Blower Motor resistor option

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foundnemo25
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Blower Motor resistor option

Post by foundnemo25 »

I was looking for a new option for both of my XR's. The blower motor was only working on high speed. I found that the 91-2003 ford escort/mercury tracer blower motor resistor is cheap and readily available as an option. The escort resistor is a 4 speed control vs the merkur being a 3 speed. What you will need to do this is the blower motor resistor and the connector (optional). The XR resistor has 4 wires. 3 on the connector and one separate (spade style connectors. The 3 terminal connector has a

Black/Green Wire.... High speed
Black/Yellow..... Medium speed
Black/Red...... Low speed

The single wire.... Goes to the blower motor

The escort resistor has a total of 5 terminals.4 on one connector and a single wire. The single wire connects to the signal wire on the merkur.
Now the other 4 terminals are for the speed control.
Image

____A ______D
____B ______C

.......... ....... ... [ E]... singe terminal
________________________
Pin A is high speed
Pin B is Medium high speed
Pin C is medium low speed
Pin D is Low speed.

Now you can only use 3 terminals for the XR. What I did was use only A,B,and C. and left D alone. Terminal C is slow enough for low speed, D is really slow.

Terminal A to Black/Green Wire
Terminal B to Black/Yellow Wire
Terminal C to Black/Red Wire.

Sit the blower motor resistor in the factory location and check the fan speed function. Now I said the connector is optional for one reason. You can remove the spade terminals from the factory 3 pin connector and slide them onto the resistor. The singe wire that connects to the blower will slide on the single terminal. I did this to check the function and you could leave it this way or wire the pigtail in and keep a factory appearance.


Enjoy.
Its not what you build, its how you build it.
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DPDISXR4Ti
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by DPDISXR4Ti »

Thanks for sharing! :cheers
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John Brennan
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by John Brennan »

Excellent, thank you very much! :notworthy
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by Ed Lijewski »

The single XR BCM wire, brown, spade connector, is the ground; the three colored wires connect the three position cabin blower switch to determine blower motor speed.

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foundnemo25
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by foundnemo25 »

That's correct Ed. The brown wire grounds the blower motor.
Its not what you build, its how you build it.
1988 Merkur XR4TI 393W Turbo Setup
1986 Merkur XR4TI Stock wife's little beater
James Wieler
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by James Wieler »

what was your part source? Your's came with the electrical plug which would make the swap much cleaner than bodging generic spade connectors
thanks
James
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by DPDISXR4Ti »

James Wieler wrote: Sun Feb 10, 2019 4:32 pm what was your part source? Your's came with the electrical plug which would make the swap much cleaner than bodging generic spade connectors
Sourcing from the junkyard could yield the quick-connector pig-tail.
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by StratosSpawn »

Sorry for bumping this post, but I finally got my XR back up and running, but my blower motor does not seem to be functioning. I'm not sure if it's due to the resistor or a bad connection, but I'm hoping that if it's the resistor I can just replace it with this option. Is there anything else I can check beside the resistor and maybe the wiring? I was thinking that maybe the blower itself might have seized? I haven't had the vehicle running for about 3 years, and certainly not when the temperature has dropped below zero where I required the blower to be functioning.
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DPDISXR4Ti
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by DPDISXR4Ti »

Typical failure mode of the resistor is that the motor only runs on high (full) speed. If your motor isn't turning at all, it may be that the motor has failed. I would try applying 12V directly to the motor. Diagnostic procedures should be in the troubleshooting manual.
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eaton53
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by eaton53 »

That stupid resistor was a constant source of trouble on my old '85 XR.
I don't know how many blew, but I got good at swapping 'em.

Heater never getting hot when it was cold (like now) was another thing.
I don't know if something was done differently by '89, but so far mine has not had these problems. It gets hot and blows all speeds.
Since I mostly drive in fair weather with the windows down, I don't put too many demands on it.
Mark Copeland - I'm 50 miles west of Kewanee, IL

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Car was the 2014 MCA Merkur Preservation Award Winner
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This one has a very bright and shiny future.
Proud member of the Iowa-Illinois Merkur Owner's Association since 2015. :cheers
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Power Tryp
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by Power Tryp »

I just did the thermal fuse repair that's been detailed on the forum before viewtopic.php?t=13010

I was skeptical about it but damn if it didn't work and I got a bulk pack off amazon so if it fails again in the future I can just solder up another.
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my8950
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by my8950 »

Power Tryp wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 1:23 pm I just did the thermal fuse repair that's been detailed on the forum before viewtopic.php?t=13010

I was skeptical about it but damn if it didn't work and I got a bulk pack off amazon so if it fails again in the future I can just solder up another.
I don't think soldering is the best way to go with a thermal fuse. if you solder it, then it can open due to the heat required to melt the solder and flow a good connection...Just my thoughts...
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by Power Tryp »

That was part of why I was sceptical but it worked and I've got extras. If it fails again I'll look into other ways of affixing the fuse.
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andyofcolumbusmerkur
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by andyofcolumbusmerkur »

StratosSpawn wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 4:03 am Sorry for bumping this post, but I finally got my XR back up and running, but my blower motor does not seem to be functioning. I'm not sure if it's due to the resistor or a bad connection, but I'm hoping that if it's the resistor I can just replace it with this option. Is there anything else I can check beside the resistor and maybe the wiring? I was thinking that maybe the blower itself might have seized? I haven't had the vehicle running for about 3 years, and certainly not when the temperature has dropped below zero where I required the blower to be functioning.
I'm told you can cut a small hole in the blower box and shoot some wd40 on the blower motor and give it a little push to get it moving. I've made old sweepers and other electric motors come back to life after they have sat for long periods so it should work on a blower motor the same way. If you wanted to completely disassemble the box and get at the blower motor that way you can, but I believe you need to remove the engines valve cover. Maybe someone else can chime in if they know an easier way.
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Re: Blower Motor resistor option

Post by DPDISXR4Ti »

andyofcolumbusmerkur wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2019 8:57 am If you wanted to completely disassemble the box and get at the blower motor that way you can, but I believe you need to remove the engines valve cover. Maybe someone else can chime in if they know an easier way.
If you don't have functional A/C, the Euro (heater only) blower box is the answer you seek.
http://forums.merkurclub.net/forum/view ... hilit=euro
Brad
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