As I was driving my '83 first gen to work the other day and my heater fan just stopped. There wasn't any weird noises or smells, it just stopped. When I got home I went through all my fuses and checked them for continuity and all are working fine. I pulled up the wiring diagram and found the three fusible links on the strut post on the drivers side and checked them. They all seem to be fine. The more I got to looking at what is and is not going on I realized that not only does the heater fan not come on, the AC clutch will not engage now.

My question is, are there other fusible links that would be in a different place than the driver's side strut. Based on what I've been reading and previous experience this seems like a fusible link but I think that may be why I can't get this one fixed on my own. I need some fresh thoughts on where else to look.

Thanks in advance

 

Does the heater fan work on the highest setting? If it does then the most likely problem is the fan resistor... If the fan does not work at all then you have another problem. Test the fan motor by removing it and running direct power from the battery, the fan should come on. If not your problem is elsewhere. The swtich is another possiblity. This should get you started.

Check the basics first like you already have done with the fuses and fuseable links. Then check the switch and fan motor like I mentioned above before blowing your brains out thinking you have wiring issues...

 

No, the heater fan does not work at all. Pulling the fan motor i guess will be the next easiest thing. With the fan clutch not engaging though it doesn't give me a lot of hope. If it is the switch, are these readily available at the regular parts store or am I going to be ordering this at the dealership?

Thanks for the thoughts. I head off in this direction.

 

Use you digital multimeter to see if the fan motor has power going to it. if it does, the motor is bad, if not, then the problem if further up the line. also the ac clutch will not engage when the pressure in the line is too low or too high. also theres another saftey switch attached to the evaporator that sences if the evaporator is too cold. this keeps it from icing up. if its bad, the ac will also not work. hope this helps.

 

if you have no high speed it can also be due to the resistor . My high speed went last after the other speeds wouldn't work and when i opened up the blower housing to to put a replacement in (still not done) the coiled wire part was broken and I wound it around itself and got high speed back .

 

Probably the nichrome wire resistor that controls speed. The fan drops out easily with 3 screws (10mm, IIIRC) , then you can see/touch the resistor. I've replaced 2 resistors but never a fan motor fail, which is why I have a spare motor sitting on the Spares shelf.

Pretty easy repair. Look for a resistor at the JY or PnP, or just twist the broken ends together as some have done.

 

Just an update to the question, I have also noticed now that my Cruise Control went out the same time as the heat/ac quit. It may have been that something happened to the fuse when I was checking those originally but it does lead me back to fusible links. Are those two on the same fusible link?

Thank you again for all your answers.

 

Another possibility lies in your actual ignition switch and worn detents.