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Tom
Instrument Cluster (gauges) - You already said yes to that one
Hazard Switch?
AC Control Head (below radio)
Ashtray Lamp (if there is one)
Trunk Release Switch
Gear Display indicator on shifter
Radio (buttons - not the display)
Fog Lamp switch (if you have fog lamps)
Panel Dimmer Switch (with thumbwheel)
Then on the doors:
Driver Mirror Switch
Driver Window Switch
Driver Door Lock Switch
Passenger Door Lock Switch
Passenger Window Switch
Sunroof Switch
If only the Instrument Cluster lights up does the intensity change with operation of the "panel dimmer switch"??
That's it for now - The fuse most involved with this stuff is on right hand side of instrument panel (called INST LAMPS on "label"). There is a separate transistor module that created the dimmer output voltage depending on the position of the panel dimmer switch.
Plus, I got my new headrests installed today. The angle of the old ones didn't bother me much although I was aware of them at my head. With the new ones installed, I believe I was driving with my head slightly tilted forward. Anyone who has an '04 really should get the new headrests for your car. There was no charge for the headrests .
Cheers, and hopefully this is the last time I need to post on this board.
http://www.prolineracks.com/sportrack-a30901-2ez-bike-racks.html
I don't think I've ever seen any type of trailer hitch on a new ('04 and later) Malibu.
Does anyone have a receiver hitch on their malibu?
The Hazard Switch does function but has the same problem as (gauge) night light isn't working.
AC Control Head does function but night light is not working.
Trunk Release does function but night light not working
Gear Display indicator on shifter , the night light is also not working.
Radio Well I have a Custom Cd Player but all the lights on that are working.
Panel Dimmer Switch (with thumbwheel) is not working at all.
Driver Mirror Switch Does function but night light not working
Driver Window Switch Does function but night light not working
Driver Door Lock Switch does function but night light not working
Passenger Door Lock Switch Does not have night light at least I dont believe so and if it does, I"m sure it doesn't have night light also
Passenger Window Switch does function but night light not working
Well I checked the fuse with a light tester and it lit up so I suppose the fuse is still working. I managed to look at the wires that are connected to the gauge and its a gray wire, and its the same wire thats found in the AC Control Head, Hazard Switch, and all the other buttons that have "night light" or "back lighting" funtion. I hope this will help you or give you in idea so you could determine the problem. Because even though I can drive my car in the daytime, I can't drive in the night time because all interiors lights are completely off.
Regarding how you checked the INST LAMPS fuse, you likely just checked continuity of fuse and not whether it had voltage on it, right? If you used a test light what did you connect other end to (battery or ground)?
I agree with other poster that other than a wiring problem the component most likely to be not working correctly is the lamp dimmer module. It is the device that actually feeds power to the INST LAMP fuse so you might want to take another look at that fuse and check if you have voltage on it with exterior park lights on. If not then next step (if you want to dig into this further) would be to locate the lamp dimmer module and check voltages at it. It only has 3 wires going to it (Park Lamp feed:Brown wire; Panel Switch Control circuit: Dark Green; and its output to INST fuse:Brown/White wire).
This thing is basically a power transistor which is controlled by the dimmer switch signal. I don't know how much further you want to take this yourself but I know a lamp dimmer module isn't too expensive if that is what is needed.
While booking my apt. to have the tranny fixed, I mentioned the TSB and calibration info. The service mgr. claimed that they routinely flash the pcm to the latest version per GM's recommendation anytime the car is serviced. That's quite a different story than what he gave me when I was there a couple of weeks ago.
I said I had the latest calibration and wanted to verify that my car is up-to-date. I have my apt. tomorrow, so I'll go over it with him then.
Anything I need to mention or be aware of when dropping my car off for this service? I hope that they don't mess up anything!
How about this one: I took my Maxx in for the front rotor noise, and FOR THE SECOND TIME, they turned my rotors. My Service Manager, who is top notch, told me that GM won't allow them to put in new rotors if there is still enough meat on the rotor to "turn" them. However, my SM knows that I will be back before the 36k warranty runs out since I've now had them turned at 10k and 17k. There is no way that these will last until 36k. The SM said that it was a paperwork nightmare to get new ones put on, especially knowing that GM had my rotor thickness calibrations on file from the first time I brought it in. No matter; there is no doubt that new one's will be forthcoming before too long. I did ask about having aftermarket ones put on the next time; they gave me the usual liability story, but did not close the door on doing so. I'll press the issue again when my OEM rotors reach point of failure.
The starter will turn over fine, but the ignition doesn't fire half of the time. The doors will automatically lock and unlock at odd times, which keeps the car from starting. Sometimes they will unlock while we're driving down the road, which causes the engine to shut off, which makes it hard to steer and put on brakes. The AC shuts on and off at will. The whole brake system had to be replaced; mechanic said that has happened with a lot of Malibus. The windshield lining came loose, which caused water to leak into the floorboard and destroy the airbag sensor. Also, we had to reset the theft system over and over.
The first time the car was in the shop for not starting, the mechanic said that it was the airbag sensor that needed replacing, so we had him to unplug the airbags- $90. The second time the car was in the shop for not starting, the mechanic said it was the ignition module- $300.
We decided that Chevrolet should know best what was wrong with it, so we took it to them. They said the reason why it wasn't starting was because of the starter- $300. After picking up the car, guess what..... it did the same thing again! Chevrolet says this time, "It's the Passlock Security System sensor". $300!
I get the car back, and on the way home from Chevrolet, it shuts off! So, this time they graciously offer to "take me wherever I need to go" while they check it out. The car was in the shop for 4 days this last time, and Chevrolet finally admits that they don't know WHAT is wrong with the car. ...thanks for the info after we've maxed out our credit cards! Now that we searched on the internet, I see that everyone else is having the same problems with Malibus, and Chevrolet can't figure it out.
