Weird glitch with A/C switch

[AxelRod]

Hey guys,

I'm working on a 2001 Grand Prix GT that was in an accident with a 3.8l N/A motor. I've run into a rather peculiar behavior in this car:

I have blower speeds 1-4 on the A/C, which just started working out of nowhere after wiggling the fuses in the fusebox by the glove compartment, but 5 doesn't work. I checked the fuse for HVAC HI, and it looked fine.

Now, here's the weird part....

When I turn the switch to 4 and let it go for a little while, and then switch it to 5, the radio's display flashes on, the windows can work, and the display lights up on the mirror (Auto-dimming w/Onstar), all for a split second before those things go blank again and don't work.

Any ideas for what's going on?

 

[FordMan77]

Sounds like there is a wiring/ground issue somewhere. How bad was the accident? Any of the wiring under the hood get damaged, or possibly from airbags deploying?

 

[ShadowSwept]

I had a problem with my SE (3100) where the A/C only worked on 5, and setting it on 1-4 would shut off the headlights. :th_scratchhead: Replaced the blower motor after trying everything else and it worked fine.

 

[AxelRod]

Thanks for the replies. The accident caved the nose of the car in (hit a tree) and the airbags deployed. I've since replaced the dash, and the only thing I noticed was damage to the airbag cable that runs from the driver's side to the passenger side, and that's already been fixed. I'll look into it more once I get the car restored.

 

[AxelRod]

Well, I got the car put back together after helping my dad weld in a new core support, and upon reinstalling breakers for the headlamps and the cooling fans, everything started working again, and all four windows work along with all five blower speeds. . The previous owner had removed those breakers for some reason after the accident. Now I just have a dim DIC, which could be just bulbs. Thanks all!