Hi All,
Recently the climate control in my 2001 Accord stopped working. However, the blower did work when the fan switch was turned to max. A quick google search revealed that the most likely cause is a bad blower resistor. I just managed to remove the unit and was wondering if there was any way to test it. I removed the heat sink and didn't see anything obviously wrong. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Chris

 

I have not seen a 2000 Accord blower resistor if it's a chip or if it's winding. If it's the coil winding type, you can OHM test the terminals with a Digital Multimeter(DMM) to see if you get an "OL" or not.

OL = Open circuit.

 

If the highest setting works then it is most likely the blower resistor. The circuit at the highest setting bypasses the resistor thereby allowing it to work. Switching to the lower settings uses the resistor which lowers the amperage thereby slowing the motor down. So its probably the blower motor resistor. You may be able to check it with a multimeter, it should show at least some resistance and not an open circuit. I think it will show as infinite resistance or OL or OR if it is an open circuit, broken. OL=overload, OR=Out of Range. So if it shows some resistance you might not be able to tell, but the latter is definitely means broken.

 

Thanks Mark. I'm going to check the resistor today with a multimeter. I did call my local Honda service dept yesterday to ask if they had a way to check the resistor unit. They said they want to check the whole system in the car. One thing they said is that the blower motor could be on the verge of breaking and it could cause the resistor to fail because it was drawing too much current. Since I have both the resistor unit and the blower motor sitting on my kitchen table I obviously want to check them both. Not sure how I would check the draw on the blower motor, though.