jim,
I agree about a real world fix being needed, but after replacing both ends(male and female) with Ford OEM's I was a little disgusted. I rethought your advice and will install an aftermarket sealed plug next. One thing I should mention is that after replacement, I did see the heat problem you mentioned. I smelled the "hot insulation" smell you get from heated wiring/electric motor on occasion. I believe it coincided with bumps on the road loosening the contacts at the connection.
P.S. I did the TEK screw thing in the middle of a snowstorm 2 years ago and the heater fan still runs at full speed with no smoke or smell.
I discovered that the plug leading into the heater box(under the hood) had a loose connection. If I push it toward the right side(passenger) the fan picks up rpm's to the point where I think we will achieve liftoff.If I let it return to natural position, 1/2 speed returns. I didn't realize that my so-so heater was abnormal until I talked to several other people with same problem.I replaced the connections, but had same results. I solved the problem, by TEK screwing a screw to the right side inner fender wall at a right angle to the plug and running a zip tie to it to force it a little to the right. I've found 7 vehicles now that gained fan speed, so I think its very common. Hope this helps and I can't thank everybody enough for my recent 4x4 shift motor fix due to your info & help.(Two years with no 4 wheel drive).
