A/C problem

My daughter has a 2002 Chevy Venture Van and the heater/air conditioner fan will not operate on max (#5 speed). All the other fan speeds work ok, so I assume the problem is with the switch. I don't presently have access to the van so replacing the switch is a big mystery to me. In other words I don't know if this is a plug and play deal or if I have to tear the van down to fix it.

Can anyone tell me how involved it is to replace the switch, or tell me if/where I can access an online manual for this problem?

 

These usually are not that hard to replace. Typically, you have to remove the cheap plastic trim around the console area, and some cars you have to remove half the dash board. Look for any screws holding the trim on, then take a flat head screw driver with a rag at the end, and carefully pop the plastic up around the trim.

Hopefully it's the console, you might find one at a salvage yard for around $20-40. If that does not fix it, it maybe the resistor pack.

 

Sometimes the blower motor resistor will cause issues like this. Usually its reverse though, only blows on max and nothing else.

 

Sometimes things are not what they appear to be. I had a similar problem with my 1998 Old Eighty Eight. I thought it was the switch too. I let go for a while and it worked erratically. Then it stopped working altogether just out of warranty. The GM dealer wasn't able to duplicate the problem so they wouldn't touch it under warranty. It seemed every time I took it in, it was working OK! So I took it to an independent garage after the warranty had expired. Took them 3 hours to diagnose the problem - a harness under the dash was all melted. In total, it took four hours to fix it with a bit of wire to repair the crap GM had put in! That was six years ago and going strong. Your problem may be different, but thought this might help.

 

Hey fred, did you ever get your daughter's van fixed?

My Olds is doing that again, I don't know if it's the same problem or something else!