Has anyone else experienced the same thing, and if so, did you EVER GET IT FIXED?
PS. If anyone out there has trouble with their theft system causing the doors to unlock and lock, do NOT worry about getting your car worked on! Sell it! It will only get worse! Search the internet and see for youself!
MrShiftright
When you get it in situation where the horn doesn't seem to honk can you sit there and push on it and get nothing to happen? If so a few things of interest could be observed (although I realize you might not be in a situation to be able to do them if driving). #1 - If the cruise control ON/OFF switch is ON is the telltale in switch illuminated? #2 - If you are stopped somewhere when this is noticed and can turn the ignition OFF, when you activate the LOCK button on keyless entry fob mulitiple times does the horn "chirp" - this only works when ignition off.
The first test does a crude check of a portion of the electrical circuitry in the steering wheel wiring, the second check makes sure that the horn and relay themselves work when this happens and your issue is more related to something with the steering wheel.
That is about all you can do on your own. The dealer would likely need to remove the horn pad to check electrical connections - this requires special precautions due to airbag system.
I am aware of airbag issues so I do not want to investigate further but somehow it appears to me that there are bad horn contacts. Unless of course the BCM (heaven forbid) has something to do with it. Has the BCM maybe got an input from the horn contacts seeing as the remote can also chirp the horn ?
The horn switch is wired to the relay directly and so the BCM doesn't have to take any "real" action to have horn operate. I put that in quotes because the wiring from the horn switch does go TO the BCM but it really just passes through it to be "combined" with the BCM's output used when you activate horn with key fob, theft system etc. There is no logic involved for horn switch operation.
So there is a slight chance that the problem might be a poor wiring contact going into the BCM for this horn switch contact but it is more likely it would be the wiring connection to the horn switch itself found under the horn pad in the steering wheel. There is a separate connection for that.
When I asked about the cruise control I really was trying to give you a check to see whether a good "ground" was available to the steering wheel. the cruise control function itself doesn't require a ground, the ground is only used for the ON/OFF indicator in the switch. On second thought probably a better check would be when it is dark out if the steering wheel switch illumination works. All of those functions (as well as the horn switch) rely on the steering wheel being grounded which is done by a wire to steering wheel.
Having said that make sure you horn switch doesn't do something weird like only work when it is daytime out but not work at nighttime. Not sure if you might follow where I am going.......
When you say horn sounds sometimes when driving does that mean without you requesting it?
Final question. To you knowledge has any work been done on vehicle which required removal of steering wheel? Such as a steering column replacement.
So again good it is fixed but if it happens again let us know.
We've had this done so far:
* Ignition module replaced
* Electronic ignition switch replaced
* Pass-lock theft system sensor replaced
* Airbags unplugged
:confuse:
Yes, I did have the steering colunm changed but I was having problems before that with the horn - I should have mentioned it to the mechanic but at that time I did not think of it. All switch illuminations work on the steering wheel. So, it would seem as if the grounding is good.
No, the horn works at times in the daytime - I haven't tried it at night yet - don't know where you're going with that one ! By working "intermittently" I mean it only works at certain times when I press the horn. It does not sound on its own.
Thank goodness there isn't any logic involved in the horn circuit from the steering wheel !
At this point I have no further suggestions, I only hope the problem is repeatible enough that the dealer will be able to duplicate it so they can quickly root cause issue.
Good luck
I have followed e2helper's advice and have checked the steering wheel illuminations which are all working correctly. That confirms that the horn ground is working so it can only be the contacts now. As a matter of interest e2helper, how many contacts are there and what form do they take?
Thanks!
There are springs somewhere which suspends the horn pad off of these protrusions normally.
Hope that was good enough explanation.
I am not aware of any changes made in that area but you could ask dealer if you hadn't already done so. You are aware of the liftgate release switch on underside of rear applique, correct? This can be used to unlatch the liftgate as long as passenger doors not locked.
Yes, I'm aware of that button. It gets frustrating if I press the door lock button, shut my door, hatch relatches, I stop for X seconds and then the doors lock. When that happens, I can't use that button and then have to fumble around for the remote fob. If I recall there was a TSB or PI for the tailgate where it would partially relatch when any door is shut. It said that GM Engineering was working on a fix and owners would be notified when one was developed. I think that was 8-12 months ago. A little long to be working on a fix don't you think?
If it is that obvious regarding motion of horn pad then by all means point it out to dealer on next visit. It is pretty easy for them to reposition.
I knew I should have inquired more about how well it operated from different sides as other poster alluded to
http://www.gmgoodwrench.com/gmgoodwrenchjsp/gmspo/Chevrolet/Malibu/2004-2005/00_Complete_M- - anual.pdf
The thing is that I cannot afford to have the car tied up for how long at the dealer. After following the disabling procedure I removed the upper and lower steering colunm covers and then the back cover of the steering wheel - 2 Torx screws - and I saw the problem without removing the airbag.
The 3 wires from on/off button for the cruise control (left side of wheel) were snagged under the top left hand corner of the horn pad. There is a plastic stop where the horn pad bottoms against and the wires were under that.
The routing of those wires is rather tight and I predict that more problems will arise with other new Malibus. They have to pass pretty close to the top left hand bottom stop of the horn pad. I think this needs looking into.
Anyway, my horn now operates from any angle on the horn pad. My neighbors are also happy that I've solved the problem.
I don't recall any similar posts from Malibu owners but a question for you. Is this a fast flickering or something more gradual? I know that your vehicle has a slightly different charging system which has the ability to vary the vehicle system voltage under certain conditions, if it was something that changed gradually I would wonder about that.