WOW Electical Problems

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3800wrench
LE Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:30 am
Year and Trim: 2001 Bonneville SE, 2002 Oldsmobile Alero GL V6

WOW Electical Problems

Post by 3800wrench »

I just bought a Bonneville and I wanted to share my experience with everybody in case it might be helpful. When I got it, it had a ton of electrical problems. I had no power locks (including the gas cover lock) from either the key fob or the interior buttons, the trunk release in the glove box and on the key fob did nothing, the master window switch did not function any window and the passenger window did not work from its independent switch only the rear windows worked from their independent switches, the power mirrors wouldn't adjust, air ride did not kick on, and when opening the passenger door the courtesy lamps didn't come on.

I want to include I had the typical water coming in from the door linings and going under the carpet. First thing I did was take pretty much the whole interior out, the only ting inside it right now is the dashboard and trunk liner. I found lots of water under the carpet and soaked into the foam padding, I have it sitting aside dehumidifying, waiting for me to finish the subwoofer leads.


Fixing problems:

After an afternoon with a volt meter, I found I had voltage into the driver door module, and out of it to the master switch, the illumination in the master switch worked as well, but as stated no function from the switches. I tried changing the door module, jiggling the flex tube by the hinges, unwrapping all the wires in the door to check them, and finally after much reading on this forum I found a lot of people saying it was the splice under the driver seat, I took the wrapping around the splice apart and found no corrosion whatsoever. What it turned out to be was the master switch was bad. After replacing the master switch I got the driver window to work, driver side interior lock button to activate 3 doors, driver side mirror to adjust, and both rear windows to function from the master switch.

At this point nothing on the passenger door was working. No power lock, no window function, no mirror adjustment, and no courtesy lamps upon opening. All of these problems were simply fixed by replacing the passenger door module.

Next thing I did was replace the Rear Integration Module, after finding out this controls the trunk release and key fob function and various other things. Replacing this solved my key fob problems, all buttons on it now work, the trunk button inside the glove box works, the gas door lock functions, and air ride kicks on.
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nos4blood70
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 9522
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 6:11 pm
Year and Trim: 2003 SLE
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: WOW Electical Problems

Post by nos4blood70 »

Well there you go, that sounds like quite an adventure but glad you got it all sorted out. Electrical problems are the worst.
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles
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maxi426
SSE Member
SSE Member
Posts: 117
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 4:21 pm
Year and Trim: 2003 SSEi
1999 Park Ave. Ultra L67

Re: WOW Electical Problems

Post by maxi426 »

Thanks for the rundown. Too many people come on here asking about problems, then don't come back to tell what solved the issue
MKMike
Posts like an L67
Posts like an L67
Posts: 1305
Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 9:37 pm
Year and Trim: 1993 SLE
1998 SE
2001 SSEI
2002 SSEI

Re: WOW Electical Problems

Post by MKMike »

Kudos to you for getting to the roots of the troubles and posting the solutions .
maxi426 wrote:Thanks for the rundown. Too many people come on here asking about problems, then don't come back to tell what solved the issue
Sadly, I have to agree.
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