2006 Chevrolet Equinox, Blower Erratic / Inoperative

This 2006 Chevrolet Equinox came in with the complaint that the blower motor worked sometimes. Most of the time it did not work. The customer had already replaced the blower motor and the blower relay to no avail. I checked the blower fuse in the underhood fuse box to make sure it was both good and powered. It was.

Under the passenger side of the dash, I removed the hush panel to gain access to the blower motor wiring. The panel is held in place by two 7 mm headed screws.

No power was present on the red wire with the white stripe.

I went back to the driver’s side of the vehicle and lifted the rear edge of the sill trim plate. Then worked my way towards the front of the vehicle.

Releasing the clips as I went.

The problem is in the multiwire harness connector shown below. If you look closely at the upper red/white wire to the right of center, you should notice some discoloration in the color of the wire. The terminals inside the connector are overheated and it is best to not disconnect the connector assembly. It may not go back together without a lot of effort.

I removed the 40 amp blower fuse from the underhood fuse box. No sense in cutting and splicing a live wire in tight quarters.

I clipped the wire above and below the in line harness connector body.

Then used splicing terminals and heat shrink tubing to make the repair.

The circuit is now repaired and on the outside of the connector.

I made sure that the wire was held in place when the connector body was reattached to the body panel.

I installed the previously removed 40 amp blower fuse in the underhood fuse box and now there is power on the red/white wire. The blower motor also now works on all speeds.

Another one finished.

10 discussions on “2006 Chevrolet Equinox, Blower Erratic / Inoperative”

  1. Can you assist me with finding the correct wire to splice? I have several redwithwhite wires to choose from on the connector located next to the hood release on the driver side of my 2006 equinox. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

    1. I would need you to become a member and ask a question through that form. You can then upload images so that I can see what you are looking at. Also need to know what you are trying to repair or accomplish.

  2. After looking at a wiring diagram the blower switch or the connector at the blower resistor would be the most likely places to check. You may also have more than one issue. Personally I would start at the blower motor and see if you are missing power on the red/white wire or ground on the purple wire. Then proceed in the direction of the missing circuit.

  3. I had the entire multi wire harness hard wired. This to repair a different issue. My issue with the blower motor is that sometimes high speed doesn’t work and the rest do. Or like now nothing is working.

  4. I have not had the opportunity to do this repair. I am providing the operating parameters for the DRL’s per GM Service Information.

    The conditions necessary for the BCM to illuminate the DRL are as follows:

    The ignition switch is in the RUN position
    The headlamps are in the OFF position.
    The park brake is OFF, released.
    The BCM is receiving a high light condition from the ambient light sensor.
    The transmission is not in the PARK position.

    To do any testing beyond this will require at least the use of a good multimeter.
    My best guess at this point would be a faulty DRL resistor.
    It is located at the LF corner of the vehicle, behind the headlamp assembly attached to the frame rail. You may have to access it from underneath or inside the wheel well. GM states to remove the front fascia. Starting with the wheel well liner. It should have two wires. Black & Gray. I did not find a resistance specification for the resistor. If it is bad it will read open.

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