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Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon Electrical Problems

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

You are in the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon Forum.

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

Messages Page 65 of 68

#638 of 671 Re: 2005 Chevy Colorado Ignition Problems, Windows & Locks problems and mor [luciro] by bitsmasher

Feb 22, 2012 (6:25 pm)

Replying to: luciro (Feb 22, 2012 11:13 am)
Hi Lucrio,
If you have some time before surrendering it to the dealer, try this - take the driver's door switch out but leave it connected. On the blue connector there is an orange wire. This should have 12 volts direct from the fuse. Try to get a probe from a voltmeter into the back of the connector and put the other probe into the ignition switch (or another good ground) and see if you have a solid 12v. With the meter in the connector, try pressing on the lock and unlock to see if the voltage drops to 0.
If it drops (and nothing happens) you most likely have a problem between that wire and the battery – probably the fuse connector in the fuse block. Probably the easiest way around this is to run a good 12v line with an inline fuse to splice into the orange wire.
What I did was jam some copper strands in with the fuse legs, making the fuse legs a bit beefier and thus a better connection – it worked but I don’t know how long it will last – been working for a year so far.
Good luck!

#639 of 671 Re: 2005 Chevy Colorado Ignition Problems, Windows & Locks problems and more... [den052] by snaproll1

Feb 23, 2012 (3:27 pm)

Replying to: den052 (Feb 22, 2012 6:16 pm)
"So, end result is that you and I are both right. A glitch can screw up a body computer and re-initalizing the computer straightens it out (at least untill it screws up again). "
 
Well, I wonder if it is a "Chicken and Egg" kind of thing. What if there is something like a poor ground which causes current to backfeed to a different ground is what causes the BCM "glitch" in the first place. Perhaps it fries the BCM or just gets it to throw false codes. The dealers happily replace the $400 dollar item because it is "bad". Maybe it is, maybe it's just the bad ground and confluence of circumstances which fried the BCM but may not happen for another two weeks or two years.
 
Possibly it goes the other way around. Perhaps these confluence of circumstances (poor programming code/errors) causes the BCM to not fully shut down sometimes and constant power is applied to the door module which burns it out and drains the battery. Maybe because of the dead battery the BCM "resets" in some way while someone tries one of the voodoo tricks like touching the leads together, cleaning all the grounds, sacraficing a virgin over the radiator or whatever and the window works, so whatever they tried becomes a 'solution'.
 
I sure as heck wouldn't want to troubleshoot the electrical system and component computer code to find a definite answer... and apparently GM doesn't want to waste the time either. It's just more lucrative to claim "Hecky-darned, imagine that, it's a bad BCM again, bummer for you, here's the bill... again" and collect the fee. Obama needs those reelection donation dollars rolling in!

#640 of 671 Re: 2005 Chevy Colorado Ignition Problems, Windows & Locks problems and more... [snaproll1] by abczz

Feb 26, 2012 (1:11 pm)

Replying to: snaproll1 (Feb 23, 2012 3:27 pm)
the politics in this post is incorrect. If you just post the problem generally on google, you would fined that other vehicles like toyota tacoma has similar problems as colorado. there is no escaping this problem. I am beginning to believe it,s a general problem throughout the industry. There is a lot of shared parts today.
 
My power door lock,window problem corrects it self. It goes off and on with out me doing anything. It started just a couple of years a go,around the sane tine My right blinker shorted out. thats the only problem I had so far, however. I had changed the battery after 6 years and the problem went away for the better part of a year, but now it,s back.
 
I love my truck an I plan on keeping it .I also have a 2010 toyota camry, that needs tires after only 20,000 miles and a lot of call- backs.
when i bought the camry I watched as the toyota dealer changed the frames on the tacoma,s because of sever rot.
 
After I was seeing how it comes and goes,i am thinking it,s a computer glitch .

#641 of 671 Re: 2005 Chevy Colorado Ignition Problems, Windows & Locks problems and more... [abczz] by colo04canyon

Feb 26, 2012 (1:58 pm)

Replying to: abczz (Feb 26, 2012 1:11 pm)
How about even more generally that we acknowledge that as consumers the more 'gadgets' we want on our vehicles, the more things there are to break and cost us time , money and frustration, regardless of the manufacturer!
 
Power windows, power doors, myriad vanity lighting and things have /always/ been sources of problems. Now we are demanding a whole new generation of problem-creators like bluetooth integration, navigation systems, drink chillers etc that will cause an additional layer of problems. If you want a more reliable, or less-costly vehicle to buy and repair, then buy them without all of the gadgets. Otherwire face the fact that they will cost you extra money eventually, no matter how well designed or reliable the component might be. Cars should have a body, seats, doors, engines, wheels and saftey lights. All else is essentially superfluous.

