Most likely the transister chip, especially if it works in one speed but not the other.
1) If it doesnt work at all use a test light (much cheaper and easier to use than a multimeter) just clip the ground to a bare bolt under the dash
2) take the connector out of the transistor chip (this is behind the cylinder hanging down under the passanger side dash and looks like a long oval)
3) after you have the test light grounded on a bolt, put the metal spike to touch one of the 4 slots within the connector
4) slowly turn the fan control from 1, 2, 3, 4.
5) If the test light doesn't light up at all try a different ground site and repeat step 4
6) after you get the tester to light up move to the next slot over and repeat step 4 with all speed setting on the fan control. This is to ensure that the switch is not the piece of equipment at fault. The connector you are dealing with is set up that the connectors you are testing are sequential (from 1 to 4) going from one side of the connector to the other so obviously you may start from the other side and get it to test 4, 3, 2, 1.
7) if you get the tester to light up from each of the four slots from the different speed settings then you know the control switch is fine, reconnect to the transistor chip.
8) pull the 2-prong connector from the blower motor that is the cylindrical plastic piece that was in your way when looking at the transistor chip. If this shows signs of melting your transistor chip might have burned up the motor which then burned up the "pig tail" connector
9) if the connector into the blower motor looks fine take it out and put the light tester against one of the two prongs (most likely there is a black and white wire feeding into this connector, touch it to the prong aligned with the white wire as this is the hot wire)
10) run through a similar test (speed settings 1-4) with the tester touching the "hot" prong in the connector if the light tester lights up on every setting when connected to the "hot" prong that is to lead into the blower motor then your blower motor is bad. If it doesnt light up at all then likely your transistor chip is bad. The transistor chip is about $20-$35 and the blower motor is about $60.
The tansistor chip pulls out pretty easy to replace yourself (it just snaps out of and back into the dash) while if you want to avoid mechanic charges should you have to replace the blower motor then you are in for a task. For what ever reason Saturn/GM decided that the Ions dont need an easily removable blower motor. To fix this you will have to cut into the blower motor casing (that's right I typed CUT) under the passanger side dash between the two circle ribs at the bottom of this casing and are around two small golden bolts sticking out of the very bottom. After you make this cut (being careful not to cut too deep) then remove the aforementioned gold bolts and the blower motor should be visable then. Remove the remaining bolts holding the original fan in and then take the fan you bought at an auto shop and the use the self-sinking screws that line up to little circular spots around the whole you cut (they should line up perfectly with the replacement motor mount) and reconnect everything. If all is right you have a working HVAC blower motor
Saturday, January 26th, 2013 AT 1:21 AM
