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GMC Safari/Chevy Astro Electrical Problems

squarepegsquarepeg Member Posts: 1
in Chevrolet
I have a 2000 Astro AWD. It is an off lease vehicle and wasn't treated very well. When it rains for a period longer than 12 hours, weird things happen to the electrical system. Last time it was the door locks, locking and unlocking on it's own. They would cycle 4 or five time a minute. Now is the fan and the A/C cycling. I also noticed that I am missing a high beam and have checked all the fuses and the bulb?
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Comments

  • grwilson224grwilson224 Member Posts: 1
    I feel that I am having computer issues in my chevy astro. What I am looking for is the name of the comptuer located on the frame just by the driver side front wheel and what does it control. Also, what is its GM part Number.
  • teamster108teamster108 Member Posts: 3
    I was wondering if anyone could help me replace a dimmer switch. When I turn the headlights on only my brights work. If i tilt the steering wheel sometimes the low beam will work. Thanx in advance for any help.
  • skelbandskelband Member Posts: 1
    Hi,
    I'm trying to disassemble a 2002 Montana Door Power window switch to change the bulb inside.
    Could anyone give me a hint as to how to remove the top to get at the bulb?

    Cheers!
    Ralph
  • dave126dave126 Member Posts: 1
    my asro van2000 has no power how do i fix it?
  • hy4wojhy4woj Member Posts: 3
    Hello all,

    I was wondering if any of you guys knew whether the radio clock in a 1995 Safari should remain on even when the van is off. I don't remember it staying on before. Basically I have to jump my van off every two days because after sitting up for a couple of days, the battery is totally dead. Now the radio clock only draws .25amps, that shouldn't kill a good battery in 2 days. I took the battery in to AutoZone to have it checked, they say it's good, but I'm having my doubts.
  • cobcob Member Posts: 210
    It may be a blown fuse check the panel under the dash by the drivers feet. The other thing to check is the wire that connects the lighter it is under the outside cover (dog house) it may have come loose or the last person to service the van from the inside may have failed to plug the wire back into the lighter. In order to remove the cover the lighter and CD player and aux power point wires need to be unplugged.
  • jcavanessjcavaness Member Posts: 1
    i have a 1993 chevy astro w engine with electrical problems
    the left side of my fuse block is dead, horn, dome, tail lamps ect. i also have no power to the headlight switch. by jumping the head light switch with a hot wire i can back feed the left side of the fuse block. i assume i have a fuse or circuit breaker blown but i can not find it and i can't find a wiring diagram to help it leads me to a convenience center that does not exist. i checked in the engine compartment and i can't find an inline fuse
    i need to know what feeds these items from the source and where any circuit breakers or fuses would be located can anybody help

    thanks
  • benny64benny64 Member Posts: 1
    I have a similar electrical problem, Did you get an answer?
  • gbwardgbward Member Posts: 1
    Our 1999 Astro van delvoped an electrical problem where usage of the elctronic door locks
    whether by hand or keyless would blow the fuse after just a few trys. Now our 2004 Astro is doing the same thing... anybody relate ??? any ideas ?????
  • rastro1rastro1 Member Posts: 1
    The fuel pump, headlights, dome lights, and horn will not work on our 95 Astro. Everything else is getting power to our knowledge. We replaced the battery cable ends because they were corroded. We replaced a relay under the hood because it had black burned gooey stuff on it around the wire connector. We replaced a burned out blower motor resistor, and now the blower works on all three speeds like it should. We replaced the electrical ignition switch with a new one. We checked tons of wiring for burn and corossion damage to no avail. It sounds like the same problem the one gentleman was having with the left side of the fuse block not getting power to it. Any good ideas on what the problem may be? The problem seems to be intermitent but most times the van just won't start and the electical items mentioned won't work. Thanks.
  • hy4wojhy4woj Member Posts: 3
    Hey,

    Does anyone by chance know where the blower motor resistor is for a 1995 Safari?????????
  • susieq54susieq54 Member Posts: 4
    My 1987 Safari van instrument panel lights won't come on. The bulbs and fuse are good. Help Please!
  • wreidwreid Member Posts: 1
    I replace my fuel pump but the fuse keep blowing is there something else connected to that fuse are what can i check
  • albedo039albedo039 Member Posts: 3
    Hi
    I have a peculiar problem with the headlighs. Driving with high beam on, it suddenly goes complete black! Switching to low beam gives me low beam all right. When I switch back to high beam, the light stays on for 20 seconds to a couple of minutes, then it goes black again. I have H4 bulbs 100/90W.
    Any ideas?
  • susieq54susieq54 Member Posts: 4
    I'm afraid I can't do you any good. I'm still waiting to hear from someone on my problem from over a month ago. This web site doesn't appear to be worth its weight in oil when it comes to answers. I wish you luck.

