Hello All,
I have a 2001 Dodge Ram Van 3500 5.2L.
I purchased the van in Nov. 2019 and the man I bought it from said the heat/air blower switch needs replaced, it only works in high. it quit blowing on high and would work on/off, when it wanted too. I thought no big deal....HA on me! I went to the auto parts store, the manager said try the resistor? (Hope I called that right) first, under the hood on the firewall next the the a/c cover box, if you do it in parking lot I'll let you return it. Well, it wasn't that and so I went and traded that $30 part for a switch which costs about the same, tried it and it wasn't that either so I got my money back and went on my way. I got one of those dash defrosters and used it the rest of that winter, weather was mild, it was fine. Then this winter hit and it has not been mild so I finally ordered a blower motor and then I got my bf to put it on the van and it blows again BUT only on high. When I bought the van it had some issues like I had to have a new fuel pump, and then I had to start replacing parts till I found the solution to the big issue which was; the van was dying going down road, sometimes would restart, sometimes you had to let it sit for a bit, sometimes ether would work, sometimes not and it got harder to get started the longer time went. So I posted on here to get advice and found it's an issue that's kind of hard to pin down so I replaced all 6 relays, went through the fuses and made sure they were all good and the right size etc... I replaced rotor button, distributor cap, distributor pick up coil, air filter, crankcase breather element (it was clogged), gas cap (had a code), and I solved the issue of it dying by replacing the crankshaft position sensor. Then a heater valve broke and had to be replaced, the headlamp switch had a blade that was burnt and the headlights would sometimes blink off when you hit a bump, I fixed that and finally the blower motor was replaced. I also just got 2 new front tires and hopefully next month will get 2 new back tires. So now you have the history of what I've done so here goes the brain picking....lol1a. The blower motor only blows on high...resistor, switch or something else?
1b. The air coming out of the heater is lukewarm, why? Can it be fixed?
1c. It doesn't blow very well out of the vents or the floor. Why? How do I fix?
2. Also my gas mileage was really awesome for a vehicle this size, about 17 mph local. I've changed the oil twice since getting the van, we go fishing every day and put a lot of miles on the old girl...and the 2 tires so far and though it does seem better, i haven't fully recovered the great mileage I was getting....what all can mess with my mpg?
3. The gear selector is messed up. Was when I got it. It shows park and reverse then you have to pay attention or count to make sure your in drive. Is this just the cable needing adjusting? If so, can you tell me exactly where the adjuster is located? We've looked under dash under wheel but can't see it. I haven't changed transmission fluid and screen yet and I do know that's when your supposed to adjust/tighten the bands so could it be that? Suggestions?
4. It has the regular old headlamps and I would love to get those nice bright LEDs, do I have to change the whole lamp or do they make replacement bulbs that will fit?
5. The door trims need replaced, water actually runs off the roof and down the doors and through the gap in the middle. I've looked at replacement trim and it's very confusing to me. What do I get?
6. One of the side and one of the back doors have to be slammed or they won't shut all the way. They swing easily though so can I adjust them? How?
I'll stop there for now and once I these issues taken care of, I'll come back and pick your brains some more...lolThanks in advance for all your help, thoughts and ideas....they are greatly appreciated!!!!!
​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​

 

1a. LIkely the resistor block. You can test and see if you are getting power out of the various pins on it... if you are, then likely the switch.
1b. Does the van have the little servo motor to move the blend (temp) door?
2. How old are your O2 sensors?
3. I think yours has a 5 pin prn switch on the trans, but, if it were bad, I would expect it to throw a code? Maybe?? I *think* that feller is what tells the dash what to display.
4. What bulbs are in there now? Are the housings yellowed??

 

1a. LIkely the resistor block. You can test and see if you are getting power out of the various pins on it... if you are, then likely the switch.
I am assuming you can use s volt meter to test the pins?
1b. Does the van have the little servo motor to move the blend (temp) door?
I will have to check, where would it be located?
2. How old are your O2 sensors?
I don't know, I have never changed them
3. I think yours has a 5 pin prn switch on the trans, but, if it were bad, I would expect it to throw a code? Maybe?? I *think* that feller is what tells the dash what to displaydisplay.The only codes to come up were the 2 that deal with the EVAP? system. One of those codes has to do with new fuel cap and when it was doing the dying thing I was also getting some vapor lock cause the old gas cap was loose. I wanted a locking one but I was at Auto Zone and it's was a piece of crap, so I tried a regular one and it still didn't stop so I did some research and found out Dodges are sometimes picky about the fuel cap so I got a OEM and that did it. I still get the 2 codes, I figure as old as it is there is probably some dry rot in the EVAP system. I just haven't wanted to tackle getting under the van and tracing that system down, especially since I really know nothing about it and will have to look up diagrams and do a bunch of research so I have some idea before I start. I will see what I can find out about the PRN.
4. What bulbs are in there now? Are the housings yellowed??
Just the regular OEM replacement bulbs I think. They are nothing special, so must be and the lenses are still clear, no yellowing, no cloudiness.

 

Yep, volt meter, or test light, if you have one.

Might wanna change the O2 sensors then. NTK, or Denso only please. Skip the Bosch, they don't work real well out these engines.

Evap codes shouldn't cause stalling.... That's gonna be something else. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things it could be.... Does it restart right away after it dies?

I don't know much about the LED bulbs. I have Sylvania silver stars in my truck, and those are pretty bright.... I have the heavy duty headlamp harness though, and that helps a fair bit. Don't know if they make one for Vans, but, you could likely make your own fairly cheap.

 

I fixed the dying issue, that was just in description of what has been wrong and what I've done to it. The dying issues was solved by a bee crankshaft sensor.
I've seen those silver stars, thought they were led, they have a bulb that will fit in original headlamp fixtures,?

 

My trucks use 9004 bulbs. Not sure if the vans use the same thing. But, they should offer bulbs that will go in there.

 

***I do have a new question that I forgot to ask first time around....as I stated before, not long after I got van I had to have a new fuel pump, so keep that in mind for this question...
When the mpg dropped we didn't realize it was so bad till we ran out of gas. See once the hand on the fuel gauge drops below a quarter tank it goes forever before the needle moves toward the red and my bf drives mostly and he could tell how far we could go before it ran out but with the sudden change it dropped on us and we ran out if gas. It takes $20 worth of gas to make the van start again once it's out. You can pull in to pump on fumes and as long as you don't shut it off keeps going when you put gas in but let it run out and it's $20. I have never had a vehicle that required that, our friends didn't believe us till the saw for themselves. They suggested that the fuel pump may be just a hair off and that is causing the gauge to read like I described and maybe they was causing the $20 thing.
Does anyone have any ideas? It is it just a thing with these big, huge vans?
Thanks!

 

What brand pump was installed? Quality varies DRAMATICALLY between brands..... Airtex being the absolute worst, Delphi or Denso being the best.