Bad Resistor for Fan Motor

2011 Tacoma. My AC just stopped working on the lower settings and only works on high. For a day or so it would work intermittently on setting 3 just below high. While on high now I am hearing a bit of a high pitched sound and a pulsing sounds as well.

Anyone have this problem and where did you get the replacement resistor? OEM or aftermarket better?

Also, where is the resistor located? Is it connected to the body of the fan motor? I also saw a thread where I could have sworn a guy was pulling the motor speed adjustment switch to access resistor, but that may have been a 1st gen or something.

Thanks!

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fan-speed-switch-not-working.70275/

Look here. Basically you probably have a bad $24 connector or a bad $30 fan

Dealership wanted $650 to fix it. You can do it yourself.

I have the connector coming in on Monday and I'll swap it out.

Everything is located under the glove box. Good luck!

 

Just a word of advice - the resistor is a resistor iirc oem or aftermarket doesn't matter. The fan is a different story. Aftermarket fans don't move as much air as the oem. They're still decent, but the difference is noticeable fyi

 

On high the resistor is bypassed. It is in the air box to keep it cool.

 

Don’t think it’s the connector. Already had that fail twice so I direct connected paddle tail connectors to it. I’ve heard others say if it only works on high it’s likely a resistor.

At the moment it’s working on all speeds. I dunno what it could be. Anyone else had a his happen where it goes back and forth from working on only to all speeds?

 

Seen a lot of posts on here about burnt up resistors. That’s why I suspected resistor issue especially since it was only working on high.

 

Honestly for the price you can try cleaning up the connectors but if that doesn't work I'd bet on the resistor. I believe I replaced my fan eventually because I kept blowing through resistors. Not sure the reason why but the fan was ultimately the culprit

 

I replaced my resistor recently with an aftermarket only to now find I need to replace the harness plug as well which is harder to find. In hindsight, I should have just purchased the new resistor and harness from the dealer at $120.00 CND, I'll be at that price by the time I find a harness plug

 

I've found some good prices on ebay for those parts. It's insane to me that they want $150 for a blower motor and $60 for a resistor and none of the aftermarket options quite compare

 

The resistors start to go because the fan is drawing more current. Replace the fan and resistor, and keep your cabin air filter clean.

 

On my 2006 Mini the stock resistor is buried deep inside where it's impossible to access. There was a super long thread on NAM where a British guy figured out how to bypass the stock resistor up higher on the line and install an aftermarket one with a nice big heatsink. I did this and thus restored my low speed fan functionality without spending more than $45. Drilled and tapped into an aluminum engine mount, used some cpu thermal paste, and presto....has been working for years now.

The way the resistor works is that it reduces the voltage to the fan - so say high speed runs at 12v, your low speed will run at something like 5v......

Just for reference this is the resistor I purchased for the MINI. I'm not saying this will work for the Tacoma....Just want to give you a pic to show you what it looks like.

http://www.newark.com/cgs-te-connectivity/hsc100r47j/wirewound-resistor-0-47-ohm-100w/dp/16R5345

 

Nothing is impossible to access, just saying.

On the Tacoma it is inside the blower duct in order to 1.) Keep it cool and 2.) prevent it from burning people and things.