The wife's been driving the sedan we got as of late and noticed that the heater fan/blower motor doesn't work on position 2 of the switch. However, it still works on 1, 3, and 4. I figured easy fix, I'll just swap the control knob from the parts car we have (03 WRX) and it'll be a quick fix. Not so much. Still has the same issue, therefore it's obviously not the switch (unless they're both bad in the same way... Haha). She said it doesn't bother her and she can live without it, but we wanna sell the car soon and I'm not stoked on it not working 100%. Anywho, suggestions on where to look from here? Thanks!
HEY! I have the same issue right now haha. Must be a common problem on the 02? And now I'm curious about the bug you plan on selling
Blower resistor. There's a block of resistors, usually right next to the blower motor (as the moving air in the HVAC cools the resistors) that drops the voltage to the blower for the settings below "4". These are a common wear part, and are usually (I haven't done it on a GD) very accessible and usually available aftermarket for a decent price. The FSM will undoubtedly list a testing procedure with resistance values across the various pins, but IMO with those symptoms, a visual inspection of the electrical connector going into it narrows it down to the resistor accurately.
I have had a blower resistor issue on other cars a few times. It's the first thing I would replace when one or more fan speeds don't work. High speed usually remains functional as that bypasses the resistor completely.
My Friday night got filled up pretty quick and after a long day at work didn't feel like working outside in the dark. Got to it today. Tried the resistor from the parts car before buying a new one. Worked like a charm. Worst part of the whole thing was the screw on the back side. Even with a stubby it was a pain to get out. Could've used my right angle adaptor but it wasn't worth making an extra trip for. Anywho, long story short, resistor it is. Hooray for easy fixes. Thanks @Chux and @pillboy . Appreciate the help/suggestions. @GrawvyRobber it's gonna be awesome!
