QuestionQUESTION: 2001 town and country. We have developed over a period of 6 months the center lights, where radio ac/heater controls are. Radio quit first, then lights started blinking constantly, now this week, fan blower is on high, with no way to control it. All of this is original equipment. Any suggestions would help.
Thanks in advance
ANSWER: Hi Randy,
All those issues are separate problems, just happen to be in the center console.
The radio could be a fuse. Check in the power box under the hood where in the front driver side corner is the radio relay and next to it is fuse 14. See if it is blown. If not, then on the other side of the box, closest to the 'accessory' relay, is fuse 5 which also powers the cigar lighter. Check that one or see if the cigar lighter is not working.
On the lights blinking, I assume you mean on HVAC control panel, that has to do with self-diagnostic testing. Try pressing on the rear wiper button to exit that mode. If it start up again, then probably you will need to run the diagnostics and deal with the issue. It is a complex process better dealt with via the manual text which I can xerox and postal mail to you at a modest cost for copying and postage.
The blower motor issue has to do with a blower module that behaves this way when it fails. You will find it by locating the blower on the underside of the right-hand end of the unit, under the dash. Turn on the blower if necessary to find it by sound/touch, then follow its pigtail to the module. Unplug the plugs, remove the screws, and the module comes out of the air duct. It is either a simple resistor block (std. unit) or a solid-state unit (auto temp unit) that you can get at a dealer or perhaps a parts store.
Good luck on fixing all 3.
Roland
PS: Sorry for the delay as I just got your question from the "pool".
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks for the reply. I wasn't real clear on the blinking lights, let me explain. The radio lights are blinking, the ac/heater lights are not. I tried the turn on the back wiper blade theory, and it did stop, and the radio worked for a few seconds, and went back to blinking, and no working. I got the blower being on all the time covered, thanks to your reply. Any help on the radio would be appreciated.
AnswerHi Randy,
When you say 'blinking' do you mean at random or rhythmically? And when the radio worked did the blinking stop? I don't see any connection with the rear wiper switch and the radio, in the circuit diagrams, at all.
What is the light to the front cigar/cigarette lighter doing, as that light is powered by the same circuit that runs the radio lights?
And the intermittent function of the radio also leads me to suspect that the two ground wires from the radio plug on it rear side is loose. I would remove the radio and check those wires by following them to where they attach to the instrument panel structure. Specifically, a black/pink wire on pin 11 and a black/light green wore on pin 22 both go to a common ground point nearby the radio.
To remove the radio:
remove the cup holder
remove trim panel above cup holder by pulling straight back
remove center instrument panel trim bezel #pry out gently around the edges#
remove screws holding radio to instrument panel
pull radio rearward to get access to the main plug where the wires I mentioned are located.
Then follow those wires to the ground point and tighten it
It is also possible that the issue is with the remote radio controls that you have on the steering wheel, if you have that set-up. But that is another issue that should come after checking out the radio grounding proper.
Roland
