Heater fan issues maybe?

[Allen And Brandy]

Ok. Last year. The fan would blow hot air up till setting 3/4, and would blow air at 4 but made a weird humming noise. This year the only setting that blows any sort of heat is the fourth fan speed setting which still makes that humming noise. I assumed the cabin air filter was trashed. But a little research says that an '01 ranger does not have a cabin filter? Is this correct? My instinct is there's junk clogging the fan, but I don't know where the fan is or where to look or if I'm right at all. All ideas are appreciated. It's getting towards freezing I'd like the heat to work haha

 

[Mark_88]

It is the resistor under the hood. Common problem with them is they corrode and eventually stop working. Easy fix...just replace the resistor. Should be a four wire plug into the heater box under the hood...just two screws to remove it and replace it with another one...I think they are $15 new or less at a junkyard...

Find one from an F150 or Ranger that has A/C...for some reason they stay healthy longer...but 2001 may be a bit different...

check the Tech Library...there is an article there all about this...

 

[Allen And Brandy]

Ok I plugged into a computer today for another reason. I have a code for in incomplete heater circuit or something like that. And what is this resistor thing? I know nothing about heating systems...

 

[Mark_88]

Well, I didn't check the year of your vehicle, but the older ones had a resistor for the blower motor under the hood...so they may have changed it if you are actually getting a code...sorry, but it is symptomatic of the older systems so there is probably something similar in the setup...a resistor that controls the speed of the blower fan but you may want to check the on-line repair manual for the specifics of the heater/blower system...

You can find the repair manual at the following link:


http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=url,uid

User ID: tech
Password: tech

EDIT: I had a look through it to see what is up...plenty of information there, but unless it is the actual switch causing the issue the repair looks like a complicated task involving tearing apart the dash...maybe someone familiar with the situation can offer something more concrete...

If it is the blower motor, which I tend to doubt considering the code, then removal of that is similar to the older style Rangers...you may have an obstruction in there that could be remedied by removing the fan and cleaning it out, since the humming may be related to air restrictions...

Anyway, again, there is probably someone one here familiar with the 2001 systems...maybe go under the Need Urgent help section and post there instead...gets a bit more attention...

 

[Allen And Brandy]

Well none the less I appreciate the help. Il start looking through the repair manual and see what I can figure out. Thanks!

 

[Allen And Brandy]

Sure enough. Pulled the fan off and had about half the woods in it. I don't know if its quite as good as stock but there's actual hot air blowing out of the vents so I'm happy!

 

[Mark_88]

Good to hear you resolved the issue...somewhat...

Thanks for the follow up!