    Very Truly Yours,
    S.Williams

    p.s.

    I responded to your message because it came to my email address. Once again, good luck.
  • albedo039albedo039 Member Posts: 3
    Hi
    Maybe I can be of some help to solve your instrument panel lights problem.
    Possible cause:
    1 No ignition feed to the instrument cluster
    Remove the large 17 pin connector from the instrument cluster. Using a digital Volt/Ohm meter, measure the voltage from pin A13 to gnd with the ignition in run. The meter should read battery voltage. If the readings are less than battery voltage, or zero, repair the pink/white wire from the ignition switch.

    2 No ground to the cluster
    Measure the resistance from pin A15 and A16 to gnd. If the meter reads anything but 0-0.5 Ohm's, repair the black wires at A15 and A16 to gnd.

    3 Inoperative cluster
    Replace the cluster

    If this doesn't help, check out the forum at astrosafari.com
    I think the guys there are acting more alive than on here ;)

    Respectfully yours

    D A Oestlund
    Bodoe, Norway
    PS! If you send me your email address, I can mail you a copy of the Circuit Diagram for this specific area.
  • susieq54susieq54 Member Posts: 4
    Mr. Oestlund,

    Thank you so much for your informative response to my instrument panel problem. My husband plans on checking out your suggestions this weekend.

    Yes, I would like a copy of the Circuit Diagram. Please send it to susieq54n@hotmail.com at your earliest convenience.

    Once again, Thank you

    Very Truly Yours,
    Susan Williams
  • kenhickokkenhickok Member Posts: 2
    Did you find any info on this?? We have a 2000 Astro Van that does this same thing.
  • kenhickokkenhickok Member Posts: 2
    Our 2000 Astro van is acting weird. All the indicator lights come on all at once intermittently. Sometimes you turn the blower on high and the lights go out. But the blower only seems to work when it wants to. We turn the blower on and the blower sounds like it is working but there is no air blowing. Then other times there is silence when the blower is turned on. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
  • jrbudgejrbudge Member Posts: 7
    I had a similar problem. When the air cleaner housing is removed, there is an aluminum 'connector' sitting on the throttle body. If you lift that up, that's where I found my problem. There was a green(I think) wire that had been pinched in there pretty tightly and from vibration over time it had worn away the outer sleeve of the wire causing it to short out. I can't guarantee it was the same fuse, but I think so.
  • jrbudgejrbudge Member Posts: 7
    My problem is a combination; when I hit the headlight switch, the lights come on but the instrument panel lights and taillights don't. I recently discovered that if I pressed the bottom half of the switch first everything would work fine. It gets weirder: before discovering the switch trick, when I turned on my hi-beams, the taillights and dash would come on very faintly. But if I kept the hi-beams on for very long, I would lose headlights altogether. So now, after discovering the switch trick, everything seemed fine for a couple weeks until 2 nights ago I was driving with the hi-beams on and everything went black. I discovered this tonight: When I squeezed the headlight switch(the back part that you don't normally see), it would randomly make the headlights and the dash lights go on and off. Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both. I'm going to get a new switch and hopefully report back with some good news.
  • jrbudgejrbudge Member Posts: 7
    I was finally able to pinpoint the problem... headlight switch, mine anyways
  • rixterrixter Member Posts: 1
    I have an old Safari and the cruise stopped working. Intermittent at first and now nothing. Does anybody know where the 'cruise control module' is located? That would get me started! Tks! Rick
  • pcouplandpcoupland Member Posts: 2
    From reading all the various posts I can now see that my windows that won't open when it gets too warm, or close when it gets too cold are standard. The a/c and fan also only work intermittantly.

    I am considering taking it to a garage to see if they can fix any of these, as the window problem seems to be getting worse, but from reading the archives it looks like this might be a waste of time. Several people say it cost a lot of money and the problems persisted.

    I'm a pretty handy person, though I stopped working on my cars when the engines began to get too complex for me (about 1992).

    Does anyone have any opinions about whether I should try and fix these issues on my own, or if it's worth taking the car to a professional?

    Penny
  • pcouplandpcoupland Member Posts: 2
    I had no replies to my post after 7 days. I guess this site is just a way of getting spam into more people's inboxes and trying to get them to read the car ads on this page.

    For anyone who ends up on this site searching for info about their safari electrical problems, read on. I took the van to the garage who assured me it would probably be the motor or the circuit breaker. It isn't either. The motor doesn't get power when it warms up and hence doesn't work. This is pretty much what I told them.

    They have now had the van for 24 hours and I need it by the end of the day whatever. They may or may not have found the problem by then..

