What is this thing under my dash?
 

It is on the passenger side. It is a cylinder about 4" long and 3/4" in diameter. It looks like it might be ceramic. It has 3 wires coming into it (on near each end and one in the middle). What is it. Given that I am gutting my car of all non-essential racecar parts, do I need it?

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Ceramic heat sink??

Cut the blue wire!!! No. wait, the red wire!!! Er, flip a coin.

Resistor Controller for you fan motor.

Series resistor for the footwell blowers.

Thanks. Since the blowers are out, it is coming out as well!

Ballast resistor for Crane ignition?

beer thru the nose!

hey, pgeorgeson, do you still happen to have the resistor with you? I'll buy it if you still have.

Maybe call your wife/police/FBI and ask them if they would like their tracking device back :D

I have one midnight911 - just removed from my 1985 Targa. Would you need the bracket too?

Thats a ballast power resistor used with any type of multi step blower. Since you are providing a constant 12v to the blower you tap off different legs of the resistor to provide different levels of current to the motor. The highest speed for example would not use the resistor and bypass, the next lowest speed would come off the first tap as some of the current is burned off as heat in the resisitor and so on .
These things sit in an air stream as they become unbelievably hot.

for future reference:

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