jbw

Recently bought a 1990 4Runner on a warm day only to discover I have no power to the blower motor (discovered this as it started to get colder).

With the help of these forums (and the search feature!!) I've worked my way through checking the fuses (both on driver side panel and passenger kick panel), testing the blower motor with 12V power and the resistor with my multi/ohm meter. I'm not getting power from the battery to the blower motor so this leaves the relays (neither of them click when the fan switch is turned on and through its 4 settings) or the fan switch itself.

I've got the dash half torn off but it still looks the switch itself will be a PITA to remove, I'm seeing 3 screws holding the climate control unit (For lack of better words) to the dash itself then it might still be hard to wrestle out. Is there a way to check the switch without taking the dash apart further?

Tommorow I'd like to test the relays under the passenger kick panel (today I just swapped them for each other to see if one had gone out, no luck). I'd like to avoid pulling the dash apart any further if I could, so anything else I could check to make my life easier?

Death Runner II

a buddy of mine had the same problem and found out his switch actually melted in the dash. the dealer wants like 80 bucks for this thing. however the only way we found to check it was to take the dashboard out. its not as bad as it sounds we have had them out of both our 92' 4Runners several times in the past few months for various reasons. they are comming out again to replace all the burned out dash lights with LED's. there are many screws and bolts holding it all together but they are easy to get to. the instrument panel will also have to come out to get the dash out of course. this it the bast way we found but you can get in there without taking the whole dash out its just a bit more of a struggle in the tight space.

angrydogtattoo

I bought my 90 truck, the PO had a bad switch and had ripped the small lever off the switch. He then (glad he didn't cut them) removed wires from the plug and used a toggle switch on the dash to have HIGH only.

I really hated this, so I bought a used switch off of eprey. The best advice I can give you is to take your time! DeathRunner is right that they can get hot! The old switch was deformed and it looked like the PO just ripped it off, and tore the small clips that hold it in! I was forced to epoxy the new switch in, I was lucky that the person who removed the used switch just cut the harness and I could use it to make sure I put the wires previously removed by the PO back in the right order.

One of my wires was burnt, turns out it was the 1 step or low speed, pretty sure it would be a nightmare to replace that so having 3 out of 4 speeds is ok with me.

It is pretty tight in there with the switch and the plug, but is certainly doable, just go slow and take your time. I had to remove all three panels, take off the temperature control panel, there are plenty of write ups here, but you start in the lower right hand corner and gently pry and then go around the other three till it pops off, there is a hidden screw in there for the radio bezel.

For me it meant pretty much ripping out everything, but as I used it as an excuse to do the SR5 gauge swap and replace the radio it made it seem like an overall project and not a repair, good luck, if you get jammed you can PM me, it's been recent enough I should be able to remember it all LOL

jbw

Thanks guys. The interior is in pretty rough shape...dog got at the vinyl covering the dash so it's already bad, currently driving around without the glovebox in and the dash half apart..amazing legroom for the passenger!


Sucks that the cluster has to come out, I think I might just make a thin cut with my dremel to make removing it in sections easier..add a few screws to hold it back together and call it good. Nice to have a winter/4x4/light commuter that I can hack apart and not care about too much.

jbw

Just pulled it apart, the switch is burnt at the back, as is a part of the wiring harness. I'm going to find a generic 4 way switch tommorow at the electronics store and hack it in, should work nicely.

For future referance if anyone is searching, rather than pulling the gauge panel off and tearing the entire dash apart you can just remove the stereo and faceplate to gain easy access to any of the climate control switches. Two screws and and unplugging the harness and I was able to see in there and remove the melted switch, saved alot of PITA.

Death Runner II

awesome glade it wasnt to much of a hassle. yeah this is pretty common on these hints why the dealer here by me wants 80 bucks for this cheaply made switch. he ended up going to the salvage yard and finding an original. just make sure your 4 way can handle the power draw of the blower or it may do the same thing. good luck!

jbw

I've decided to use a 3 or 4 way switch designed for a range hood that you'd normally find above your stove, going to see what I can find at the store today, I'll let you guys know how it works.

$80 is ridiculous...I only paid $1700 for the truck with two sets of new tires!

Duelertoyota4x4

My 93 did the same thing, switch melted internaly on a nice cold day on the way back from the field after huntin.