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Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon Electrical Problems

671 messages,  Last post on May 09, 2013 at 1:10 PM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Electrical, Truck

Messages Page 1 of 67

#1 of 671 Wiring problems by mikeof48

Mar 09, 2007 (9:27 pm)

My 2004 Chevrolet Colorado LS would not let the drivers window down nor lock or unlock with the remote fob. It is traced to the wiring going through the door. Has anyone else had this problem and will GM help get it fixed?

#2 of 671 Re: Wiring problems [mikeof48] by jtenpas

Mar 10, 2007 (1:19 pm)

Replying to: mikeof48 (Mar 09, 2007 9:27 pm)
SEE BELOW MESSAGE FROM OTHER THREAD.
 
#30 of 31 Re: 2004 Colorado remote lock problem, Please Help [delawhere1] by mike2250 Feb 19, 2007 (5:34 pm)
Bookmark | Reply | E-mail Msg
Replying to: delawhere1 (Feb 19, 2007 4:33 pm)
 
I recently posted about my experience with the same problem, Here in Florida we don't have cold weather so I knew it had to be something else. I took it back to my dealer who actually has a service department that doesn't let phantom problems go. The mechanic who worked on the truck told me it primarily happens on crew cabs and is aresult of the electrical clips on the bottom of the control module not being properly locked place. Repeated slamming the door and riding over bumps dislodge and then intermintedly cause the problem. He properly reattached the power plugs after applying dielectric grease to the contacts. So far so good.

#3 of 671 Air Bags by gmrozowski

Aug 17, 2007 (8:07 am)

Air Bag failed to deploy in my brother's 1995 GMC Canyon Pickup Truck. Mechanic said this was because he did not apply the brakes during the accident ?

#4 of 671 Re: Air Bags [gmrozowski] by kcram HOST

Aug 17, 2007 (3:21 pm)

Replying to: gmrozowski (Aug 17, 2007 8:07 am)
Air bags only deploy during a severe change in g-forces. Basically if you come to an almost instantaneous stop, the air bags will deploy. If you hit something that gives under impact and allows the vehicle's momentum to continue, the air basgs will probably not deploy.
 
kcram - Pickups Host

#5 of 671 Colorado driver's window and door lock electrical problems by snaproll1

Aug 19, 2007 (4:19 pm)

Replying to: jtenpas (Mar 10, 2007 1:19 pm)
You just saved me a lot of aggrivation and a trip to the dealer, thank you for your post.
 
My truck just developed the same problems. I rode 30 miles, turned it off to get directions, started it back up, pulled into a driveway, visited for a couple hours and then the truck wouldn't start, just solenoid clicking. The driver's window wouldn't work and on the dash it said "ABS Fault". I didn't have time to mess around so I got a jump and it started right up but the driver's side window, door locks and fob still wouldn't work.
 
I drove home just fine and the next day the truck started just fine and the window worked. I drove to an auto store figuring the battery was bad. I had it completely discharge last week forgetting a cooler I had running off the cigarette lighter. I figured the rapid charging might have cashed in the battery. (If you haven't discovered it yet, the battery is a "new design' and only available from the dealer of course). So I didn't get the battery but got jumper cables and took a deep cycle I had laying around for insurance if it happened again. The rest of the day, no issues. I thought everything was just fine. That was yesterday.
 
This morning, same cr#p. Truck battery was down, solenoid clicking. It jumped right away but the window, fob and locks were out again.
 
I hit internet and found your post. I took the panel with the buttons out, it's two screws in the grip, tilt forward and lift out. There are three wiring bundles that go into the window, lock and mirror unit. They have a little lock tab, press and gently pull out. Just to see the rest of it, I took the unit out of the panel, that's three screws. The unit has a white back held by one screw and plastic locking pressure clips on the side. I opened the unit and there is just a circuit board. I wanted to check inside for water damage I figured might have trickled in when the window was open. The board looked good. I put everything back together but sprayed the wiring bundle and socket with contact cleaner. (Of the three plugs, two are the same size so mark them to get them in the right place. I didn't do this but it was evident because of the wiring lengths). I snapped the plugs back and and the door locks and window came back to life.
 
I'm not sure if the weak battery is related or not. I also took apart the back door window switch panels and the one on the passenger side, but I think it was the driver's side that was causing the problems as that is the only one I used the contact cleaner on.
 
What a weird problem.
 
Other than that, I have 62K miles on my '05 extended cab. Initially I had a bur rubbing on the brake drum that made a horrible grinding noise. They took care of that in the first few days. After that not a stich of problems for the first year then the blower motor went out on the heater/AC. That was $200 bucks but I found out it's easily replaced by the owner, it's on the front firewall.
 
Just this summer I noticed that the front tires were wearing badly and I had them aligned and rotated. They were off on all three things, camber, toe and castor or whatever. Because of the wear in only 2 years I think they must not have been well aligned at the factory. Oh, also the headlights were also set too high and everybody hit me with their brights.
 
