Issues with heat, would REALLY appreciate any help SO MUCH! thanks..

[clevelandgrandpri]

Hello yall..I used to be a member back in 2004-2007 when I had got my 1st car as a 17yr old, a 93 Grand Prix..I invested over 8 grand into it, and had 1 of the nicest Grand Prixs around, of the 1988-96 models...I was so close to starting to do major custom body work, including the whole body kit and what not...but it never happened...reason being this car would just not run when it got wet I have prob took it to every shop in a 10mile radious from my house and nobody could fix it..changed everything electric possible, wiring..you name it...it just did not like the rain...I even had 2 members from this forum try fixing it but it just wasn't having it...since then I've had close to a 100 cars probably..well, I ran up on a 2002 GP, that I could not just resist...I got it, I plan to do ALOT with it..(as long as it runs in the rain )..
Actually the day I got it it rained hard, and for the whole week it did, so think I got a water proof one

Anyways, its like I have to have somekinda weird problem with a Grand Prix...and this is whats messing me up on this one..I love the car, its def a keeper..its super clean, maroon, in awesome shape..everything works perfect, every button...only 1 little problem..
When I turn the heat nob to 1..nothing..doesn't blow at all..Same thing with 2, 3, and 4..now at 5 it blows...but..thats not all..Usually it wont blow at 5 either..but then I take the heat/cold up and down little notch thing you move, and when I move it down half way or a little more then half way WHOALA it fires it up..and then I just move it back up to top..the hot part...I am in Cleveland, so winters are harsh here..If anyone has any idea what could be causing this problem? Is it the vent switch console that I need to replace? I also notice even at 5 its not blowing as hard as it should...and the 2 side vents are not blowing either...the 3 in the middle the middle one blows decently, the 2 on the sides of it are barely doing anything...What am I looking at here? I know someone will know right off the bat what the hell is going on and what I can do to fix it..any help would be so MUCH appreciated, and am very glad to be back in the Grand Prix club I plan to keep this one for years on...

[bonerjamz03]

Sounds like a blower motor resistor. Any other electrical issues with the car?

[l36grandprix]

Mine does the same but always works on 5. I warranties it twice (so I tried 3) and this was my end result. The other two did nothing. So I called it good enouph because it doesn't see daily use. I even tried replacing the control head and no different. However my ignition does have some issues. Which causes other wierd stuff to happen but it's been reliable so I haven't put anymore effort into it.

[Scottydoggs]

Mine does the same but always works on 5. I warranties it twice (so I tried 3) and this was my end result. The other two did nothing. So I called it good enouph because it doesn't see daily use. I even tried replacing the control head and no different. However my ignition does have some issues. Which causes other wierd stuff to happen but it's been reliable so I haven't put anymore effort into it.

yours is the ignition harness if the lights are messed up too.


op, you may have a bad climate control, or bad ignition harness as well.

[Reptile]

Could be a switch too...but using a test light on the different speeds would tell you if the connector is getting juice or not.

[clevelandgrandpri]

No, its not the switch ^^...

Sounds like a blower motor resistor. Any other electrical issues with the car?

yeah that's what im thinking too...i went to pull-a-part today and actually got 2 fan switches and i put one in and it was doing the same exact thing...i was like ah maybe this one is bad too, let me try another one...even though i was like 99% sure it would do the same thing again..so i got another one and same thing - AGAIN...so atleast now I knows its not the switch...i am thinking about going to autozone and buying 1 of those blower motor resistors now and tryng that...no other electrical issues btw...everything works fine..

[clevelandgrandpri]

I just wish I could find out for sure what the actual problem is, and that I could go ahead on with approaching it instead of jumping around and trying out different things lol...I called autozone and they say I'd have to wait 3 days for the part to arrive..I havent ordered it yet because I'm not really sure if thats the issue but I don't think it could be anything else at this point..?

[Scottydoggs]

you test for power at the resistor and the fan motor? one or both could be shot. only way to see is where the power stops flowing.

if you have power all the way to the fan, the fan motor is shot.

[clevelandgrandpri]

but the fan motor works the only prob is it works at 5 and to get it to start after u set it on 5 u have to move the nob thing (up for hot down for cold) about i inch down and back up n then it starts...the funny part is i actually put 2 diff switches out of 2 junk yard grand prixs and they both did the same exact thing...would only work at 5 after the hot/cold knob gets moved half way down...weird to say none the less..was hoping that there would be quite a few people here who've had the same issue and would know what exactly it is..

[ItHurtz]

why not just spend the $30 and get a new manual resistor and test it?

