I'm sure the answer to this is probably something painfully simple that I will smack myself for not knowing, but I need help with a minor problem. The heater in my (1990) Bronco seems to only work on the highest setting. When it is any of the lesser 3 speeds it doesn't come on at all. Any thoughts?

Also, possibly unrelated, I sometimes get a whiff of something when driving that smells like oil burning off the engine. However I've looked over the truck multiple times and find no evidence of any oil leaks or such. Any idea what could be causing this?

Thanks,

C.

 

Chances are that the resistor pack for the blower motor has failed or come disconnected. The reason it still works on "HI" is because the blower motor is receiving the full battery voltage without the resistance from any resistors. The unfortunate thing is that the resistor pack is a dealer or salvage yard part. I'm not aware of anyone making this component aftermarket.

With the smell of something burning, could be anything. Its unlikely that the two are related if the blower no longer runs at all on the lower settings.

 

How many miles on the 90? Check the engine again. Go underneath and look carefully behind the back of the valve covers. It's hard to see in there but that's where most will leak first. If you have over 100K miles there is a good chance that -something- leaks a bit of oil and it's most likely the valve covers. And by the time they hit 150K they will leak somewhere, if not in multiple places, that's just a fact of life

 

All right, I'll check that out first chance I get tomorrow. (Truck has about 96k miles on it, so is probably due for some leakage...)


Thanks for your help with this, guys. As always it is greatly appreciated.