I was gifted a '06 Kia Sportage a couple of years ago from the original purchaser (my parents) with 135k miles on it and no fan motor or a/c function. The dealer had quoted $950 to change the fan motor and resistor and fix some melted wires at the resistor. I replaced the fan motor and resistor myself,with new Kia/Hyundai parts, and instead of trying to replace the huge multi-plug connector at the resistor, just crimped-on spade connectors and plugged into the resistor. Twice since, the connectors and wires have melted and things have quit working. What the heck is creating so much amperage/heat that there is heat damage periodically? It has 165k miles now and won't last forever, but I'm getting tired of digging around under the dash annually fixing wires.
'06 Kia Sportage a/c gremlin
- Thread starter CincyDavid
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I would check if the blower motor fuse wasn't replaced with a higher amperage one. The fuse should blow well before any damage to the wires occurs.
Besides, that do you have any other electrical anomalies? Maybe there is a short somewhere?
Besides, that do you have any other electrical anomalies? Maybe there is a short somewhere?
Too small of wire or lug. OE is usually just big enough and with any age corrosion builds up and then starts to heat things up. It will never be the same without new wire ends. Many crimp on connectors too are steel with tin plate. Not what you want. Go for brass or tin plated copper and rated or the amperage.
The problem could be on the toehr end of the wire too.
Using a volt meter set on millivolts check the reading on both ends of the circuit if you can with the power on. Should be low reading. you can also check the ohms and it too should be low, under .2 and be sure to touch the leads together and deduct this from your reading.
Any pictures?
The problem could be on the toehr end of the wire too.
Using a volt meter set on millivolts check the reading on both ends of the circuit if you can with the power on. Should be low reading. you can also check the ohms and it too should be low, under .2 and be sure to touch the leads together and deduct this from your reading.
Any pictures?
yes pics plz. I would solder and shrink wrap the connections if possible, this will minimize any resistance/future corrosion. are the fuses blowing? the oem wires should be sufficient as long as your new fan and resistor are to oem spec.
Taking a pic will be a trick...it's up under the dash. Soldering under there would be a trick too. Of course this wouldn't be in a convenient spot.
I never checked the fuse(s), I'll do that too. Guess it might be time to break out my handy voltmeter and see what's really going on.
The kid who drives it is going back to college today and won't have a car, so I'll have more time to investigate. great ideas from everyone, I'll let you know what I discover.
I never checked the fuse(s), I'll do that too. Guess it might be time to break out my handy voltmeter and see what's really going on.
The kid who drives it is going back to college today and won't have a car, so I'll have more time to investigate. great ideas from everyone, I'll let you know what I discover.
Also, the fuse should blow way before wires and connections melt and fail... Maybe the fuse is too big for whatever reason... Just some things to check.
Either the resistor is over heating or the connections are. GM had the same problem on a lot of trucks. It is not likely the fuse in this case. It is probably a combination of the coils in the resistor heating up the terminals and the wire connections being a little undersized. You have two heat sources in one location.
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