    So the conclusion - live with the problem, it's a GM thing (as you can tell from all the other posts on this issue). Learn to live without opening windows (or a/c or fans). Garages don't know how to fix it and will charge huge labour costs to tell you what you already told them.

    Penny
    PS I'm also going to stop using my electronic locking system and lock all doors by hand with the key to make sure. If you read the posts on that you'll see that these are also faulty.
  • susieq54susieq54 Member Posts: 4
    Try astrosafari.com, it's definitely an improvement over this website. My mechanic advised me that these rigs had a history of nothing but trouble, after reading the messages posted here I came to the same conclusion. I sold it two weeks ago. Good Luck to the rest of you Safari owners, try astrosafari.com, you'll actually get some answers there!

    Susan
  • flynnstone45flynnstone45 Member Posts: 1
    I was driving along a gravel road a few nights ago and just lost power. It happened earlier that day, and start right back once I was off the road. On the gravel road it would do nothing. All that would work and still works is the horn and head lights. Dash lights, emergency flashers, blinkers, and digital dash does not work and it will not turn over or do ANYTHING. Please help me its a great rig other than this problem.
  • fixitrodfixitrod Member Posts: 67
    On my 1995 Safari w/ 260000 miles the brake lights don't work. I have replaced all bulbs and rear light sockets, high mount light bar and the brake light switch attached to the brake pedal and still no brake lights . The rear lights work however.The fuses are OK Any suggestions appreciated?
  • grizelgrizel Member Posts: 1
    The driver's cigarette lighter is out, I need my ipod! Where do I look for the fusebox?

    I heard there are two, and I can't find one.

    This is 2000 GMC Safari
  • beamanantiquesbeamanantiques Member Posts: 1
    My daytime running lights (DRL) have stopped working on my 2001 Astro. Regular lights come on automatically as usual. Any advise please. Thank You.
  • dlm1954dlm1954 Member Posts: 57
    I have a astro van that keeps burning up fuel pumps and it is a ventilation problem but I can't figure it out and wondered if anyone had the same problem and figured it out.

    dlm1954
  • waltonewaltone Member Posts: 1
    Today I was unable to switch off the high beams on my 1994 Astro.

    Pulling back on the lever does not produce the click and the switching off of the high beams. No amount of pulling, pushing or twisting will make the high beams switch over.

    The wipers work, the turn signals work... just not the high beams.

    What do I need to do to replace this? Remove the steering wheel? How hard is this? Is it a do-it-yourself thing or something best left to the dealer?
  • rabarrettrabarrett Member Posts: 6
    dlm,

    There are several possibilities causing these problems. There are all electrical in nature, so feel free to ask questions if unsure of something I have said.
    1. Are you sure of the quality of the fuel pumps you are purchasing?
    2. Are you using the cheapest fuel available where you drive? Do you keep the fuel tank at least 1/4 full?
    3. It is possible for either fuel filter to restrict the delivered fuel, either starving the pump, and overheating it, or the pump could be trying to overcome a restriction, causing an increase in current draw.
    4. Was thge fuel pump relay replaced at the time of the pump replacement, every time? A damaged pump can damage the relay, causing subsequent pump failures. ray
  • rabarrettrabarrett Member Posts: 6
    Normally, the clock should continue to run, but the display should go dark when the key is removed from the cylinder. 250 ma, or .25 amps is excessive, regardless of the vehicle in question. This can drain the battery, and can permanently damage the battery. Try disconnecting the fuses for the clock and the radio, and check for the drain again. It is possible that there is a connection problem on the radio, causing it to draw current with the key off. Ray
  • rabarrettrabarrett Member Posts: 6
    GR,

    Most of the time, the computer part number is on the computer itself. If you describe the issues you are experiencing, I can help you solve them. Ray
  • rabarrettrabarrett Member Posts: 6
    These issues appear to be related to the BCM, or body control module. Your description of the issues experienced lead me to suggest checking all of the vehicle's grounds. Ray
  • rabarrettrabarrett Member Posts: 6
    JC,

