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Electrical issue - turn signals/blower motor

P

PTAaron

CEG'er
Joined
Aug 3, 2001
Messages
59
Location
Novi, MI
I'm getting really confused by what is going on with my 99 CSVT. Went in to the shop and had trans/diff and some related items replaced. On the way home realized turn signal and blower motor were not working.
First tracked down the turn signal issue to a blown back up light fuse, which I replaced and the blinkers worked again. Car sat for about a week beore I got a chance to check the fuse box wiring harness, which a previous search turned up as a possible cause of the issue. When I went to bring the car over to my garage I found it no longer had backup lights or turn signals. Once again I replaced the fuse - and suddenly I had a blower!
I drove car around for a while, and took it to a car wash. Leavin the car wash I flipped the heater to "defrost", heard a pop, and the blower went out along with the turn singnals. I replaced the fuse again (now carrying a box of 15 amp fuses - only 2 left though!) and started driving again. Tested again and turning the heater selector to defrost blows the fuse again. It is fuse 23 that keeps blowing - so I am a little confused about the connection with the blower motor/HVAC controls.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be really helpful!
 
Ughh... i think there is something on this forum about fuse 23, im can't recall right now, damn...

I would check ur wiring....i can't really think cuz im trying to figure out what article has that...it tells u everything

if i find it i'll post it. (or if someone else knows.:cool:)
 
Yeah, fuse 23 is the fuse that I have been replacing repeatedly. I found out about that when I did a search about the problem originally.

I'm just trying to figure out what is special about turning the blower setting to "defrost" that is causing it to blow every time. I can turn it to any other setting including A/C and it won't blow - so it isn't kicking in the ac compressor that is doing it as far as I can tell.

Anyone have any ideas on what else happens electrically when you flip the switch to the defrost setting? Obviously there is a short somewhere - and I don't really understand why fuse 23 is related to all these things, but that doesn't really matter.
 
.... one thing you could check is the heater fan resistor block. This is a common fault. The resistor block and its' wiring get hot and melt the insulation and the plug. It should be on the firewall under the dash, ...G.
 
gorman said:
.... one thing you could check is the heater fan resistor block. This is a common fault. The resistor block and its' wiring get hot and melt the isulation and the plug. It should on firewall under the dash, ...G.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I will try to check that.
I pulled the HVAC controls earlier and checked the connections and wires - I will dig in more tomorrow and see what I can find.
 
PTAaron said:
Thank you, I will try to check that.
I pulled the HVAC controls earlier and checked the connections and wires - I will dig in more tomorrow and see what I can find.
Click to expand...
Check the fuse panel left of the steering column. There have been issues with the fuse panel "rusting" out and causing issues with the blower in previous threads.
 
UPDATE and a bump for more thoughts: Yesterday morning starting up the car left me with fuse 23 blown again - no blinkers or heater blower. I replaced the fuse, restarted the car - and drove it literally all day long while looking at houses and had zero issues (I did not attempt to turn on the defroster).

This morning I went to start the car - but I first turned the key to the "on" position and made sure the blower and blinkers worked, which they did. I started the car - and the fuse blew during start up. I didn't bother replacing it again, and just parked the car to drive something different for the day. I'm hoping this will help give you guys more information to help me track this down.

I did not have a chance to check the heater fan resistor block - since I was driving around all day in the car. I was able to run the fan at all speeds with no issue though.



Tony2005 said:
Check the fuse panel left of the steering column. There have been issues with the fuse panel "rusting" out and causing issues with the blower in previous threads.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the suggestion Tony. Quick inspection of the panel does not reveal any visible rust.
Is the panel removable easily? I guess taking it out of the footwell would make it easier to inspect.
 
Bumping up for more thoughts...

I'm off work today because I'm sick, so I will have time to investigate any ideas you guys may have.
 
Get that thing to my shop I will get it fixed for you
 
Update:
I dug in today to see what I could find. In the process of unplugging wiring harnesses to inspect them more closely I discovered that one of the long harnesses plugged into the fuse box only had one side fully plugged in. Plugging it in the rest of the way and replacing the fuse AGAIN seems to have fixed it. I can now turn the blower to any setting and everything seems to work. Even tested it with the backup lights, turn signal, and blower running in all settings and it didn't pop the fuse.
I guess moral of the story is to physically test everything, don't just look at it.
 
You have an MTX correct? I'm just checking because the exact same thing happened to me today with an extra symptom. I have a ATX and it won't go into gear unless I use the "override" switch. And, I don't know if you had this problem too, the reverse lights don't come on. I fugured I'd check here before I made a brand new post for the same issue.
 
Yes, I have MTX.

UPDATE to the update:
F*cking fuse blew again as soon as I started the car this morning!!!!!
I can't understand the connection between turn signals, backup lights, blower motor, and starting the car when it is cold - seems like one 15 amp fuse should not be the common factor here. Car starts without blowing fuse when it is warmed up.

I'm sure someone out there must have an idea... I is becoming a huge pain in the ass to have to swap ou that fuse every time it blows.
 
You could check fuse 25 under the dash 15amps. It powers the reverse lights threw the shift selector on the transmission. I would also make sure the brake lights come. Also can check Fuse 23 powers the interlock system and needs input from both key cylinder lock and brake pedal.

If you have a cheap test light you can probe the tops of the blade fuse for power on each side without having to pull them. Even a VOM meter. Walmart or autozone should have cheap test lights good for checking fuses. Just not good for computer testing unless you find one that states computer safe. But again just testing fuses a cheap-o light is fine.
 
My problem might help you. The reason the fuse blew for me was my rear right tail light. It's been causing me problems for a while. The connector was shot. Not the part that the bulb goes in, but the connecter that goes into. Anyway, I cut off that connecter and just used small electical connecters. When I did this, I shorted out two of the leeds. That's what blew the fuse. You might have a short between them as well. As soon as you put your foot on the brake to start the car, it blows the fuse. So I'd say check both rear tail lights.
 
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