I just picked up a '92 Sidekick as a second vehicle, and I'm going through a few of the little things that need fixing.  One that is puzzling me is the fan speed selector switch for the heat/ a/c.  It blows full speed, no matter what.  I went to the junkyard today and pulled one out of a tracker, put it in, and it's doing the same thing.  I'm wondering if I need to reset it somehow, now that the new switch is in. Also, is there some sort of really conductive grease that I need to apply to the contacts to get a good signal? Has this happened to anyone else?  Any suggestions?

The switch was poorly made, and slowly bends away from the contacts (the retaining mechanism that keeps the switch at a particular speed also bends the switch up (away from contacts) each time you move it. Eventually this moves the contact points away from one another. I bet if you push down on the switch in the other speeds, it'll activate the fan.

My $0.03 fix was to put 3 pennies between the top of the switch, and the console molding. It's very easy to move the switch & pennies when going through the speeds. They've only come out when I've beat the hell out of the kick on fire roads.

Check your blower resistor, if the switch is good, and the motor's good then its gotta be the resistor.

Check your blower resistor, if the switch is good, and the motor's good then its gotta be the resistor.

I agree.

It is probably the Resistor. I think it is only $15 or so.

Simple Fix. Easily Accessible Under the Dash, on Passenger Foot Side, near the Center Console.

Yeah, but let's get some clarification here.

Does it ONLY blow at the highest setting or does it only blow at the highest speed no matter what setting it is at?

A few years ago mine stopped working except at the highest speed.  I replaced the heater motor resistor with one I got from www.Rock-Auto.com and whalla, I had all the speeds again.  Only one of the local parts places could get me them and it was a generic brand part.  Rock Auto had the ACDelco part for $10 less delivered than the locals wanted so I went with them.  Somewhere in the low $20's delivered.

Oh, if they don't list one for your Sidekick check under a similar vintage Tracker.  They didn't list one for my Tracker but they did for a Sidekick.

Thanks for all the responses, so far.  To clarify, it blows at the highest fan speed, no matter where the switch is placed.  When one slides the switch from low to high, it moves as though it isn't contacting anything, in other words very smoothly.  When I went to the junkyard, yesterday, the switch in the Tracker clicked through the positions.  However, the junkyard owner was having some trouble pulling it out, and by the time all was said and done, it wasn't clicking through the speeds anymore.  It felt like mine, as though it was freely sliding back and forth.  We settled on $5 for a possibly broken part.  When I got home and pulled my switch apart, my lever was missing the copper plate that actually contacts the top part of the switch.  The new one has the plate.  I hooked it up, still no luck; high speed no matter where the slider is placed.  I guess I'm wondering if this free sliding is indicative of a broken switch, or could it still be getting contact, and the blower resistor is the culprit.  It seems like my old switch was broken, either way.   

Sounds like you have a different problem than me. In case anyone does have the same problem I do, here's what the $0.03 fix looks like:



Okay, it's more of a band-aid than a fix. But, what do you want for $0.03