For over a year now I have had unusual random electrical problems such as the windows not working along with driver side switch panel. The latest problem included NOTHING working. No windows, locks, or mirrors and would occasionally not crank to start. The car threw 17 codes at me, the DIC read reduced engine power, service ABS/traction tire pressure system etc etc you name it it said it. I did all the main fixes that I have read over the last year which included checking/cleaning all grounds, cleaning battery connections, making sure the battery is good, water in passenger footwell at BCM, battery acid leakage on PCM etc etc. All of these came up fine in my car and was totally lost at this point. Last night I stumbled across a thread regarding this exact issue and read a reply from forum member NOT-MEE saying to try squeezing and moving the drivers side rubber door boot. Thinking there is no way this could do anything I tried it anyway and to my surprise I was able to get the problem to come and go!!! After 1 YEAR of issues it all came down to ONE connector having poor connections (not corroded just loose).
The fix is straight forward and simple. Since the connector doesnt seem repairable I will end up bypassing it completely by running new wires and cutting off each connector.
Access to these connectors is very easy as is the door boot. The door panel does not need to come off. I just had that off for furthur diagnosing. Here are pictures showing the harness and wire bundles that go through the door boot. I just have them pulled out of the boot and re-attached to show exactly what I am talking about. These pictures were prior to me bypassing the black connector. The blue connector appears to be strictly audio wiring and does not need to be re-wired.
I hope this helps someone out as my electrical nightmares appear to be over and it cost me $0 to fix and about 30 minutes of my time. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

JT

 

Brian (Not-Mee) is one of the good guys

 

I read your other thread - glad to hear this simple & cheap outcome.

I must admit I would have been beside myself trying to figure this electrical nightmare out - I HATE electrical gremlins! Glad to see some things are within reach of simple minded people like me!! I have no such issues now (knock on wood) but will keep your experience in mind if needed in the future.

Thanks for sharing!!

 

I also read your other post, thanks for sharing the fix and the pictures.
Electrical is my worst enemy, even on my old ford truck (79) i hate wires, I wouldnt even know where to begin on the Vette, with the problems you described, or any other for that matter.
Thanks again

 

Bravo! I am going to archive this message and photos just in case....
Thanks for posting!

 

Good stuff buddy, thanks. Its incredibily helpful to us all when people take the time to post the fixes/solutions they have found!

 

Thanks James....A great KILL story we can all appreciate!

 

Glad it worked out for you. Thanks for sharing, good information.

 

Thats one for the archive

Great write up thanks

 

This one need to go into C5 Tech. Intermittant electrical gremlins suck to diagnose, this post should be considered a huge time and money saver.

 

Just a quick follow up as I just finished eliminating that black connector. It appears that this problem is simply due to bad design in the connector itself. The pinouts on both sides were extremely loose and that explains why this is an intermitant problem. Everytime you open and close that door it can move that connector. I guess it just finally really bumped it loose the other day explaining why it gave me every code and problem in the book. I used solder and heat wrap to ensure perfect connections. The car is back to 100% everything works as it should and no codes have re-appeared. Again I want to thank Brian (NOT-MEE) since he is the one that originally isolated this problem. I have a feeling this would have been a pricey repair for just the diagnosing alone at the stealership.

Thanks again,
JT

 

Hi JTS97Z28 -

Nice!

Great pics and explanation.

Thank you!

best regards -

mqqn

 

Glad you worked it out

Im going to look thru my connector books maybe I can find a positive lock insulation displacement connector that will work.
This new connector will replace the substandard black connector.
I need to look at circuit and see what current draw is.

 

I'm trying this now. SAME friggin problems started happening to me out of the blue yesterday. I was able to get the passenger window/lock to work some by jiggling the wires but now the battery is completely dead.

The previous owner put a cheap Wal Mart battery in the car...could the battery be the problem as well? I have seen posts from a few people stating that a bad battery or low voltage battery was the problem and to get an Optima Red Top or the like. I went to Autozone and they tested it and said it 'was fine.'

 

Great info guys!

My passenger window and door lock stopped today. This connector was the issue.

 

Hate to bump a thread this old, but it help fix my problem. Thanks for taking the time JTS.