2002 Prizm Heater/ac Fan Dead Fuse - Toyota Corolla, Chevy Prizm (1998-2008)

Hi All,

This could be related to my thread " 2002 prizm check engine light"

I noticed that the heater/AC fan does not work except its highest ( Hi) setting. I have checked all the fuses I can find. the box behind the storaeg compartment and the three in the engine compartment. Do you know of any other fuse to check for this?

I am going to check everything electrical I can. Its cold here right now! I will update.

Thanks

Since you still have operation of the fan - but missing speeds, that points to the blower motor resistors. Once you have acess to the blower motor (right behind the glove box), the resistor connection would be the one with two screws holding it to the blower unit. If you have access to a multimeter - you can measure the resistance between the terminals to see if the resistor pack is blown.

Thanks fishexpo. I do have a multimeter. I will try that tonight. I was hoing maybe a fuse caused this and the CEL since they seemed t ostart at same time. I will keep this updated

With these things you never quite know for sure default_biggrin . Good Luck.

the CEL light went out.. If you have time to tell me what to look for with the multimeter that would be great.

Bikeman982

the CEL light went out.. If you have time to tell me what to look for with the multimeter that would be great.

Is it still not working - even though the light went out??

yes only the Hi setting on the fan works and the CEL light is out.

1,424 posts

Hi All,
This could be related to my thread " 2002 prizm check engine light"
I noticed that the heater/AC fan does not work except its highest ( Hi) setting. I have checked all the fuses I can find. the box behind the storaeg compartment and the three in the engine compartment. Do you know of any other fuse to check for this?
I am going to check everything electrical I can. Its cold here right now! I will update.
Thanks

Your CEL was probably from an improperly tightened gas cap. Once that particular condition is corrected and the car is driven in a certain cycle, the light will go away. Your heater fan problem is almost certainly the heater blower motor resistor pack. You should be able replace this part independanty of the blower motor. Look here this is the Toyota part for the resistor. Look here for the Chevrolet part for the resistor. They should be the same part, but I would order the Chevy one just to be absolutly safe.

Since you still have operation of the fan - but missing speeds, that points to the blower motor resistors. Once you have acess to the blower motor (right behind the glove box), the resistor connection would be the one with two screws holding it to the blower unit. If you have access to a multimeter - you can measure the resistance between the terminals to see if the resistor pack is blown.

I had the exact same symptoms on my 98 Prizm (except for engine light) and it was the blower motor resistor. I drove around for 3 weeks this winter with only MAX fan speed. My ears couldn't take it much longer so I replaced it. It had visable damage after removing it. $35 and about a half hour and I was good to go.

contour and stubborn, Thank you very much. I am hoping the CEL was the gas cap. And I will try to test the resister pack. If I cant test it properly I will just buy one.

- I will update this thread. Thanks again! Really appreciated.

the CEL light went out.. If you have time to tell me what to look for with the multimeter that would be great.

Looking at the end of the resistor pack - locking tab up, going right to left, top to bottom:

[A B]

[C D]

- should measure: B-D ~ 2 ohms, A-C ~0.8 ohms, A-D ~ 0.4 ohms = this assumes that the Corolla and Prism have identical values (can't imagine why they would be different - but you never know).

Quick update. I went to the local Toyota dealer to buy the blower resistor for 02 corolla ( I ahvea prizm) and they had a note in their system that it does NOT work with the Prizm.

I took their word for it an went to the chevy dealer. $30. plus tax. no discount at all.

I hope to put it in this weekend.

Bikeman982

Does that mean the Toyota dealer could not have obtained the resistor pack for you??

1,424 posts

Does that mean the Toyota dealer could not have obtained the resistor pack for you??

If the GM part isn't identical to the Toyota part, then the parts aren't interchangeable and they will hive different part numbers. Since Toyota dealers only have the ability to look up Toyota part numbers and order Toyota parts from the Toyota warehouse, they couldn't get you one by their usual methods. They would have to call the Chevy dealer and get them to order the part and have it shipped to them. This is a waste of their time, and the extra markup the Toyota dealer would put on the part would be a waste of your money. So, yes they could get you the part, but they wouldn't get you the part.

Bikeman982

Does that mean the Toyota dealer could not have obtained the resistor pack for you??
If the GM part isn't identical to the Toyota part, then the parts aren't interchangeable and they will hive different part numbers. Since Toyota dealers only have the ability to look up Toyota part numbers and order Toyota parts from the Toyota warehouse, they couldn't get you one by their usual methods. They would have to call the Chevy dealer and get them to order the part and have it shipped to them. This is a waste of their time, and the extra markup the Toyota dealer would put on the part would be a waste of your money. So, yes they could get you the part, but they wouldn't get you the part.

Why does a part need to come from a Chevy dealer and not be available from a Toyota dealer, when the car is a Toyota??

Why does a part need to come from a Chevy dealer and not be available from a Toyota dealer, when the car is a Toyota??

Because the original poster has a 2002 "Chevy" Prism default_biggrin

. Sure it is a Toyota clone, but there are enough differences to have these part incompatibilities.

Put the new resistor in today. Success! The fan works at all speeds now. As far as getting the part like I said the Toyota dealer had a note in their system that the toyoto resisor pack does not work in the Prizm. This is a big dealership with a Chevy store also. I just walked to the chevy store. They ahd the part and it sounded like this is a common part to fail.

The resistor apck itself is a plastic connector with two nuts holding it to the blower. It has a cable harness connnected to it.

The plastic connector has a circuit board about one and a half inches square. There was no need to test it. The traces on the circuit board were noticably burned. The new pack had a slightlty longer board and looked built a bit better.

The hardest part of the job was finding a socket to fit the nuts on the connector. I ended up with a 5.5mm socket. Never knew thewre was such a thing. I think 5.5mm and 7/32 is close enough to work.

Thanks again everyone for the help!

Good to hear. Wow - burned up the traces. Well, at least you got it fixed and did it by yourself. Probably saved yourself atleast $100. Good write up, thanks.

Sometimes there are differences between Prizm & Corolla.

For example, I owned an 87 Nova (former name for Prizm). Corolla used composite headlights with separate bulb. Nova had sealed beams with all parts in one housing.

Possibly GM used a different HVAC setup in the Prizm than in Toyota's corresponding Corolla. They were both built in fremont, CA, but weren't identical in all respects.

Bikeman982

Great news about a successful repair. Good for others with the same symtoms to learn what fixes the trouble. Glad to hear it is working for you now.