuse 15 amp

CTSY fuse 15 amp

All of the involved fuses were the correct amperage (all less than 60 amps) and not wrapped with wire or aluminum foil so that meant the short was probably in the wire between the two fuse boxes.

The most likely area would be under the dash, so I started removing the under dash panel so I could begin inspecting the wiring harness. There is a single 10 mm headed screw that attaches the parking brake handle.

Once the screw is removed the handle has to be slid in order to free the hooks on the top side of the handle as shown below.

There are two 7 mm headed screws at either end of the panel that have to be removed.

Then the panel will pull free of the dash. I pulled the upper edge of the panel towards the driver’s seat in order to free the spring tab retainers.

I searched around looking through the openings and found what looked to be the location of the short. I am pointing towards the general area with my pocket screwdriver in the next picture.

I followed that up with inspecting the same area with a mirror and a flashlight. One of the most important things that I have learned over the years is to inspect slowly and re test for the short still being present after each movement of a harness.

And there it is.

To get a better look at the shorted harness I removed the dash fuse block. There are two locks that hold it in place.

The locking tabs have to be pushed down in order to slide the fuse block out of the metal brackets.

A clear look at the spot on the metal bracket where the harness had rubbed through. I repaired the damage to the wire insulation by wrapping it with tape. I then reformed the harness so that it would no longer rub on any brackets.

Another one done.

2006 Chevrolet Cobalt A/C Not Cold

This 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt came in with the complaint that the a/c would not cool very well. Particularity in city traffic. The compressor comes on sometimes. More so when a cold engine is first cranked. The system seemed to work okay if it was turned on after achieving a speed of 50+ mph. I had the benefit of looking at engine data on my scan tool so I could determine the base problem from the driver’s seat. The refrigerant system high side pressure was too high. Data also indicated that the cooling fan had been tuned on. I never heard it come on from the driver’s seat. Looking under the hood I could see that the fan was not on even though scan data showed that it should be. A quick check with bidirectional controls and physically checking the related fuses and relays did not find a problem. This Cobalt has the 2.4 liter VIN “F” engine.

I disconnected the fan motor’s harness connector and pulled it up for better testing. I also slid the split loom back slightly so that I could identify the wire colors. The black wire is ground for both speeds of the engine cooling fan motor.

That wire should have a constant ground on it. I clamped my test light to battery positive and lightly touched the exposed end of the terminal attached to the black wire. No light indicated a complete lack of ground on that terminal. If the light had illuminated, it would indicate some sort of ground being present but the testlight would not be able to indicate the current strength. More testing would have been needed.

Opening the split loom a little bit more revealed an in line diode. The diode is installed to protect the low speed relay contacts from arcing damage when the low speed winding cycles off as the high speed winding is cycled on. The motor has high and low speed windings. Basically two motors in one housing. When the high speed winding is activated the low speed winding will work in reverse and act as an ac generator. That ac voltage will damage the low speed relay contacts during the time they are trying to open. It has nothing to do with the actual operation of the fan motor. It just protects the relay.

I searched through component locators in order to find the physical location of the ground terminal end. It is listed as ground connection G111. The locators state that the G111 terminal should be “At the front of the engine compartment, attached to the front of the engine block, directly behind the cooling fan”. I could not find a wire attached to ground that matched the size and color of this wire. I did notice a wire that matched the look of the wire I was looking for attached to the starter battery post.

I am pointing to it in the picture below with a long screwdriver.

I removed that wire from the starter battery post and pulled it up towards the top of the engine. There is a ground stud in that area that has multiple ground wires attached to it. The cooling fan ground wire would not reach to that location. I used my multimeter to confirm that it was the correct wire that I had been looking for.

I found a threaded hole on the side of the block between the starter and the a/c compressor. I attached the ground wire to the block with a new bolt.

I also noticed two empty bolt holes on the bottom of the oil pan among other small details that pointed to an engine swap.

What happened was the original engine failed and a used one was installed. Since the cooling fan ground wire has the same sized ring terminal as other wires that attach to the starter battery post and it actually looked like it should go there, that is where the engine installer placed it. The PCM and relays were working correctly supplying power to the fan motor. The fan motor was good but would not work due to a lack of ground. I am very surprised that the vehicle owner had not been complaining about the engine running hot.

2007 GMC Envoy Denali, Blower Does Not Work On Any Speed

This 2007 GMC Envoy Denali came in with the complaint that the blower motor would not work. The customer stated that they had removed the blower motor and connected it to battery voltage and ground. The blower motor worked under this condition. This vehicle also has auto temperature controls as indicated by a digital display.

