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Fan speed switch not working.

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by kbmcmahon, Jan 17, 2010.

  1. May 30, 2012 at 11:00 PM
    #101
    possum77

    possum77 Member

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    How did you attach the lugs to the resistors male connections ?
    I though about using butt splices and press them
    on the resistors connection. Then insulate with shrink tubing.
    My fan pulls up to 10 amps and from what I see and read
    this OEM design is poor. It reminds me of the wall
    plug connection in a house that some use to stab
    the wires in instead of wrapping the wire around
    the screw. And this use to burn houses down.
     
  2. May 31, 2012 at 5:10 PM
    #102
    bruth

    bruth Well-Known Member

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    Great thread i had the same issues! Thanks for the help i love this website!
     
  3. Jun 4, 2012 at 9:01 AM
    #103
    2005 2.7

    2005 2.7 Member

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    Fog Lamps, Tail gate secured, bed lights, inverter, hitch. Repairs include fan, airbag cable, bypass pipe, valve cover gasket, water pump.
    Spade connectors come in several sizes, I happened to have 4 of the smaller, narrower size, they slide right onto the male lugs in the resistor.
     
  4. Jun 8, 2012 at 10:43 PM
    #104
    evl21

    evl21 Active Member

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    Tint,tonneau cover, Wet Okoles, EGR in channel rain gaurds, ATO rear bumper, not enough $$
    So I am having the opposite problem. My fan blows as if its on low when the switch is off. I had the motor replaced due to chirping, before this I don't recall the fan blowing with the switch in the off position or at least didn't notice it. I've searched can't seem to find anyone else with that issue, IDk maybe its supposed to be like that but off should mean off right? Going in for 10k oil change soon I am going to ask them....
     
  5. Jun 14, 2012 at 12:28 AM
    #105
    2005 2.7

    2005 2.7 Member

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    Fog Lamps, Tail gate secured, bed lights, inverter, hitch. Repairs include fan, airbag cable, bypass pipe, valve cover gasket, water pump.
    That's the first time I've read of a Tacoma fan not shutting off when the switch is at "off". The basic problem we've been talking about is the fan only running on "high", which does involve the fan switch being in other than any of the "on" positions. With no experience with your problem, I'd still hazard a guess that your switch must be bad, otherwise no current should be going to the fan to make it run. Anybody have any other ideas?

    And a whine please- why are we having these discussions? Because Toyota is cheapening the Tacoma with "CAD-ultimization" efforts to save 3 cents per vehicle and ignoring the fundamental reason we buy the darn things in the first place- because they historically were better-built and more reliable vehicles than the competition. I parked my 2005 extended ("access"- what marketing crap) cab on a very slightly unlevel surface the other day and the doors wouldn't open and close smoothly, the dang frame was twisting! Toyota obviously knows about the situation as they market the "X-frame" upon the answer, but if I don't want a Ricky Racer pickup, I'm stuck with the flexiflyer frame.

    As the idea of dealing with the build quality on a Ford or Chevy makes me cringe, and as I now own my truck outright and do still enjoy the way it drives and functions, I'm sticking with my Tacoma for now. When the time comes to replace it, however, I'm going to scour the Nissan forums. PAY ATTENTION, TOYOTA! You are losing long-time customers with this nickle and dime B.S. You CAD-optimized yourselves into a corner with the Prius brakes and we're covering lots of stupid little faults on the Tacomas on this forum that are the direct result of turning the "cheap" button too high on your design computers. Toyota owners have proven a willingness to pay more for a good truck. Give us the truck you promised.

    I feel better now.
     
  6. Jun 18, 2012 at 3:15 PM
    #106
    KickAss

    KickAss Well-Known Member

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    Chuck
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    First Post, Hi, and thanks, love this thread, not only helped myself but my neighbor as well!
    OK, so here's where I am now: 2005 tacoma
    start off,
    Fan only works on high, find this thread, get the resistor, install it, perfect, fixed.
    That lasted 1 week.
    I have the telltale brown streak on the connector housing, I have cleaned it picked at it to tighten pinch on connector, added electrostatic gel, nothing, still only works on high. Doesnt work if I try to wiggle harness into resistor, so that tells me prob not that connection?
    Pull the cabin filter, its dirty, but only about 6 months old, fish around in the fan itself with my hand, it has alot of leaves in it, maybe a small handful, if that, it wasn't full or anything.
    I never had a problem til i installed the cabin filter, unbeknowst to me, there wasn't one in it when I bought it used 4 years ago.
    sooo,,, do you think the fan motor blew the resistor?
    What do you guys think?
    get another resistor, and a new fan motor? replace the harness?
    This sucks! the fan on that high is very tedious, radio has to be loud, but thank goodness, it works, I'm in orlando, FL, its just a little hot here now.
    Thanks in advance for the help!
    Charles
     
  7. Jun 18, 2012 at 7:53 PM
    #107
    Kenobe

    Kenobe Well-Known Member

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    THIS JUST HAPPENED TO ME, TOO! Grrr

    Ok, going back to see how to fix that.

    Update - shook the connector and fan is working on all speeds again. I'm going to clean it up and replace the cabin air filter this weekend.

    Thanks for the TSB. I'll wait for it to happen again then shove the TSB into the dealer's face.

    My brother is a Chrysler mechanic and he says he sees the same thing all the time on those and Jeeps.
     