#642 of 671 Re: 2005 Chevy Colorado Ignition Problems, Windows & Locks problems and more... [abczz] by snaproll1

Feb 27, 2012 (7:57 pm)

Replying to: abczz (Feb 26, 2012 1:11 pm)
"the politics in this post is incorrect. If you just post the problem generally on google, you would fined that other vehicles like toyota tacoma has similar problems as colorado. there is no escaping this problem. "
 
Ummmm, no. I don't agree with the "every vendor is the same" excuse. There is an obvious, reoccuring problem with the electrical system on the Colorados and Canyons that GM says "they never heard of" as they size up your wallet.
 
Perhaps you don't mind paying for something and not have it work, or paying for repairs that don't actually fix the problem but this goes way beyond that. You expect tires to wear out. You expect an alternator or starter to eventually go bad. You don't "expect" to have intermittent electrical failures of critical components like the battery, brake lights, windows, wipers, headlights, panel lights, fuse block not to mention the CD player, blower, blower resistor. How many vehicles have you owned that required a head replacement because of poor engineering?
 
True, every vendor can turn out a turkey product. What it comes down to is if they stand behind their product, not whether they stand behind Obama to stay in business.
 
GM=

#643 of 671 Re: 2005 Chevy Colorado Ignition Problems, Windows & Locks problems and more... [snaproll1] by fmagellan

Apr 16, 2012 (10:07 am)

Replying to: snaproll1 (Feb 27, 2012 7:57 pm)
Snap,
 
Ever try to change the rotors in a Colorado or Canyon? You wanna talk about poor engineering. If I had known of the cluster**** they made of the wheel/braking assembly, I would have NEVER bought my Colorado. If you have never seen it, check it out online. It's a nightmare!!!

#644 of 671 Re: 2005 Chevy Colorado Ignition Problems, Windows & Locks problems and more... [fmagellan] by snaproll1

Apr 16, 2012 (11:01 am)

Replying to: fmagellan (Apr 16, 2012 10:07 am)
Actually the truth of the matter is I had an Explorer before the Colorado. That had disc brakes all the way around. I thought the drums in the back on the Colorado were a little bit bush league and the lack of stopping power was noticable, but I just got used to driving it that way.
 
The brakes were the first problem I had with the truck though. The truck was about 3 days old. I made a right hand turn and heard this horrible and loud metal on metal grinding kind of noise. Only when I turned to the right. So I take it back to the dealer. The tech that had to work on it was kind of miffed, he says, "You shouldn't even bring the thing back in unless it has at least a thousand miles on it". Huh? Not. I got the sales rep, raised hell, and I'm driving in circles in the parking lot with three guys in the bed and two listening from outside to the grinding. It turns out there was a big bur on the rotor that was grinding.
 
The most amusing one these morons did was to the steering. I forgot what I brought it in for, maybe it was the head replacement. Anyway, I'm driving out of their parking lot, making a left turn onto the highway and the steering wheel locks up and I'm aiming back into the oncoming lane that naturally has a semi barreling down on me. I tugged the wheel. Still locked. I yanked it and it came free and I steered out of the semi's way. I do a 180 and head back into the dealer. Turns out the monkeys managed to get a wire wrapped around the steering column. When I turned left it tightened up and jammed so the steering wheel couldn't turn back to the right, (that is until the wire broke. At least they didn't charge me for repairing their stupidity that time).
 
This was also a couple of years before the whole fob/window/battery thing began to manifest itself.
 
I can't say it enough... GM=

#645 of 671 Re: Drivers power window, door locks stopped working [mrwebman] by higgsriggs

May 06, 2012 (6:09 am)

Replying to: mrwebman (Feb 10, 2009 4:32 pm)
I know this an old post but I am now having the same problem with my door locks right after changing the battery. 04 Colorado The only thing I read in your solution was tapping a relay. Which relay? I happen to have a neighbor that has a 06 exactly the same and since I fix both his vehicles he allowed me to try his BCM and I also try installing his door controls. Still I do not have door that unlock with the FOB nor when you put into park.

#646 of 671 Engine Whistle by higgsriggs

May 06, 2012 (6:26 am)

I have a 04 colorado 5 cyl. When the weather is reasonbly warm I have noticed a whistle when I hit about 1800 RPM on a cold engine. It will go away once the engine warms up to toperating temp. It is not a squeal it is more of a whistle like when a pressure system is building up. Soon as I pass over the 1800 RPM it quits. then when I slow down again to 1800 RPM it appears.
Any ideas ?

#647 of 671 Re: Drivers power window, door locks stopped working [higgsriggs] by snaproll1

May 06, 2012 (7:13 am)

Replying to: higgsriggs (May 06, 2012 6:09 am)
One thing to try that has worked for some folks, is just disconnect the battery and leave the truck overnight. That has worked for some folks. The other is of course removing and replacing the window module in the driver's door. If neither of these easy fixes work, then you are just shooting in the dark, replacing the window module, checking bad grounds, kinked wiring lose of burned fuse blocks.
 
Also the heads go bad, the alternator is undersized, the blower motor and resistor fries, the CD player fails, the list goes on. Your best bet is to sell the thing before you sink more money into it.
 
It really is a shame because the truck is a nice concept. It really would have been nice if GM had engineered it like a vehicle rather than money maker for their service department.

Messages Page 65 of 68

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