This diagnosis and repair applies to many GM manufactured mid sized SUV’s with automatic/digital HVAC controls.

2004, 2005, 2006 & 2007 Buick Rainier

2004, 2005 Chevrolet SSR

2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 2007, 2008 & 2009 Chevrolet Trailblazer

2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009 GMC Envoy

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008 Isuzu Ascender

2002, 2003 & 2004 Oldsmobile Bravava

2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009 Saab 9-7x

I removed the two screws that held the hush panel in place. There are quite a few harnesses secured to this panel along with a module, four or five retaining clips holding harnesses in place, and a couple of nuts securing the module. They are all on the right side of the panel. It would be possible to leave those in place and work around them (not fun but doable) but it would be impossible to do this article with them in place. Getting the panel fully out of the way only adds a few minutes to the whole job and makes it much more accessible.

There are several ways to check this problem but my preferred way is to check the signal wires at the blower speed controller. I start by checking for power on the red wire and ground on the black wire. This was easily done by just back probing those two wires with the test leads from my multi meter. Both signals were present. The next step is to connect one lead to the black wire and the other to the small purple/white wire.

With the key off there should be a nominal 5 volt reading.

With the key on and the blower set to the highest speed setting the voltage should be a nominal 1 volt.

Highest speed 1.19 Volts (purple/white wire checked to black ground wire)
2.57 Volts
3.17 Volts
3.66 Volts
4.06 Volts
4.48 Volts
4.89 volts
Off 5.19 volts

Something of interest is that the less than 5 volt reading is achieved by the HVAC control head applying a pulse width modulated ground signal onto this wire. The 5 volt current is actually produced inside the blower speed controller. Initially one would think that if you just grounded the purple/white wire it would force the blower motor on. That is not the case however. The ground signal must be tapped on and off repeatedly in order to create a pulsed signal. I would not recommend doing such a test with the purple/white wire still connected to the HVAC control head circuit. Either cut the wire in a place where it is easy to splice back together or remove the terminal from the three wire harness connector body.

Since I knew the blower motor was good, power and ground to the blower speed controller were present and the signals from the HVAC control head to the blower speed controller was good the diagnosis was a faulty blower speed controller. I had also checked the connector at the blower motor itself to make sure that connection was good and it was.

The next step is to replace the faulty blower speed controller. There is a slight problem with that because the original style with a three wire connector is no longer made by the OEM supplier. There are some aftermarket three wire units out there but I have encountered many people that have had multiple problems with those units so I do not recommend them at this time.

The new style blower speed controller is sold as a kit with the module, a new five wire harness assembly, splicing terminals, a foam spacing washer and new screws. I personally prefer this supplier’s kit since the kit includes splicing terminals and heat shrink tubing. I do not like the splicing terminals with the translucent heat shrink tubing made onto the terminal. The internal terminals are not as good due to a non brazed seam and the heat shrink is too bulky and makes for a sloppy splice.

One other note: the OEM supplied blower speed controller is currently gray in color. There are some replacement out there that are black in color and as far as I can tell they are the first generation replacement controllers that GM and ACDelco rejected. There was an issue with those parts that may necessitate replacing the blower motor also. Especially if the original blower motor was manufactured by Bosch. The two technologies did not play well together. Of course if you have over 150,000 miles on your vehicle or if the blower motor had been making any kind of strange noises before it failed, you may want to go ahead and replace the blower motor anyhow.

Note that I cut the wires in a staggered pattern. This does a couple of things. First it makes for a cleaner spliced harness as it reduces the overall bulk of the harness. Second by cutting and splicing one wire at a time the repair can be done without disconnecting the battery or removing the blower fuse. Of course if you do not feel comfortable leaving power on the red wire please remove the blower fuse from the under hood fuse block. I do not recommend disconnecting the battery at all. The reason being is that a system recalibration is always initialized anytime the battery power is disconnected and reconnected from the HVAC control head. Many times the recalibration process will find a failing mode door actuator and the result is airflow will only come out of the defrost vents. Not something you want to deal with in the middle of a hot summer. If you do plan on disconnecting the battery go ahead and buy a new actuator ahead of time.

If you will pay close attention you should notice that the plug position is towards the firewall side of the module where the original is toward the seat side of the module. This is the way it supposed to be.

The wires wrapped up in a neat harness and everything properly installed. By the way I do not know what the reddish orange goop is dripping down from the top of the dash. I would assume it was some sort of melted candy. i did not want to touch it and have it smear all over the place.

As mentioned earlier there is a foam spacing washer included in the kit. It has a self adhesive side and should be installed in the position shown below.

Another one fixed.