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Pontiac Montana Electrical Issues

202 messages,  Last post on Jan 10, 2013 at 4:11 AM

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What is this discussion about? Pontiac Montana, Pontiac Montana SV6, Van

Messages Page 3 of 21

#13 of 202 Fuel Gauge Issues by svtmustang

Mar 28, 2007 (6:10 pm)

I have a 2001 Montana with 63,000 miles. Recently we have begun to have problems with the fuel gauge. The gauge reads fine with the tank full, down through say half-tank. Below that its totally not accurate. At some point you will notice that the needle is all over the place. When its starts this "bouncing" the tank is getting pretty close to empty. I'm worried that me not so observant wife is going to run the thing out of gas (I put 22.7 gallons in tonight). I have had fuel gauge problems in other vehicles before and its usually been related to a bad ground. Any idea where to look for the sender ground?
 
Sorry for the wordy post. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
 
Mike

#14 of 202 Re: montana turn signals [seppy] by jhirneisen

Apr 15, 2007 (9:21 pm)

Replying to: seppy (Nov 17, 2006 8:43 pm)
I had the same problem....very common with this vehicle! It was a short in the rear light connector for the brake light / tail light / turn signal fixture. The GM supplier used a plastic connector that would not withstand the heat, so it started to melt, and the black power wire shorted out other wires. It can also cause electrical feedback problems with ABS and Traction Control System false error warnings. You will need to cut out the connector and replace it with a new one....about $55 for the part at the dealer...plus mega bucks in labor. I did it myself.
Jack Hirneisen
Colorado

#15 of 202 Power window problems by jhirneisen

Apr 15, 2007 (9:30 pm)

I have a 1999 Pontiac Montana mini-van with a burned out power window motor on the passenger side. I purchased a new window motor and tested it with a 12-volt power source before I installed it....it runs properly for both forward (up) and reverse (down) motions. The motor has two male prongs...the down-motion male prong goes into the brown wire side of the female plug connector, the up-motion male prong goes into the blue wire side of the female plug connector. The motor sits in a plastic plug that does not have a ground. We think that the brown and blue wires act as alternating power / ground, i.e, brown as power and blue as ground (to lower the window), then blue for power and brown as ground (to raise the window). I then plugged the motor into the female plug from the up/down window control switch. Using the window control switches, I tried to lower the window or raise the window....it does not work. Note that the drivers side window switch for the drivers side window works fine, so I doubt that it's a fuse or circuit breaker problem. We ran some more tests; ....down motion via jumpering the brown male motor prong to the brown wire on the female plug, and a ground wire on the blue male motor prong, and depressed the window switch down.....it worked properly. Doing the same test on the up switch with the blue wire did not work. So the switch's down motion works, but the switch's up motion does not work. Through several tests we found that the brown female wire was providing power, but the blue wire is not providing power and is not a good ground.
Here are some possibilities: when the original motor burned out, the window switch circuit board up-function might have fried. I'll check the circuit board for any visual signs damage. Another possibility is the blue wire is broken....which is going to be tough to find.
I'm trying to find a wiring diagram, but no luck so far.
Has anyone had similar problems with this vehicle (or Olds Sillouette or Chevy Lumina APV)?
Any suggestions?
Many thanks,
Jack Hirneisen

#16 of 202 Re: Power window problems [jhirneisen] by jhirneisen

Apr 19, 2007 (8:33 pm)

Replying to: jhirneisen (Apr 15, 2007 9:30 pm)
I think I found the problem.....when the right front power window motor shorted out, it fried the right window up/down switch. I finally found the problem with help of a wiring diagram...obtained by my friend from AllDataPro.com (a pay for use site) and I ran about 25 different tests.
Jack in Colorado

#17 of 202 Re: Power window problems [jhirneisen] by jhirneisen

Apr 19, 2007 (9:43 pm)

Replying to: jhirneisen (Apr 19, 2007 8:33 pm)
If you want to view a summary of the Recalls and Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) for your vehicle, go to: http://www.alldatadiy.com/
Then on the right margin it will ask; "Choose Car Year". Enter the year, i.e. 1999.
It will then come back asking for model, etc.
I entered mine; a 1999 Pontiac Montana 3.4 Litre V-6.
I got 3 Recalls and 148 TSBs. Click on: http://www.alldatadiy.com/TSB/49/994902gn.html
to see my results. That's about all you get for free. You will need to subscribe to their service for more detailed info, or find a friend that subscribes.
Good luck.
Jack in Colorado

#18 of 202 rear door and gas gauge by montana99

Apr 28, 2007 (7:47 pm)

Hello, I just bought a 99 Pontiac transport Montana that has most of the bells and whistles.It has 241,000kms on it.
3 problems. 1. when I first bought it the gas gauge would go to full and as i drove it a few blocks it would fall to empty. At Cdn Tire they told me to put an additive (Valvoline) in the gas tank, now the gauge went to full and stayed there, no more movement. the vehicle had been sitting idle since last fall.
2. the rear door refuses to open with either the flicker or the hard key, it clicks but won't open.
3. Also the clock doesn't lit up and the volume control doesn't operate as it should.
Any ideas???
Paul

#19 of 202 Re: rear door and gas gauge [montana99] by jhirneisen

Apr 28, 2007 (9:18 pm)

Replying to: montana99 (Apr 28, 2007 7:47 pm)
For the gas gauge.....might be a bad gas gauge sending unit which is in the gas tank. GM had lots of problems with this part which was supplied by an outside vender. They issued a TSB on it, but you probably have too many miles on your vehicle to qualify for a free replacement.
Jack in Colorado

#20 of 202 Re: rear door and gas gauge [jhirneisen] by montana99

Apr 30, 2007 (3:32 pm)

Replying to: jhirneisen (Apr 28, 2007 9:18 pm)
Hi Jack
Thanks for the response. Briefly, yesterday the led lit up on my radio, after I switched off the ignition and restarted, it wouldn't lit up again. As far as the rear latch and the gas gauge are concerned, when we buy vehicles in Ontario, they have to be safetied and these two items are part of the package so I'll go back to the dealer I bought it from for correction. I was hoping to find someone who had first hand knowledge of these two problems to save time, hope the mechanic knows.
Paul

#21 of 202 Door problems by mlkutter

May 02, 2007 (9:27 pm)

Having problems with the passenger automatic sliding door on my 2000.
Gets stuck often to the point that we don't use that side anymore.
Any suggestions?

#22 of 202 Re: Fuel Gauge Issues [svtmustang] by mlkutter

May 02, 2007 (9:29 pm)

Replying to: svtmustang (Mar 28, 2007 6:10 pm)
Having the same problem here.
Have you heard anything back?

Messages Page 3 of 21

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