Ok guys, like a month ago...i got in my car (2003 zo6, 30k miles, clean) started the engine, and the steering wheel locked up. I mean, no matter how many times i shook the steering wheel, the steering wheel was just locked up. I shut the engine off and restarted the car, and nothing changed. The steering wheel stayed locked up until i towed it to the dealership and paid 900 dollars to get a new relay and some other part because of the anti-theft deterrant system.

I got that fixed...but just yesterday is a whole different story. I was on my way to drop off my gf at the doc's office and then my driver side button panel stopped working. I couldnt roll my window up/down, couldnt lock/unlock, memory light or button wouldnt work on the driver side at all. Then, when i got to the doctor's office...waited outside for about an hour...the button panels started working again.
Then, i got in the car and drove for about 30 minutes...and it stopped working. Then on the odometer display, it started saying "reducing power" "service active handling soon" and something about traction control.

I went to the dealership to get it looked out and they said the driver-side control module shorted out and that may have also caused the traction control display to come up. Has anyone had this problem yet?

PLEASE HELP ME GUYS! I really dont feel like spending another grand fixing a small problem like this.

 

do a fix for $5. Do a search of door control module fix and there is a step by step how to on replacing the $5 relays that go bad. I was able to do this and it solved my problem.

 

sc0re:
removing the door pannel is pretty easy. you may purchase a few extra fastners before you take it apart. I used ABS fixer to repair my ABS module http://www.absfixer.com/
this too was fairly easy to remove/replace - good luck

 

Hi sc0re2 -

First of all - you should not have paid a cent for the column lock recall - that is what happened to you the first time - your dealer should not have charged you - shame on them - unless they are in some Podunk little town and have never seen a c5 before, they WOULD have know about this Technical Service Bulletin.

You need to do a little research here -check the stickies for Column Lock -

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1312929

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1015483

GM has refunded people in the past - you should be able to get a full refund of that money (again - I am suspicious that your dealer even charged you - do you trust the dealership at all??)

Second - you may have a problem with the BCM - but it kinda sounds like a weak battery - these cars start acting like you describe when the battery voltage is low.

Check it out - try to get the $900 back from that stealership....ask them why they charged you to perform what is spelled out in three technical service bulletins.

best regards -

mqqn

 

This is covered by a recall. This seems like a good time to write a letter to the president of GM about the dealer charging you for a recall. GM can get quite nasty about those things especially if the dealer also charged them for doing the repair. Their are some dealers who have no problems collecting from you and GM if nobody catches them.

Bill

 

Thanks alot guys, i spent alot of time reading the special policies and the recall stuff. Do you guys think i can get a refund if i just show up to the dealership with my reciept and ask for the refund and if they dont, call the 800 number and give the special policy number?

 

Absolutely! There is no reason you should have had to pay for the recall work.

 

If they charged $900, they probably replaced the column lock actuator, which is not really required to make the car driveable. The aftermarket column lock bypass kits leave the actuator disconnected, and the GM Harness K relay will work with the actuator disconnected, even though the recall leaves it connected to the harness. You can hear the actuator cycle, but the lockplate is removed, so the column cannot physically lock. Keeping the actuator in the circuit is supposed to help balance the loads on the BCM.

 

It hasn't been my experience that dealers do things the right way. I'll bet they did the bare minimum to fix it, then charged for it.

 

I can't fix all the problems you reported, but I can definitely help you with the loss of power in the door. Why? Because the same exact thing happened to me on my '02 Z:

Inside the vertical part of the door jam, you will see a rubber boot that attaches to the body of the car and door. Disconnect the boot from these places and then you will see a set of wiring going from the door to the car body. In this wiring, there are I believe two different connectors. One of these connectors provides the power to the door. You will need to get to the connector, pry it apart (which with regret, is no fun), and use component cleaner to clean. This connector is your problem. I have some pictures of this connector at home. Tonight, if I remember, I will post a picture.

Do this before considering considering to replace the door control module. If you have any further questions, PM me and I will give you my phone number. I question if it really shorted out.

-Matt

 

Mine did this also....but I had a different connection that wasn't mating up properly.

There are 13 (if I recall correctly) grounding points on the car. One of them is on the left-inside footwell. Basically..if you put your head where your clutch pedal is...and look straight left...you'll see a connector connecting to the side of the footwell.

Mine was loose. Plugging it back up properly solved my problems.

 

mine was the relay, but these are all good suggestions to fix the problem.

 

OK... Here it is as promised. The connector in the door boot,



Now let me tell ya, reaching this S.O.B. (unless you have tiny tiny hands) and then pulling it a part is a royal pain. Pull this apart, clean it with electronic component cleaner which you can buy at Pep Boys should re-store power to the door. Oh... and don't forget, once cleaned, use DI Electric grease (also purchased at Pep Boys) so that this fun problem does not rear its ugly head again.

I hope this helps. -Matt

 

Hye everyone, i just went ahead and got the body control module replaced but I'm having even more problems now. The driver side and the passenger side sometimes loses all power. Then, on my display it'll say that : service vehicle soon, traction control needs to be serviced, and the traction control light comes on, the oil pressure drops to zero, the fuel gauge will go to empty, and then the temperature will shoot straight up to overheating. Can you guys help me out one more time.

 

Make sure your battery is in good condition and putting out 12volts, then check all the ground points. Low voltage and poor grounds can cause a lot of electrical gremlins on these cars. There is a post somewhere on where the major ground points are located and how to clean them with contact cleaner.

Ground information is in the sticky at the top of the TECH section.
Bill Curlee is the resident expert on trouble shooting electrical problems. He was having a lot of the same issues when he posted the article on cleaning all the chassis ground connectors.

 

sc0re2,
....Reading your posts I think I understand that you have taken your car a couple times to a dealership where they have charged you for something that should have been covered free as a recall and for a body control module replacement which was apparently NOT the problem. The people on this forum and the information they provide in current threads and the stickies at the top of the forum could have saved you a bunch of money. If I was you I would search this forum thoroughly and aks questions before taking the car to any dealership in the future and definitely not ever take it back to the one you have been to.
Jeff

 

Sounds to me like the dealership (stealership) is absolutely screwing you on the issue of the recall ..... you have spent a bundle of money which you should not have to have paid ..... I'd call the GM Customer Service line and discuss this with them ( 800-222-1020 ) .... be professional and calm in your discussion with them ... have your VIN available, the name and address of the dealership, and whatever other documentation you might have.

As far as your problem with the door module, dump the DTC data and post it here in the forum, someone will be able to help you with it, if you don't know how to display the data, go here .....

https://www.corvetteforum.com/techti...D=26&TopicID=1

and then post the results ...