This 2006 Saturn Vue came in with the complaint that the 40 amp fuse in the underhood fuse box for the blower would blow as soon as a fuse was put in it. This particular post is more about where I found the short at, rather than the disassembly process. On top of that this post would be a mile long if I included all of that. My hope is that either some one who reads this, or myself at a future date will be able to make a very easy repair by knowing where the problem might be and not have to completely remove the dash assembly. If you do need to remove the dash assembly and do not have the information already in a repair manual, you can purchase a subscription to either Mitchell or Alldata DIY from the ad links in the right hand side bar. Keep in mind also that even though this vehicle is a Saturn Vue, there are Chevrolet and GMC suv’s built on the same chassis. These vehicles also will be subject to the same short.
The following picture shows the actual shorted wire. The short is in the center of the picture. If you double click on it the picture will enlarge.
Once I had gotten to the short it was pretty easy to repair.
I wrapped the individual red wire several times.
Then I wrapped the whole harness.
For curiosities sake I wrapped the whole area with red tape. I wanted to know if I could see this harness without taking the whole dash assembly out.
This is the bracket that the wire was shorted out on. You can see the arc mark slightly left of center.
The backside of the whole dash carrier assembly.
I split a piece of vacuum tubing and installed it on the sharp metal edge of the bracket to protect the harness in the future.
After installing the dash assembly, I started looking for the red tape. You can see it through the passenger end of the dash.
There is a panel on the end of the dash that is easily removed and I believe that another short in this location could be fixed by working through the hole and under the dash. Taping may not be a possibility but sliding a piece of split loom over it, may be possible. I also think that a piece of split vacuum line could be installed on the sharp metal edge through the passenger end of the dash. When I get another one in, I hope to update this post. If you have this problem please leave a comment if you were able to fix it without removing the dash.
There is one other thing that will need to be checked either way the short is repaired. Behind the driver’s kick panel is a harness junction block.
The red wire terminals will be over heated and will need to be replaced.
Don’t forget you can double click on the pictures to enlarge them for better viewing.
In this particular case, I opted for bypassing the damaged terminals rather than replacing.
Sparky,
First off, thank you. I had this issue with my Saturn Vue. Your site helped me to solve the ac issue. I did find an easier way to solve the problem without taking off the entire dash. After I pulled out the glovebox I noticed a small opening in the plastic housing. I decided that I could make a 6″ X 6″ opening in a very delicate way. I used a hacksaw blade and made the cut. I am sure that you could use any number of cutting devices. Be very careful though, there are lots of wires in this vicinity. I was then able to wrap electrical tape around the shorted out wire. Thank you again.