Front AC blower not working

[iimagine]

Thank You.

Does anyone know why these burn?
Will the new one burn or is it "beefed up"?
Is there any way to avoid the burn?

Ford used a larger gauge (smaller wire) on one lead in the factory harness. This causes a hotspot in the connector plug and the plastic melts.
The repair harness uses the smaller gauge wire for all the connections and should handle the heat better.
iimagine

 

[JExpedition07]

Would this be my issue? Today fan didn’t turn on and I tapped glove box and it came on.

 

[JExpedition07]

Edit: found it behind glovebox, yep

 

[Steve Tanner]

My '17 EL just started doing the same thing so I came here to look. Blower won't come on, kick under the glove box and it starts up, etc. I thought it might be the motor since it is really loud on the higher speeds (separate problem - anyone else have this?).

I got under there to look at it with a thermal camera and you can see the issue. The connector and terminals don't look melted at all, but the terminal has pretty high resistance and must barely be making contact.

This is after about 2 minutes of running at 75% speed:


You can see the 2nd wire in (yellow w/green I think) is pretty hot. I pushed the connector on really hard and zip-tied the wires up so there's pressure on it and hasn't died since, but figure it's only a matter of time before it fails so I'm ordering the replacement connector.

Just curious -- the harness is plugged into what appears to be the "resistor pack", but it behaves more like an electronic speed control w/4 wires. I noticed it would over-speed the fan when I jiggled the connector like a digital ESC would. Did any of you have to replace that part as well as the connector when it was melted/damaged?

 

[JExpedition07]

I ordered a new Blower Control Module for mine. Playing with plug and connections does nothing, tap the module and the fan comes on. Also explains the random speeds and delay today when I wanted higher speed.

 

[Ron1978]

I have a brand new extra blower resistor new I. The box , I bought 2 when I bought them to have a extra, got it at Napa Auto for $75 if any needs one , I’ll sell my extra since I found my connector bad and replaced it

 

[Mackenzie Gans]

https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Expedition/2011/tsbs/

Thanks for the link to the TSB. I replaced the blower motor and blower motor resistor on my 2011, but still have intermittent HVAC. I bet this wiring harness would have solved it in the first place!

 

[JExpedition07]

Throwing parts at an issue bit me lol. Connector checks out bad. I’ll keep the new relay in there at this point since it’s also a known failure point.

 

[JExpedition07]

I replaced the connector and control module, still the same issues. I was told if the vehicle ate up the connector or relay it’s because the fan motor is bad anyway.....just a heads up. Mine is scheduled to go in next week for a likely fan motor and wheel replacement but they will dig further.

 

[Plati]

I replaced the connector and control module, still the same issues. I was told if the vehicle ate up the connector or relay it’s because the fan motor is bad anyway.....just a heads up. Mine is scheduled to go in next week for a likely fan motor and wheel replacement but they will dig further.

This was typical in the test lab at Xerox for big printing machines. Often (too often) the Tech would do a parts swap with a working machine then **** the part swapped in burns out. Sometimes they would put that burned out part back in the original machine and break that one. It might be on night shift with no records of what they did (since they were embarrassed and hid it).

Sometimes the Tech would then go get a part off another machine, burn that part up and take down another machine. We'd have multiple machines go down at the same time. Chaos. It was fun putting Humpty Dumpty back together!​

 

[JExpedition07]

I wish I never messed with it. Before I replaced the module it was better.

 

[JExpedition07]

Deleted

 

[JExpedition07]

And it’s back to not working, I’m going to leave it to the shop. My meter says the relay gets proper voltage.

 

[JExpedition07]

I got it fixed, the new ford module was bad out of the box. I went to autozone and grabbed another one for sh*ts and giggles and the fan works great.

Edit: broke AGAIN!!!!! Tapped the motor and it starts up again so here we go

 

[Mackenzie Gans]

Have a peek at 4-wire Motorcraft part# WPT688 to ensure its the correct orientation.

Fixed one on a Fusion couple years ago, no issues since. When I bought the part the interchange guide listed most, if not all, Ford/Lincoln models for the past 10 years. Can't say for 100% Expedition was listed but it probably was.

For what its worth, TSB won't do you much good outside of the warranty period. This is a easy driveway fix that the average Joe can complete in less time it takes the schedule a dealer appointment.




You'll notice its 4 generic black wires, you simply put this side by side with your old plug and match wire #1 with #1, #2 with #2, etc.

Question for you Flexpedition. I bought the replacement wiring harness and had my shop install it, they replaced the connector but not the wires. Will this cause an issue in the future as the same (problematic) gauge wires are being used?

 

[Denise Brunner]

Purchased new connector, which is melted. Decided to check out motor speed controller connection side (male), its all melted too. I you replace one without replacing the other, you are only correcting half the problem. The resistance factor will still be high and got hot and melt again. Going to order an new speed controller also. Then I will replace both.

 

[Ron1978]

Question for you Flexpedition. I bought the replacement wiring harness and had my shop install it, they replaced the connector but not the wires. Will this cause an issue in the future as the same (problematic) gauge wires are being used?

I replaced it with with wires it came with, so far no issues.

 

[Ron1978]

I got it fixed, the new ford module was bad out of the box. I went to autozone and grabbed another one for sh*ts and giggles and the fan works great.

Edit: broke AGAIN!!!!! Tapped the motor and it starts up again so here we go

Make sure to check your wiring harness as to it melts and causes bad connections

 

[joethefordguy]

I have a similiar problem. the AC appears to work well, BUT... no air comes out of the dash vents. it appears to all come out of the side defrost vents on top of the dash, or just leak out around the dash. you can hear the fan blowing hard, it's just not coming out of the dash vents. FWIW, what air we are getting is cold.
THEN... if i turn on the rear air, same thing. You can hear what sounds like a rear fan blowing hard, but no air is coming out of the rear vents.
any ideas?

 

[Ron1978]

I have a similiar problem. the AC appears to work well, BUT... no air comes out of the dash vents. it appears to all come out of the side defrost vents on top of the dash, or just leak out around the dash. you can hear the fan blowing hard, it's just not coming out of the dash vents. FWIW, what air we are getting is cold.
THEN... if i turn on the rear air, same thing. You can hear what sounds like a rear fan blowing hard, but no air is coming out of the rear vents.
any ideas?

Sounds like a blender door stuck