Ok, So this is unlike me. I ussualy like to chip the audio shop some money and have them install my aftermarkter equipment for me. And this time I did, but I have been having many problems with the shop I went to back in cleveland, and I live in GA, so im not planing on going back. I figured I would fix it myself.

My amp wasnt turning on. - so I got the multimeter out and found there is no power on my remote wire at the amp. Nor is there any coming out of my HU itself. So i decided to tap my windshield like the accessory for the radio itself is set up. Silly me blows the wiper fuse. to much amprage... I went to the auto shop, picked my up new fuses, and a relay kit so I could just tap my wiper fuse for signal and draw power straight from the battery. well i replaced the wiper fuse, but wipers dont work, checked the fuse under hood as well its good. and my dash also reads " service airbags"... i checked to make sure there that i connected the passenger airbag wires on the radio dash set up correctly, and to my eye they look good. Is there anything i could be mising? could my relay under my dash for my wipers be out. Im not so much worried right now about the airbags as I am the wipers. as i need them MORE, ill just have to drive safe lol...no i need to fix this, right now cars in drive with everything out of the dash and tools everywere, im gonna go smoke and think this theough, please help a super pissed idiot!


-Cap

 

IDK.. It weird.. When I bought my car. It had the service air bags light on.. But they had not deployed..

I had it like that for like.. 8 months..

And a few days ago... I was paintng the trim and left the key "ON" without noticing for almost the entire day...

When I come home.. I realized the Air Bag light was off.. And it never came up again..

That could be a way to fix it...

 

well for starters to help with your first problem with where to run the remote wire. find an empty and i mean empty slot and use a mini make-a-fuse to tap into it and run it there. now for your service airbag light i would replace the fuses that you attempted to tap into as even the slightest fracter in the fuse will cause it not to work.

 

ok, I looked around the threads, found some ideas..and this is what I have tried...

Check all fuses to make sure they arent blown, even changed the wiper and airbag fuses with new ones.

checked all connections to passenger airbag system that i could, checked connections thoroughly at the indicator under the radio, checked all connections and wires for damage under the passenger seat.

NOTHING GIVES

i purchased a 30 amp relay kit, going to tap the wipers for ignition signal, then provide the power with power from the battery directly. the relay will then only close when it gets signal from the wiper fuse saying the car is on, but it uses direct power, no need to worry about blowing anything, this is what auto zone said to do. in theory i should be good, once i make the wipers work going to buy some new relays for them tomorrow, as for the airbags I HAVE NO CLUE

 

if you've checked all that and all the fuses, including the ones for the SIR system then disconnect your negative terminal to the battery and wait a few minutes and then reconnect. turn the key to the on position the air bag light should flash and then go out.

i take no responsibilty for any malfunctions or anything else that could go wrong when dealing with the airbag system.

 

getting the airbag light off is a bitch... try disconnecting the neg from the batt for a few hours

do your wipers work now?

 

no all the problems are still there as of right now, ill look more into it after work, going to leave to ned off for the day.

 

This hopefully only makes a diagnoses easier, but makes nothing easy for me, after more looking and aggravation, I just sat in the driver seat with frustrations and decided to shake the steering wheel, come to find out....POWER STEERING IS OUT TOO!!!... Yes the car was on, and i checked the EPS fuses. I tested them with a multimeter....

any one? anything?


FUUUUUUUCK

 

go to the dealer...

 

sounds like dealer time to me. either that or replace all the fuses again that you've touched. and remember the SIR system should have more then one fused power supply.

 

Just did some more testing around picked up the Haynes Repair manual for the cobalt, tried trouble shooting relays and other parts of the electrical system. Found out my A/C is inop as well. Called the stealers. Guess ill be droping 79 an hour to have it serviced. Wish me luck, hopefully im not buying anything more then a wire or a relay.... or find out im just stupid and with frustration over looked something. But if anyone has any more ideas leave em please...wish i knew of someone who has had these issues befor and what it takes or could cost to fix....again anything is helpful thanks guys...ill update you soon...

