Blower switch question

[87ram50]

I have a 1987 ram 50 and i'm not really sure where the blower switch is located in the dash (if its behind the control panel or by the blower motor? or if i can just take off the front of the dash or do i have to go underneath) figured someone has done it before on here!

[lush90]

You can access the blower motor by dropping the glove box. There are two sliding "keepers", one on either side of the inside of the glove box, that you slide forward and pop out. That allows the box to hang out of the way on its hinges. What problem are you having with your blower?

[87ram50]

You can access the blower motor by dropping the glove box. There are two sliding "keepers", one on either side of the inside of the glove box, that you slide forward and pop out. That allows the box to hang out of the way on its hinges. What problem are you having with your blower?

The guy I got it from said it "needs a new switch" He had it rigged to where you would have to have a battery on the passenger floor and hook up cables to make the blower run......the closer I look at this truck the more:scratchheadyellow:about the po. So i figured id replace the switch if it wasnt too hard and then clean up the mess he made to hopefully get everything back to how it should be. Thanks for your help!

[lush90]

I think there is only one plug in connection into the blower but there is a ground wire with a loop that has to be attached to a grounded bolt, which I think is towards the passenger door. If that wire isn't grounded, the blower won't work. My 91 had a melted fuse seat for the 20 amp fuse labeled heater when I got it, so I ended up cutting the wire going into the fuse box and adding an inline fuse to the blower. It ended up that I had a bad blower motor resistor, which caused the fuse wire to overheat. When I re-installed the blower, I didn't get it grounded properly at first and thought I had a bigger problem. A test light showed me the no ground. Your problem might be that simple. Good luck!

[Andy 2]

If the fuse for the heater is good and there is power at the fuse, then it could be the switch or the resistors or the wiring.The blower switch is on the back of the panel that the heater controls are on. I would check the power cable and blower resistors first before taking the dash apart. They are located on the bottom of the blower next to the firewall. The plug from the switch plugs in to the resistor plate. Unplug it and use a test light to see if there is power there when you turn the blower switch on(be sure to have the ignition key on). Clamp the ground from the test light to the cab of the truck somewhere and check each tab of the plug on each blower setting. Each setting of the switch should power the plug in some way. If there is power, your switch is working.
The blower resistors are easy to check. Take out the 2 screws holding the resistor plate in and take it out of the blower housing. The resistor wires are delicate so be careful not to let them touch anything when you take them out. If the three small spring-like wires are intact, then the resistors are okay. You can check them with an ohm meter to be sure. All the mounts for the blower are plastic so that ground wire Lush90 mentioned is important.
If you have no power at the plug on any of the 4 speed settings then it could be your switch, the wires feeding it, or the wires coming from it that are faulty. The heater control panel is fastened to the dash behind the trim panel. If you're going to get in to removing the heater control, take care not to force any of the plastic parts as they will crack easily if they are cold.

[87ram50]

If the fuse for the heater is good and there is power at the fuse, then it could be the switch or the resistors or the wiring.The blower switch is on the back of the panel that the heater controls are on. I would check the power cable and blower resistors first before taking the dash apart. They are located on the bottom of the blower next to the firewall. The plug from the switch plugs in to the resistor plate. Unplug it and use a test light to see if there is power there when you turn the blower switch on(be sure to have the ignition key on). Clamp the ground from the test light to the cab of the truck somewhere and check each tab of the plug on each blower setting. Each setting of the switch should power the plug in some way. If there is power, your switch is working.
The blower resistors are easy to check. Take out the 2 screws holding the resistor plate in and take it out of the blower housing. The resistor wires are delicate so be careful not to let them touch anything when you take them out. If the three small spring-like wires are intact, then the resistors are okay. You can check them with an ohm meter to be sure. All the mounts for the blower are plastic so that ground wire Lush90 mentioned is important.
If you have no power at the plug on any of the 4 speed settings then it could be your switch, the wires feeding it, or the wires coming from it that are faulty. The heater control panel is fastened to the dash behind the trim panel. If you're going to get in to removing the heater control, take care not to force any of the plastic parts as they will crack easily if they are cold.

Thanks! Checked all the fuses and there good. Tried getting the dash panel off and the top part by the climate controls would not come off! The bottom came off easily and from what I saw there were only 2 screws and they were off but it didnt want to budge. Im I missing something or hidden screws?

[Andy 2]

I can't remember exactly. You could remove the ashtray see if there are any screws up underneath, and try gently prying down on the top of the trim plate as it might have small tabs that hook the underside of the dashboard. I seem to recall the top comes out first.
I removed the whole dash when I had to change the heater core. There are a few control rods for the heater control that have to be disconnected before you can take it out. One for the temp control, one for the mode selector, and one for the inside or outside air. Before you start pulling things apart, you may want to look at all the electrical connectors under the dash and make sure everything is plugged in. I think the heater control has a plug that connects to the wiring harness in the dash.

[lush90]

It's been a while but I'm pretty sure there are four Phillips screws that hold the bezel on.

[Andy 2]

I can still go to the Dodge dealers parts counter and they can print off parts diagrams for my trucks. You might be able to get an exploded view of the dash showing where the screws are that hold it on. Maybe even see if you can get a new switch. There are not a lot of parts left at the dealers up here but you never know till you ask.

[Andy 2]

FYI Bodacious has a heater control assembly for sale in the classifieds sell to donate forum.

[vacationhermit]

Thread Resurrection:

I don't have power out of my blower on the first two settings when the air is on but I do on the last two.

Has anybody else experienced this issue? Is it something solved by changing out the blower resistor?

[geezer101]

Changing the blower resistor will fix this. Only one of the resistors has failed. It can kill the lower or higher fan speeds depending on what resistor has kicked off. Normally the lower speeds as they get used the most.

[vacationhermit]

Awesome, thanks for the feedback!