The heater fan on my 05 Explorer suddenly will not run at any position except high speed. I don't see how to take the panel off to check the fan switch. Can't see any other problem anywhere.

Also, what can be done about annoying squeaks in the front suspension. It seems the arm bushings are squeaking when you bounce the front end. There are no grease fittings - I tried spraying them with silicone lube to no avail - but maybe I sprayed the wrong parts?

 

The blower fan only work when the speed control is set to the high position, correct? As opposed to running on high for any setting of the fan switch. If so, that's a pretty common failure mode of a bad blower motor resistor. The part is not expensive and generally not difficult to replace. This also assumes that you have the manual HVAC controls (*****) instead of the automatic climate controls.

As for the suspension squeaks, the squeaks are probably from the rubber inside the joints being dry. Just spraying the outside of the parts with silicone won't actually lubricate the area that is squeaking. What I suggest is getting a can of spray white lithium grease and a small pick. Poke a small hole in the outer tie rod end, stick the straw of the grease through the hole and give it a spray. Work the steering and suspension a few times to see if the noise changes or goes away. If so, you've found the culprit. If not, move to the next ball and socket joint (upper or lower ball joint). Do the same thing until you find that part that gets quiet when lubricated internally. Plan to replace that part soon as the squirt of grease will be a temporary fix. Be sure to inspect for loose suspension and steering components while you're at it.

You could also get a needle grease adapter that is basically a large hypodermic type needle with a grease fitting on one end that you can poke through the boots and plug your grease gun on to instead of using the pick and aerosol grease approach.

-Rod

 

Thanks - I thought something like that might be the problem. Now it's where this resistor is and how to replace it. I suppose a dealer may have a diagram showing it.

 

It appears like you might be able to reach it by fully opening the glove box door.

I'm struggling to get the link to copy for me, see if this works....
http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/f...g?t=1418302213

-Rod

 

I went to a dealer today and strangely at first they didn't know about any resistor for the fan, but then they looked it up and found something, a p/n 4L2Z-19A706-AA. It appears to mount on the blower housing, and says it is a 4-pin connector. The corker here is that it is a $50 item and electrical - so if it is wrong there is no return. It does look like with the glove box door completely open you can probably get at it. The dealer didn't seem sure about this and I wonder if this is the culprit.

 

Wow, you need to find a new dealership. Blower motor resistors have been used for probably 50 years in cars and are very simple to diagnose with a multimeter or test light.

You can probably pick one up at a local parts store for more like $20 and install it yourself within 15 minutes.

-Rod