Shortly after I got it, maybe 6 months the steering started to make a kind of 'clunking' sound around corners, haven't figured out what that is. There is also a 'lifter tick' it's had since day one.
 
Generally it has been a good vehicle but it's starting to rattle and feel like my old Explorer did at 120K miles.
 
Again, thanks for the info on the weird electrical problem. Like I say it saved me a trip to the dealer, probably a new battery I don't need and a lot of screwing around on my own checking fuses and troubleshooting it myself.

#6 of 671 Re: Colorado driver's window and door lock electrical problems [snaproll1] by snaproll1

Aug 21, 2007 (9:51 am)

Replying to: snaproll1 (Aug 19, 2007 4:19 pm)
Well... the problem returned two days later. Same thing, dead/low battery, driver's window out, door locks and fob out, abs fault on the instrument panel.
 
I called the dealer, sounds like they never heard of this problem. The guy I did talk to says the ABS fault is problably because of the battery being low.
 
So something is draining the battery along with the other problem.
 
I'm guessing it must have to be in the driver's door unit. There is a small ciruit board and possibly a weak component like a resistor or something. I'm guessing this because I had the problem, took the unit apart like I say above and the problem was fixed. Nothing else was done to the truck other than messing with this door unit. Perhaps the problem is somewhere else and disconnecting this unit resets something somewhere else, but at least it appears narrowed down.
 
I've scheduled an appointment at the dealer in a few days but the window is open right now, so I'm going to mess with it and see if I can get it to work. I'll report the findings if I'm successful again tonight.

#7 of 671 Re: Colorado driver's window and door lock electrical problems [snaproll1] by snaproll1

Aug 21, 2007 (6:16 pm)

Replying to: snaproll1 (Aug 21, 2007 9:51 am)
Well, I got home, truck still not working, took apart the window module again, took out the wiring plugs, spayed them with contact cleaner and taaa-dah, the window and locks work again. Definitely something is funky with that module and it's connectors.
 
Based on this, reading an earlier post where the dealer told the guy that "the circuit has to cool from raising both windows at the same time" or whatever is complete cr#p.
 
The conditions were dry the first time it happened, the truck had just been driven 30 miles, shut off, restarted again, parked for a couple hours and the problem came out of the blue. A jump started the truck, it was driven home, parked overnight, the problem healed itself. Fine all day. Next morning dead. As soon as I disassembled the module and sprayed the contacts with cleaner it worked again. Fine for the rest of the day. Next morning dead again. Drove it broke all day, it didn't heal itself. Got home, cleaned the contacts again and the problem is fixed.
 
So the first time it fixed itself, the next two it was broken until I messed with the window/lock/mirror module, cleaned the contacts and it worked right away. It's hard to believe it could be related to anything else like the instrument cluster.
 
I still have the dealer appointment for this Friday so I'll keep posting if the thing dies again or if the dealer has any fixes. In the mean time I'm going to have to drive around with a screwdriver, can of contact cleaner and a spare battery and jumper cables

#8 of 671 Re: Colorado driver's window and door lock electrical problems [snaproll1] by mikeof48

Aug 21, 2007 (6:37 pm)

Replying to: snaproll1 (Aug 21, 2007 9:51 am)
have had the problem once, where the Colorado's windows, locks and remote wouldn't work. My mechanic showed me that the wiring going through the front door was pinched and probably shorting this out. I asked the dealer ( It's out of warranty) and they said the next time the problem occurs to bring it in. My mechanic suggested twisting the wire to see if this would allow everything to work properly. So far, at 53,000 miles, this has only happened once, but it might be worth looking in to.

#9 of 671 Re: Colorado driver's window and door lock electrical problems [mikeof48] by snaproll1

Aug 24, 2007 (10:13 am)

Replying to: mikeof48 (Aug 21, 2007 6:37 pm)
It crapped out again. And I fixed it again. In to the shop today. They say it's the BCM. I told them to call it the BECM, Big Expensive Computer Module. It's three hundred bucks and some change. Maybe they're right.
 
Having taken it apart I can't see how wiring is getting pinched in the door. I wiggled the wires and connectors, no effect. It was only when I unhooked the harnesses and sprayed contact cleaner on them that it worked.
 
The dealer I'm going to are pretty square shooters so I'm going to trust them... this time. If the problem happens again in the next few days I will raise holly hell for sure.

#10 of 671 Re: Colorado driver's window and door lock electrical problems [snaproll1] by snaproll1

Aug 27, 2007 (7:30 am)

Replying to: snaproll1 (Aug 24, 2007 10:13 am)
Ok, Friday afternoon I get the call. The truck is not ready. They've discovered that the fuse block is bad and probably shorted out and probably trashed BCM. They said that they would get Chevy to cover the fuse block. How thoughtful. The truck was not drivable so I had to make due this weekend. The truck should be done today... unless they discover something else that is wrong with a 2 year old vehicle...

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