 

well i work at a dealer and am pretty good friends with the electrical techs. and is your passenger presence system working correctly cuz that could set of the service SIR system. but since your having alot of other issues i would suspect a short somewhere in the fuse panel, possibly due to you trying to tap into the wiper blade system with a higher amperage then the system can handle. this is why you tap into an empty unused slot to prevent these things from happening and anyone who knows anything about electrical will tell you the same thing.

 

ok, for us not so electric savy... the SIR is what? and what is it made up of? what do i check specificaly? the TM doesnt show anything that mentions SIR..at least i havent found yet.. but ill be up bright and early, i think my best bet is to hook the radio up like it originaly was, and let the dealer solve it from there...I got a great list of things for them to trouble shoot...just dont need a big bill right now...

 

SIR = supplemental inflation restraint. and the tiniest thing could cause it to malfunction. now like i said there are a few fuses that give it power, there should be one in the bcm fuse panel (passenger kick panel) and one for the ecm fuse panel (under hood). i would double check those again. also check your fuse for your passenger restraint system as that can cause it to malfunction as well. and then after that is all said. also when the fuses blew did you notice any smoke or burning smell?

 

So 346.55$ later, the stealer ship says i had broken wires that connect my BCM. Well while originally charing me 79.95 an hour for wire system trouble shooting, they said i needed a new one. And wanted $575.00 for a brand new. Well I went down the street to the junk yard and got me one for 80 bucks. Take it in to be installed. It was nearing the end of the day so they said i wouldnt get it back until the following morning. They called. With good and bad news. The bad news was the BCM (or Body control module) I took them would not program for my ignition system, and while I do not do to well in this department, you tell me if this even makes sense!?... It was out of the same model no power windows, or locks, just a basic LS... same set up! ...ok, anyways, the good news was when they removed my BCM to put the "new" one in, they found some broken wires. Two, to be exact. They fixed em and I was able to pick it for 346, the cost of repiar and trouble shooting...My personal opinion, they couldnt get the asking price for there part and figured owell...but you decide. I needed my car back! Owell. Lessoned learned. And after having the days to do some research, I may not have been able to diagnose that the BCM was bad, (limited knowledge, and wire tools) but I woulda been able to find broke wires... Hope this doesnt happen to you, but if it does.....

 

don't feel too bad. our lot attendant fucked up a brand new 09 buick enclave when he boosted it. fried 6 fuses and the main 200A fuse. took me 2 hours to swap the main harness as there is litteraly no room to work on those damn things. the harness went from the starter, to the altinator and then up to the ecm fuse panel. but i'm glad you got it fixed and all that. and without know what the product numbers are on your original one and the new one it is possible for it not to learn to your vehicle.

 

I too have the service airbag light on. Took it to the dealership and they told me it was something with the passenger side airbag system. Wouldn't reset when they hooked up the little handeld reader under the dash. I havent touched the passenger side airbag stuff. Not sure what the hell, but someone mentioned previous years had a recall on this. Has anyone ever heard of such a recall? My car is only 6 months old, so I have no idea what the deal is. Is this something that should be covered under warranty?

 

i would think it would be covered under warranty. try disconnecting the battery for a few hours. make damn sure not to shut the trunk

 

i have the same issue. I hooked up a hot wire from the positive post under the hood and used a mini add-a-fuse and connected it directly to the wiper fuse spot. I no longer get the air bag warning, i have power steering, wipers work (sort of...they only turn on at high speed and dont go back to the original position), my ac works (sort of...the three buttons for a/c, recirculation, and defroster do not work). So for now it is a temp fix. i just have to disconnect it everytime so i dont drain the battery since it is a hot wire.

 

ok so ever one knows...im trying to clear this up for some of yall, with the cobalts with power door locks / windows there is a thick yellow wire coming out of the driver and passenger door boot, this wire is the RAP wire , which stays 12v until the door is opened then it goes to 0v, the wire may also look faded to white , but test it and you should be good , it will be bigger than most other wires. The fuse box is good , but i have heard A MILLION negatives one this site about it. Pulled my LT and my friends SS apart and found this wire on both. happy hunting!

 

Does anyone have a Pic of this wire?
I looked on my drivers side, but I don't see this big faded yellow wire in the wires going into the door.

I seen a yellow wire, but didn't look faded and wouldn't call it big for any reason in comparison to the others.

 

Anyone?