[shldnprtz]

2000 kia sephia, 5spd manual, 126k miles.

Both the heat and a/c in my little kia seem to work fine, but the car doesn't blow hot or cold air on it's own, only while moving and the amount of heat/ac is relative to your speed. With a wisconsin winter on the way, i absolutely need the defroster to work without me driving the thing around.

I suspect it's the blower motor, but after a bit of reading through the forums i've seen people who fixed this problem by running a new positive from the fusebox to the motor.

So, my problem basically is that i don't know how to test the motor, fuses, or lines running between. If anyone could give me some direction on what to do and how to go about it, i would be very appreciative. I don't particularly feel like spending 100$ for a new motor, only to find out that's not the real problem.


I also have some issues with other electrical systems in the car: The dash lights flicker on and off, smacking the dash makes them stay on for a minute until whatever loose wire it is vibrates back out of place. Again, any directions on how to track that down would be awesome.

The window motors seem like they're dying, and the one of the probably is, but i think it might also be an electrical issue because sometimes they sort of just... click on and work perfectly once.

So far that's all i've got. I went and bought a diagnostic tool, so after the car gets driven for a minute i can try to pull some codes again. When i first plugged the diagnostic in it didn't read any codes, but the cel is on. I think it might have to go through some drive cycles or something because the battery was dead for a night.

 

[DavesSpectra]

Hello...
At 126k miles the car "should" be ready for it's second timing belt replacement...
Don't ignore it or you may be left with a dead car...
A simple digital multimeter set to read 20v on the DC scale on the plug going to the blower motor will tell you "if" there is voltage going to the blower motor... If you have 12v (or higher) when the ignition is on and the speed switch is at "HIGH" chances are good the blower motor is bad. If you have no voltage on the connections then you may have a blown fuse or a bad speed switch (or it's connector is melted).
The blower motor can also be tested by connecting the two terminals to (+12volts) and (ground/body/frame/(-)battery) if the motor runs it's good. The blower motors are DC motors and have carbon armature brushes that wear down and then it quits working. They are internal and are not replaceable. It's a pretty common failure item in a car with your miles (and time on the clock).
Your dash lights are also a VERY COMMON problem in Sephias...The dimmer control module has bad solder connections inside it. If you are capable of (re)soldering you can save it...Otherwise a control from a "donor" car at your local boneyard will cure that problem.

Window switches are also a common problem...again the boneyard for parts.. Driver side switches are probably the bad ones.

OBDII codes are "stored" in memory backed up by the car battery. If the battery goes dead the stored codes are lost. The CEL (check engine light) should indicate that codes ARE stored and available for reading. Some codes also DO NOT turn on the CEL but will still be readable.. Check your scanner/reader/diagnostic tool on another car to make sure it's functioning and to give you some experiance with it's operation on a known good connection... You may have a "strange" Sephia protocol that your reader may not know how to handle... A 2000 car should be a OBDII standard.
Dave