bottjernat1 2,190 #1 Posted March 18, 2020 So I was wondering has anybody ever had to deal with the dodge Dakota and Durango resister switches? I have replaces around 5 of these switches. I finally had enough of changing it in my wife's 2002 Durango with 216,000 miles on it so i replaced the blower motor. Now I haven't had any issues since. I think the blower motor was the cause of the problem in her vehicle. Anyways i took a 4 short videos and made one to show folks how to replace these items. This is the most common issue i have had to deal with. Replaced the switch in the 2004 jeep 2001 dakota and the 2002 Durango. Alot of junk yards they are either cut out or have caught fire! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skwerl58 702 #2 Posted March 18, 2020 Sorry that your vehicles have the resistor issues, you are not the only one with this problem. I have an 04 Chevy Colorado with 98000 miles and have replaced the blower resistor twice. GM has a kit as well as Dorman for the Colorados. There are lots of recalls and factory warnings concerning electrical connections. I just received a letter from GM yesterday concerning a problem with the connection for the passenger air bag warning in my 15' Impala. This connection is in or under the seat pad. They will repair it if it goes bad before a certain time. The electrical connections and switches appear to be the main issue on newer vehicles. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bottjernat1 2,190 #3 Posted March 18, 2020 6 minutes ago, Skwerl58 said: Sorry that your vehicles have the resistor issues, you are not the only one with this problem. I have an 04 Chevy Colorado with 98000 miles and have replaced the blower resistor twice. GM has a kit as well as Dorman for the Colorados. There are lots of recalls and factory warnings concerning electrical connections. I just received a letter from GM yesterday concerning a problem with the connection for the passenger air bag warning in my 15' Impala. This connection is in or under the seat pad. They will repair it if it goes bad before a certain time. The electrical connections and switches appear to be the main issue on newer vehicles. Cheap manufacturing is the issue we need to bring back american made!! Maybe then we wouldn't have to rely on everyone else. LOL I agree with you 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skwerl58 702 #4 Posted March 18, 2020 Yep, same problem discussed on another thread concerning tractors and technology. So much electronics on today's vehicles that it is a problem itself. I remember my 60-70 era vehicles and these problems didn't exist. I guess we must sacrifice to meet the federal standards, on no, you've got me started. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 55,082 #5 Posted March 18, 2020 9 hours ago, bottjernat1 said: the blower motor was the cause of the problem I had the same problem on my '96 Dakota years back. Replaced two switches that only lasted a few years each, while at NAPA ordering another switch another customer who knew the right answer told me the switches were failing because of the blower motor. Replaced both and had no more problems for over a dozen years. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZXT 2,401 #6 Posted March 19, 2020 (edited) I wonder if the Dodge trucks of the era use the same setup? My 95 and 99 Ram's haven't had an issue, nor has my dad's 03. I have seen blower motor resistors cause a fire on vehicles before, mainly on ones where mice had got into the heater box and built a nest right on top of it.. Blower motor resistors get extremely hot so there's no surprise that fires have occured. Still odd that a blower motor would cause a resistor to fail. Is it an electronic resistor or the typical old resistor wire type? I could understand issues on an electronic. EDIT: Nevermind, I watched the video and see that it is an electronic resistor. Had to replace the one in my dad's '94 Buick Roadmaster here a while back. Couldn't just find the resistor by searching by car, but apparently mid 90s Jeeps used the same resistor so I substituted one of those ($11 vs $95) and all is well. Edited March 19, 2020 by ZXT 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tom2p 2,394 #7 Posted March 19, 2020 remember back in the day ... years and years ago ... the old Mopars with the slant sixes often needed a ballast resistor replaced ... or something like that ... maybe the 318's did also ... ? ... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZXT 2,401 #8 Posted March 19, 2020 (edited) 17 minutes ago, tom2p said: remember back in the day ... years and years ago ... the old Mopars with the slant sixes often needed a ballast resistor replaced ... or something like that ... maybe the 318's did also ... ? ... Ballast resistors are an ignition component, but work off of the same concept. A Dodge would've had a ballast resistor whether it be a 170, 198, 225, 273, 318, 340, 350, 360, 361, 383, 400,413,426,440, etc. Chevys had ballast resistors early on and then went to a resistor wire to drop the voltage in the 60s. Both are simple components. I've heard of people talk about Dodge's needing them replaced, but in the 7 applicable Dodge trucks that I've owned, and the multiple Mopars that my dad has, I've never replaced one. Asked my father a while back about his '69 SuperBee, which he's owned since '75, and he said he hasn't replaced it either. Edited March 19, 2020 by ZXT 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
