2005 Tacoma Blower Fan - 1st and 2nd speeds are the same

Hello,

I have a 2005 Tacoma TRD that I will probably drive forever. I bought it new in '05 and only have 95k miles on it due to living close to work and now working from home all the time.

Lately, I have been fixing the few minor issues that have crept up over the years and most have been simple to fix - replacing the interior lights, fixing the droopy visor, etc.

One issue that I noticed in the last couple of years is related to the fan speeds on the air conditioning. I have read the many threads related to the blower resistor problem, but I am not sure that is what I am seeing.

The fan controller has 5 positions labeled - Off, Low, <box>, <box>, High. All four speeds drive the fan, but the low speed and the next to low speed seem to have the exact same output. So, you get low, low, high, really high essentially.

I wasn't sure if this was the same issue with the resistor or something else. I bought a resistor kit on Amazon and went to install it today to test and realized that I have a square plug style while most parts I see online are 4 plugs inline.

So before I return the resistor pack and buy the (more expensive) square versions of the resistor, does it seem like this is the issue or should I be looking elsewhere?

Any help is appreciated.

 

Imo, it is rarely an issue with the resistor. It’s an issue with the connector. Usually, just removing it and clipping it back together solves the issue temporarily. There is usually one pin that will have burnt marks due to loose connection. With a pick, you can remove the pin and sand it clean and open it a bit for a tighter connection. Use dielectric grease when you reconnect it.

 

Or get the square plug that goes with the updated resistor.

 

I had this issues and mine was the harness at the back of actuall AC dash controls. The harness wasn't making a good connection and has some brown and black signs of burning and getting hot. So I took a needle and poked at pins in the harness to close them a little to make better contact. And I haven't had this issues come back yet.

 

Sorry for the huge delay on this one. It got lost on my list of TODOs since the blower was working and just one speed wasn't quite right.

I took my truck in for an oil change today and just mentioned the issue to the shop. They ended up diagnosing the issue for me and said it was the control panel in the dash and not the resistor pack. I don't want to spend much to fix this so I will keep an eye out for a panel on Ebay for $120-130'ish.

Thanks again for all the input on what to look for.