  8. Jun 19, 2012 at 4:49 PM
    #108
    shaff33

    shaff33 Active Member

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    My mechanic, who is a pretty close family friend, said that there are 2 problems and 1 solution...

    Problems are that the connection in the wiring harness is too short and therefore the wires get too hot and the spring (or whatever should slip back) get stuck and thats why they only run on High.

    He said that he can fix the problem because Toyota has a fix for it... However, it amounts to buying an entire new wire harness for the dash board. He said that would cost me $1000. On the new harness, he said that they have made the wires/connectors longer and therefore for the heat does not cause the springs to stay out (???)

    Without reading this entire thread, what are your guys thoughts on this, since it sounds that just swtiching out the resistor is not the final solution.

    Adam
     
  9. Jun 19, 2012 at 5:12 PM
    #109
    Sandman614

    Sandman614 Ex-Snarky TWSS elf, Travis #hotsavannahdotcom

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    So we splice in a foot of wire??
     
  10. Jun 19, 2012 at 5:53 PM
    #110
    shaff33

    shaff33 Active Member

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    I am not sure if that will work or not, but I am thinking not, otherwise my mechanic would have done it. Maybe a combination of splicing in some thicker wire and replacing the resistior would do it...

    This problem is annoying as heck... I hate the sound of my AC or Heat only running on high, but I find that a slight solution to this noise is to have the blower set on 1/2 dash vents and 1/2 floor vents. This seems to give me the most peace and quiet while this problem persists!

    Adam
     
  11. Jun 20, 2012 at 6:34 AM
    #111
    98tacoma27

    98tacoma27 is going full "SANDWICH" Moderator

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    Some stuff. Not a lot, just some.
    What springs are he referring to?
     
  12. Jul 5, 2012 at 5:54 PM
    #112
    kngharley

    kngharley Well-Known Member

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    Bad ass!!!! You guys are the best!!!
     
  13. Jul 6, 2012 at 4:32 AM
    #113
    Jimmyh

    Jimmyh Well-Known Member

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    Longer wires is Not the answer.

    The cause is a high resistance in the wire connector that acts as a heater, the connector gets hot and loosens up more adding resistance which equals larger heater. This goes on until it gets too loose to make a good connection. If you cannot get a replacement connector, I would just solder the wires directly to the pins in the resistor package and heat shrink them.
     
  14. Jul 7, 2012 at 7:27 AM
    #114
    kngharley

    kngharley Well-Known Member

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    So I bought the resistor from the dealer. Removed the old one in like 3 minutes. The new one looks totally different from the old one. Installed the new one and it worked like a charm!! thanks again!!
     
  15. Jul 7, 2012 at 10:25 AM
    #115
    2005 2.7

    2005 2.7 Member

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    Fog Lamps, Tail gate secured, bed lights, inverter, hitch. Repairs include fan, airbag cable, bypass pipe, valve cover gasket, water pump.
    Simply replacing the resistor has usually made the problem go away, at least for a while, but many forum posters have found that the problem comes back again, usually rather quickly. What seems to be happening in those cases is that the weak electrical connection inside the grey connector gets jostled by the resistor replacement and makes an acceptable connection for a while, but time and use degrade that connection and the problem returns.

    The full eventual fix for my truck was getting the burnt connector out (actually, only half of the connector in my case) and replacing it with something better. I've got about 75K on my own repair, which involved using spade connectors for the weak female part of the stock connector, which slide onto the individual male pins inside the male half of the stock connector, but it is obvious that the metal elements inside the stock connector are too small for the amperage they are expected to carry. Maybe some day when I'm in the mood to contort my big butt into that small area again I'll cut the remaining male half of the connector out and install a properly-sized connector, but as I mentioned, it's been fine for 75K miles, so I'll probably wait for the problem to return first.

    In my internet wanderings, I'm pretty sure I saw a photo and information on a replacement connector half from Toyota. Does this ring a bell with anyone else?
     
  16. Jul 7, 2012 at 10:47 AM
    #116
    2005 2.7

    2005 2.7 Member

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    Fog Lamps, Tail gate secured, bed lights, inverter, hitch. Repairs include fan, airbag cable, bypass pipe, valve cover gasket, water pump.
  17. Jul 11, 2012 at 7:34 AM
    #117
    Dragons Taco

    Dragons Taco Well-Known Member

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    Can ya spell Tonneau
    I read this thread last month, now i have the same problem. Guess ill meter out the resister pack, if its bad ill cut the connector off the harness and add new spades. That seems to be the two solutions listed here.
    Let yall know what happens.
     
  18. Jul 14, 2012 at 11:24 AM
    #118
    Kougr

    Kougr Active Member

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    Just put in the new resistor and replaced the plug with the pigtail listed in the TSB. $43 in parts is all. Funny how my old resistor was made in Slovenia and made out a big hunk of ceramic whereas the new resistor is this wide, flat piece made in Japan.
     
  19. Oct 28, 2012 at 7:39 PM
    #119
    05RedTaco

    05RedTaco Nom Nom Nom

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    When my fan speed switch stops working on low and middle speeds, I tell my passenger to use left foot and start kicking underneath the dash until it starts working again :eek:
     
    06DrksdeTaco likes this.
  20. Oct 30, 2012 at 8:02 AM
    #120
    kborg1505

    kborg1505 Active Member

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    I do the same thing or if I am alone i have a window squeegee in the front seat so I can reach it myself! :D
     
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