[clevelandgrandpri]

its not about the 30$ my man...i am not very mechanical when it comes to cars..i love cars, i love cleaning, detailing, even doing simple work on em (oil change, filter change...hell ive even done a few breake replacements lol)..i just never had anyone to teach me ish...no family... so when i hit a bump like this it usualy ends with a trip to the shop...and we all know how that goes and i know that if i do that i am looking at a 200-500$ repair..if not more...so this is why i am here...see the thing is i figured thered prob be a ton of people on here that would know right of the bat whats causing this cause they had the same prob with theirs..seeing as there are thousands of GP owners on here...but looks like i'm sh.... out of luck and offcourse with me its got to be something that no one else has had a issue with...
my 1st car, as a HS kid, some 13-14 yrs ago..was a 1992 grand prix..now this car was NICE like the best version gtp everything...but it had this crazy problem..it would just not run when it rained..i dont care even if u just wash it with a bucket car would be dead...sometimes for a few days as well...snow...it just did not like water..i prob took it to every shop in town thats in a 10mile radious from my parents house i lived at at the time...and no luck...ive dumped easily over $5,000 just replacing all the electrical parts possible and everything else shops told me...and still...come 1st rain..dead...and sometimes it would run on a rainy day n id think finally thats it..n then nxt rainy day, boom dead again...for 2-3 yrs ive battled this issue...
so im just not very mechanical...if i got the manual resistor i prob wouldnt know what to do with it...i replaced the vent switch console and to my surprise both switches i put in there were doing the same exact thing..that right there cost me 30$ my friend

[ItHurtz]

Its under the glove box behind the blower motor by the firewall.

I personally would pull the blower motor (few bolts)out too so you dont have a pissy fit attack getting to the resistor, how I did mine and it was a breeze.

[clevelandgrandpri]

ok...i bought a new blower motor resistor at auto zone..thanks for helping me out with the tip to get too it easier..but replaced that and nop...still no luck...same deal works at 5 after i push the heat nob thing down...
so i took it to 1 of my people's shops..and soon as i told him about only working on 5 he said its the resistor..and i knew its not i tell him that i just bought one and it didn't fix it..but he said i prob. got a bad one, a lot of times when he gets 'em they're bad and thats why he always orders 2 to be safe..he starts blaming the made in china ordeal lol..so he orders a new one n the whole time i was 100% sure that can't be it..and of course - it wasn't..
and then...hes like oo boy...starts going through all the fuses, wires, relays..u name it...everything's checking out fine...i still had the 2 fan switch consoles from the junk yard cause he started saying its gotta be the switch then..i say no way my man, 2 in the glove box and that just aint it, they're all doing the same thing...i can see if the one from junkyard was bad but to be doing the same exact thing..and all 3 of 'em, nah..cant be the switch..
it went from "yeah pull ur car in ill take care of it give me 20 mins" to a 8 hour job/stay at the shop...dude was about to give up he said theres only 1 more thing left that could be causing it if it aint that i give up...man was i happy when it was...the ignition control wiring..behind the steering wheel..so had to take all that apart, take the old one out hook the new wiring up, put it back together get the steering wheel back in order..and finally my prob is solved he said...as a mechanic..99% of the time when heat only works on 5 its the resistor motor...but offcourse with me everythings gotta be a pain lol..thanks for ur help boss i really appreciate it

[Scottydoggs]

99% of the time in a w body its the ignition harness like stated much earlier in this thread.

i can swap that harness in like 40 minutes or less. its cake really.

[coolone]

... Never mind

[clevelandgrandpri]

never mind what? please take that smart ass **** else where...

99% of the time in a w body its the ignition harnesslike stated much earlier in this thread.

i can swap that harness in like 40 minutes or less. its cake really.

yeah but mine didnt have any issues with lights what so ever..so i was told if it only works on 5 then 99% of the time its the resistor motor...
i watched my dude do it, if i put my mind to it seemed pretty easy and doable..at same time i dont have another car currently to park this one and play with it...ive never swopt ignition harnesses before, so with all that in mind id rather just have it done by someone who does that for a living...luckily i have a lot of friends that work on cars, so it doesn't make much of a difference to me..i ended up paying 85$..gave my dude a 100...cause im pretty sure most shops charge like 250-350 for it...on top of that i got a new blower motor and a heat console switch too so i shouldnt have any problems w that..
1 thing i will say is that i already regret buying a grand prix again...these cars are a constant headache....

[Scottydoggs]

these cars are all just old now. you need to expect random crap to go bad time to time. its all down hill after 100,000 miles really. thats when stuff car wide starts to go bad.

but you got a nice chunk of stuff replaced. those all should be good for years to come now.

[Bronco Boy]

No, its not the switch ^^....

Are you 100% sure? Switch is my best guess.

[ItHurtz]

seriously people read the fcking thread before you post #13 says it all

[Bronco Boy]

seriously people read the fcking thread before you post #13 says it all

My bad, I only fawking read the part about the fawking resistor not working. And fawking FYI, I go by the name Bronco Boy, not people.