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2005 astro no high speed on blower motor?

15K views 18 replies 10 participants last post by  cookiemonster59 
#1 ·
Earlier today I had no motor speeds...later I had LO,1,2...no high speed....How do I fix this?
 
#2 ·
The switch is probably wearing out or could be corroded, but I don't think it's really something you'd take apart to clean and get it put back together very well.
 
#4 ·
I had a similar problem a couple of years back. I decided to disassemble the switch to see what i could do. There are several copper connectors inside which touch as the knob is turned. I simply eased them up a little to make them reconnect a little more. With a little care I fixed the problem. I notice that switches on the Astro/Safari are quite expensive, most are over $50.00 a pop. IMHO that's expensive. If I can avoid that with a zero cost fix i will.
 
#5 ·
To find the cause may take some investigating , switch could be worn , sometimes a few swipes on the copper contacts can fix, you can pull the switch out in about 10 minutes and inspect it , but on a 2005 switch may be fine that not very old of a switch , what is most common is the blower motor gets used a lot in van and the blower gets worn out , it starts to draw more current than it formerly did which puts more stress on the other components in the system , too much current will cause the resistor to blow in many cases . but the resistor only affect's the lower speeds , if you have lower speeds and no high speed it is often the wire plug connectors at either the resistor connector , the red wire location will show burnt spots in the terminal area and sometimes the plastic is melted , another plug connector is behind the battery a gray 5 wire connector , same red wire showing burnt areas , you need to remove the coolant overflow bottle to access the blower and or resistor , if you find any burnt areas on the plugs , it be best to change out the blower , or you will likely end up having the same problem again , the resistor costs more than the blower , you can get a blower at Advance auto parts for about 25 bucks comes with lifetime replacement warranty , resistor is about 40 or more , not hard to change ,
 
#7 ·
Turn the blower on and listen under the hood. The very far corner on the passenger side there will be this hard black plastic cover. You should be able to hear the motor running inside. I plan on doing mine and am going to just crack and cut the case. I may build a different mounting cover, I am hoping a can rig an old Cadillac blower motor in there . I want some heat that really blows. :bouncy:
 
#9 ·
Take a look at the resistor pack. The red wire will probably show some signs that it has been turned to toast, in which case you may be in for a connector (pigtail) and a resistor pack. There may be some

connector damage behind the battery, look for a grey 5 wire connector.

Good hunting

Bob
 
#12 ·
The blower motor and resistor are at most part stores , the wiring plug connector , might be there but doubt it due to the vast amount of different vehicles they would need to stock for , dealer will have them and online stores but can get costly , if you have the time to walk the salvage yards and inspect all the vans there you will find some very good ones , I pulled a few for myself so that I would have them if needed in the future
 
#14 ·
halfpick said:
It was the resistor pack...also found connector was cooking alittle. checked with a meter still good,but had to move plug to an angle to get good connection...It works now, must be a design error???
When the blower motor ages , it starts drawing more current/amperage because the brushes and internal parts of motor are worn , this increase in amperage draw causes the whole circuit to heat up to a higher point than what is usually seen when the circuit has new parts , As the name of the part Resistor pack indicates , it is made up of resistors ,,,the excessively high current passing through the resistors cause them to overheat , and ends up burning them out , it is the same reason the connector gets cooked . Chances are very likely that if you do not replace the motor that you will end up replacing the resistor again , sometimes it can be in as little time as a couple of months , maybe a little longer than that , The best thing you can do is replace the blower for 29 bucks with lifetime warranty , and replace that connector , before your resistor blows again , the moving of the plyg to an angle to get a good connection is most likely the connector red wire not making a full good electrical connection .....you may hit a hard bump or series of bumps this winter and your high speed stops working again ,,,
 

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#18 ·
I just learned how to do this on my boss' 2005 Astro. He lost speed 4 first, then the motor went altogether. My buddy who is a GM tech replaced the motor, but the resistor pack was shot as well.

My 1999 Safari is making a little noise when you use speeds 2-4... so I think I might replace the motor before it dies and takes out the resistor and plug with it.
 
#19 ·
Not too sure about Astro Vans, but my '72 Trans Am had the same problem. Turns out the bottom three fan speeds (1-2 & 3) come off a resistor network that is inside the engine compartment, usually fasten to the air plenium chamber so that it is cooled by the air flowing thru there. However, the HIGH speed for the fan came right off the alternator, thru a 30 amp, in-line fuse. Replaced that fuse, and I had power to that ckt. again. However, I still had to replace the thermal cutout in the A/C circuit, and pull the fan out & clean the brushes & stator before it all worked right again. Happy to say it was all still working several years later when I sold the Trans AM to my brother-in-law (sniff-sniff). Pontiac is a GM product, and GM tends to repeat a lot of their technical stuff fm. brand to brand, and model to model, so hope this gives you a lead in to fixing your problem.
 
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