ejscarfo

This forum has never let me down when it comes to questions for my 85 C4 so I figured I'd drop this here and maybe I can get some help as well.

I picked up a nice 2009 Traverse with only 69k miles on it last week. Everything looks like new and it runs and drives great. The only problem I have is lack of audio. There’s no audio coming from the speakers in any mode nor do my directional "click" or do I have chimes, etc. Its all quiet (directionals, backup alarm, door chimes all run thru the door speaker). I knew this was a common problem when I was doing my research so I didn’t care thinking I knew what the problem was and bought the truck anyway. I knew from prior research that water leakage in these trucks is common too so I checked the door plug connectors and water was present on both sides, but only on the rear doors. I dried out the rear connectors and put some dielectric grease on them. From the water leakage, and from what I read on other forums, I was fairly sure the amp was fried and needed to be replaced, the water somehow back feeds and shorts the amp. It has the Bose 10 speaker option in it btw.

So, I replaced the amp over the weekend and still have the same issue, no sound. By the way, changing that amp out is a real PITA for anyone that has to do it. It was easier doing the heater core in my 85 Trans Am during a blizzard with 60mph winds wearing just pj's.

I'm going to test the speakers to see if they are good next, I can't believe all 10 speakers are blown, but if the front door one is shot, then at least I'll start with replacing that. I'm also going to verify power is going to the amp, which means I'm getting under the dash to take the amp out, again. A local shop told me it could also be the head unit and 80% of the time they see this problem, it's the radio that has gone south, like the pre-amp has died. I hate dealing with electrical gremlins, so much for thinking I knew what the problem was when I bought the truck, and I want to avoid the dealer at all costs. They are my last resort.

Anyone has any other tips or suggestions to fix or diagnose this problem, I’m all eyes. I'd be curious to hear if anyone here has one of these trucks and has had this issue and fixed it.

Thanks!

pjazz

Are you sure it's a leakage problem as opposed to the car having been in a flood? If it is the head unit I imagine you could get a pretty cheap replacement on ebay.

ejscarfo

If the car was in a flood, CarFax owes me money LOL....these cars all have water leaks, some worse than others. So far, I've only found water collecting in those rear door connectors. It's rained here for a couple of days straight and those connectors have stayed dry so either my sealing them worked or the car wash was the cause of all the water that I initially found.

New head units are cheap and I planned on doing one soon, I want Apple CarPlay and the radio in there is too old and doesn't even have BT music streaming without the use of an FM modulator. But before I make that jump, I wanted to know more about how the system is wired in case I need to gut it all out. As it's tied to the BCM, that could be problematic.

ejscarfo

I've been meaning to post an update to this. I wound up fixing the no sound problem while diagnosing a no rear wiper issue. While fuses were good, the connection was starting to corrode (damn Chinese wiring). I cleaned up the main line into the fuse box and not only did it fix the rear wiper, but sound came back too. It's been over 2 months and so far so good.

JoesC5

The Chinese may have manufactured the wiring, but a GM engineer either designed the wiring or, if the Chinese designed the wiring, GM engineers approved the design.

ejscarfo

Either way, whoever is responsible needs a good kick in the butt. Ever try to pull and / or replace a fuse in one these trucks? Not fun.