    Normally, the fuse box is fed by what is described as a fusible link. This link appears as a large wire, red in color, and burns through in the event of a short. These links are typically connected to either the starter, or directly to the battery, and cab be checked by gently pulling on them. If the insulation stretches, the wire is burned, and it can be reconnected using a yellow butt connector. Do not bypass the link, as it is the circuit's only protection, and if bypassed, can lead to a nasty fire. Ray.
  • rabarrettrabarrett Member Posts: 6
    It is likely that the bulbs are causing the circuit breaker in the switch to cycle, likely due to the draw of the bulbs. You may need to run the bulbs to a relay, using the switch to power the relays only. Ray
  • steve07steve07 Member Posts: 1
    Where is locate the blower motor resistor/realy pack on 99 gmc safari ? Thanks
  • dlm1954dlm1954 Member Posts: 57
    My wife went to the store last night and when she started to leave the van didn't have any headlights or power to the ignition system.The van cranks fine but evedently isn't getting power to the ignition,because the headlights aren't working either.The dash lights and everything else work fine but the headlights and ignition aren't getting any power.The book says there is a 40 amp battery fuse under the hood but I have never seen it.Any help would be greatly appreciated,maybe someone out there has had the same problem before.
    dlm1
  • dlm1954dlm1954 Member Posts: 57
    I went to start my van last night and didn't have any power to the headlights or ignition,everything else works fine I just lost all power to the headlights and ignition system.The van cranks just fine but isn't getting power to the ignition to fire it and I don't know what that has to do with the headlights.The book says there is a 40 amp battery fuse under the hood but I have never seen it that would explain the headlights and ignition but finding the fuse is the next problem.I just wondered if anyone out there has has the same problem and had to locate this fuse.Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    dlm1
  • astroedastroed Member Posts: 2
    MY 91 RWD WAS STARTING AND RUNNING FINE AND I STOPPED AT A STORE AND TURNED IT OFF FOR 10 MINUTES, WHEN I TRIED TO RESTART IT , IT WOULD,NT EVEN SPUTTER OR ATTEMPT TO START AT ALL ,HAD PLENTY GAS IN TANK AND IT HAS A RECENTLY INSTALLED NEW FUEL FILTER.
    QUESTION: HOW CAN I TEST THE FUEL PUMP WITHOUT TAKING THE TANK DOWN? COULD THE RELAY BE THE PROBLEM OR A FUSE AND WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED? I DISCONNECTED THE GAS LINE ON THE TANK SIDE AND SPUN THE STARTER AWILE BUT NO GAS CAME OUT. HELP!
    THANKS, BOB IN RALEIGH,NC
  • dlm1954dlm1954 Member Posts: 57
    I think you can get a loner tool at Auto Zone or Advance Auto but you'll have to remove engine cover and hook gauge to fuel line to see how much pressure you are getting to know for sure, and of course you can have someone turn the ignition on while you listen for the pump by sticking your head underneath the van by the fuel tank; if the pumps working you can hear it running. If you don't hear anything do a pressure test before replacing pump but it sounds like a pump.GOOD LUCK DLM54
  • mfreimfrei Member Posts: 3
  • mfreimfrei Member Posts: 3
    My '99 Astro windshield wiper pump is not working. Took it out. Tested the connecter with a voltmeter. Get 3 volts when activated. Hooked up two 1.5 volts to the pump and it runs. But when I hook it all back up, nothing works.

    The rear pump was working. Tested it the same. Read 6 volts at the leads. Now it doesn't work after putting it together.

    I tried priming the lines.

    I can't find any fuses that are bad.

    What am I missing?
  • kenmackenmac Member Posts: 1
    i have a 1990 astro van and when i turn on my lights the low beams are not working but when i click on my high beams theycome on with my problem. do i need to replace my light switch or dimmer switch?
  • vanman18vanman18 Member Posts: 3
    I have a 1996 AWD Safari. The battery in it started draining over night. I had the battery and the charging system checked. I inspected every part of the wiring harness I could see without tearing the van apart. I checked for shorts in the fuse box with my volt meter and found one somewhere in the interior lights. They all work, so I was stumped. So I installed a battery kill switch in the lower dash panel and haven't had any more trouble, except I have to reset my clock every time I drive it if I want it to read right. Also, I don't know if this will harm the computer after a while. I figure if I find the short later I can just leave the switch on.
  • mklein1mklein1 Member Posts: 5
    Hello, My 2000 GMC Safari is very difficult to start. If it is jumped or if the battery charger is on it, it starts easily. It starts best usually if you just bump the starter. Cranking will only assure you it won't start, but just drain the battery. The alternator and battery were changed early fall. The alternator was just about stuck at that time. I have always wondered if the fuel pump was weak. It doesn't seem as loud as before when you first turn on the key. Do I have two seperate problems or just one? The spark plugs, coil, Cap and rotor were new last summer. What do I check next????
  • vanman18vanman18 Member Posts: 3
    Sounds like it could be bad grounds. I have had success with running a wire from something metal on whatever is malfunctioning to the nearest metal body part. The last such fix was a wiper motor. I clamped a wire with a bared end to it's body with a radiator hose clamp and crimped an eyelet onto the other end, which I put a screw through into an inner body panel where I could reach it easy. Crude but effective.
  • vanman18vanman18 Member Posts: 3
    Sometimes this can be fixed by adjusting the rod tht runs alongside the steering column from the dimmer switch to the turn signal lever.
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