Help!Whats this on my connector?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 829
Likes: 39
From: sun prairie wi
Help!Whats this on my connector?
My power seat circuit breaker gets real hot and this resistor? starts smoking!The circuit breaker only powers for a second before it trips.This connector is inside the console.Does anyone know what it is?does?And how to fix it?My seat is stuck in the short and up position.Not very comfortable to me.BTW:Its a 91 coupe.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
That isn't a resistor, it is a diode which conducts voltage pulses when the motor is turned off to protect the ECM and other solid state electronic devices. The diode does not conduct with the polarity applied to the motor. In your case, it is likely that the diode has failed shorted and this is why it smokes and your circuit breaker trips. They aren't expensive and you can test the diode with an ohmeter. If it is shorted an ohmeter will show very low resistance (under a couple ohms) with your ohmeter probes connected either way across the diode leads.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,021
Likes: 7
From: Morgan Hill and Marina California
likely have it, if you knew the specs.
If you don't have the specs, you are like going to need the GM
replacement part. Note that it must be installed the correct way
round.
Chuck
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 829
Likes: 39
From: sun prairie wi
OK,I got 0 ohms reading.I called my local chevy dealer and he said the connector is no longer available.I checked online and there connectors don't have the diode attached.I went out with a magnifying glass and got these numbers from it.9047 505-300 GI .While checking with some diode dist. they say the numbers no good.Should I just try and get one from a used corvette? Does anyone know if I can get the correct diode?Thanks
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,516
Likes: 0
From: Lockport NY
OK,I got 0 ohms reading.I called my local chevy dealer and he said the connector is no longer available.I checked online and there connectors don't have the diode attached.I went out with a magnifying glass and got these numbers from it.9047 505-300 GI .While checking with some diode dist. they say the numbers no good.Should I just try and get one from a used corvette? Does anyone know if I can get the correct diode?Thanks
Also, most GM parts are shared across models and brands...So if you do Google it, specifying Corvette may not turn up a Cadillac part that is the same thing...
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 829
Likes: 39
From: sun prairie wi
Googling didn't help.I did find a forum thread that said they got one at radioshack but it didn't list a part number.So close!I'm still not understanding what its purpose is?Does it send power spikes to the neg side to trip the circuit breaker?
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,624
Likes: 2
From: Canandaigua New York
No.
It prevents spikes from returning back into the circuit to prevent an overload which would otherwise trip the breaker or fry the circuit.
This diode has the 'negative' side tied to ground to prevent spikes and limit the current draw on the circuit.
If either your motor winding or some other part of the circuit develops a short or heavy draw, the diode is designed to 'short to ground' to stop the flow of current to the circuit to prevent any more damage.
Removing it may return the circuit back to operation BUT you will have no over current protection.
I would remove the diode and then test the circuit for current draw to try to determine why the diode shorted in the first place.
Last edited by Keystring; Apr 11, 2012 at 09:18 AM.
