Chrysler Repair: 2002 Chrysler TC the heater blower only works in max position, chrysler town and country minivan, chrysler town and country

Question
I have 2002 Chrysler Town and Country Minivan.  The Heater/AC only work in Max position.  I have 2 controls one for front and other for the back.  The one in the back work okay.  Any help would be a bonus.  Bill

Answer
Hi Bill,
This is a standard problem that occurs when a component called a 'resistor block' fails. It is a small module with several resistors whose job is to fractionate the voltage at the different settings of the fan switch so as to produce the slower fan speeds. You can find a replacement at the Chrysler dealer for around $25. While you are at the parts department ask them to look in their computer diagrams that shows the block and ask them to show you its location. It is either at the firewall of the engine compartment on the passenger side (in the external air intake plenum) or its under the dash in the internal air duct next to the blower motor. The traditional place was the plenum but by 2002 it may well have been moved to the internal air duct. In either case, it has a single 5-wire plug and two of those wires go to the blower motor under the dash, so that is another way to find it...just find the blower motor and trace its wires. A couple of screws hold it in place. Make sure the resistors don't touch one another (separate them gently with a tip of a pencil) before you put it into the air duct. That should get you back the multi-speed function of your blower. They mount it in an air duct so as to cool the resistors.
Roland