2005 Chevrolet Silverado, Adding Factory Cruise Control

This 2005 Chevrolet Silverado came in with the complaint that it did not have cruise control. The customer, whom I have known for a long time, asked if I thought cruise control could be added to his truck. I was not sure. He stated that he had found several references to doing just that with a factory multifunction switch. He could not find a definitive answer on how to connect it to the computer wiring though. We discussed the possibilities and pitfalls and as a result we started to investigate. Although this repair article is about a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado it applies to many GM full sized trucks and SUV’s. Please see the full list at the end of the article.

I worked with The Electric Connection to create this kit which includes a new ACDelco original equipment switch, a custom wiring harness and a connector pin out identification chart. It is available here.   I have written a detailed article on just how to install the parts. Even though the article may seem long the actual time to install the kit is between half an hour to one one hour.

This Cruise Control Kit Fits: Cadillac Escalade 2003-2006 Chevrolet Avalanche 2003-2006 Chevrolet Silverado Classic Series 2003-2007 Chevrolet Suburban 2003-2006 Chevrolet Tahoe 2003-2006 GMC Sierra Classic Series 2003-2007 GMC Yukon 2003-2006 Hummer H2 2003-2007

Removing the panel from the fuse box located at the driver’s end of the dash revealed a listing for a cruise fuse.

Examining the fuse box found that the fuse had already been installed. The customer stated that he had not installed that fuse.

The next thing to check was the wiring under the dash and within the steering column housing. Two screws with 7 mm heads along the lower edge of the under dash panel hold the panel in place. I also had to remove the electric brake controller from the panel.

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Pulled the tilt lever from the steering column. Sometimes a screwdriver is needed for leverage.

The first thing that I looked for a was the four wire connector that is used to attach the cruise control portion of the multifunction switch to the vehicle wiring. It was not there. If you were to inspect and find that connector. Then all you should have to do is install a new multifunction switch with the cruise control option. I had the added benefit of being able to see the pin out drawing for the inline junction block. That allowed me to identify the factory terminal sockets. With that information I was able to see that at least three of the four terminals were present. I looked through the empty cavities and saw the male terminals deep within the connector. I used a flashlight and magnifying glasses as well. I am getting old I guess. I was not sure at the time if the power wire terminal was present but I knew that I could work around that if needed.

Since this was my first attempt at this update, I wanted as much information and clarity about the wire connections as possible. After all, one wrong move and some pretty serious magic smoke could be let out. I wanted to gain access to the rear of the junction block to actually check the wire colors before connecting to them. This necessitated removing the metal bracket in the upper center portion of the following picture. One 7 mm headed screw at the bottom needed to be removed. Some might say that removing the BCM would be easier, however knowing how sensitive they are I prefer to not disturb one if possible.

There are two 10 mm bolts at the top left of the bracket and two 10 mm nuts on the right side. The two nuts to the right or inside of the bracket were actually removed earlier when the metal panel that covers the underside of the steering column opening was removed.

There are a total of four nuts that hold that panel on. Sorry, no pictures of the panel but you can see all four of the attaching studs in the next picture. In these early pictures you will have to pretend that you do not see the installed wires for the cruise control.

I had to remove the two 10 mm nuts at the far left of the dash carrier near the fuse box.  I did this to gain a slight bit of flexibility in the dash carrier near the bracket that I had been trying to remove earlier.

There is a detent latch at the front center of the harness connector that has to be lifted before the connector can be slid off of the bracket.

The slide bracket and slots are at strange angle and it took a bit of effort to separate the two.

With the harness connector detached form the bracket I was able to wrestle the metal bracket out of the dash. There was another small harness attached to the top of the bracket.

I had to remove the small wire tie to gain flexibility in the harness. I did install a new one later.

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There is a gray latch slightly to the right of center on the large harness connector body. It has to be moved to the right and then pushed forward until it stops. I thought that it would just separate after moving the latch but I was mistaken. There are four alignment slots and tabs along the long edges of the connector body. Each tab has a hook that has to be released before the two halves will separate. You may be able to see one in the next picture. If not click on it to enlarge for a better view.

Once the steering column half was separated from the harness, I realized that it has two parts. The center block is where all of the wiring will be installed. There is a slot just above the tip of my screwdriver blade. A pin or solid piece  of wire needs to be inserted into the slot to release the locking tab.

There is a lower and an upper lock. Once released the center portion will pull forward away from the main body.

The blue secondary terminal locks slide straight up. With the blue locks up the wired terminals can be inserted from the rear. After the terminals are in place simply slide the blue locks back down.

The wires all installed in the center block. I was identifying the terminal locations form a pin out drawing that I found and comparing those the the mating terminal on the truck half of the harness. Once identified, I could move that half of the connector around and view the wire color codes of the factory installed wires. Seeing the correct colored wires on the back side of this connector sure made this job easier.

The center block installed back into the main body and attached to the dash harness.

Now, time to remove the old switch and install the new one. The covers are obviously already removed. There are two screws that hold the switch in place. The top one shown in the picture below.

The second one is located between the switch and the bottom of the steering wheel. A standard bit and a ratcheting wrench made for easy removal of this screw.  With both screws removed the whole switch needs to be moved as if the right turn signal was being applied. The bottom will separate and then the switch can be lifted up and removed from the steering column.

There are two wiring harnesses that attach directly to the switch.

There are latches that have to be lifted before the harnesses can be removed.

When installing the new switch make sure that the horn contact pin slides underneath the locking plate and cancelling cam. The pin is spring loaded and can be pushed in to make assembly easier. Also take some of the excess grease that is located either on the locking plate area or the old switch pin and place some around the pin on the new switch.

Once I got to this point I took a quick test drive to confirm that the cruise control worked. It did and I was happy. I had been concerned that the PCM may have to be programmed in order for the cruise control to work. Apparently all of the needed programming and wiring are already there except for what I had to install.

Almost all back together.

I worked with The Electric Connection to create this kit which includes a new ACDelco original equipment switch, a custom wiring harness and a connector pin out identification chart. It is available here. 

This Cruise Control Kit Fits: Cadillac Escalade 2003-2006 Chevrolet Avalanche 2003-2006 Chevrolet Silverado Classic Series 2003-2007 Chevrolet Suburban 2003-2006 Chevrolet Tahoe 2003-2006 GMC Sierra Classic Series 2003-2007 GMC Yukon 2003-2006 Hummer H2 2003-2007

The kit and this article apply to:

Note: This kit works with the 4.8L, 5.3L, 6.0L 6.6L & 8.1L engines in the above vehicles. It will work with the 4.3L engines in those vehicles but there are several extra parts that will be needed. It is not cost effective to buy all new parts so a salvage yard donor vehicle is recommended.

2002 Hyundai GX350L Park Tail Lights Do Not Work

This 2002 Hyundai GX350L came in with the complaint that the front park lights, rear tail lights and dash illumination lights all do not work. The first thing that I noticed was that there was no click of the tail light relay when the switch was turned off and on. I found and tested the taillight fuse in the underhood fuse box. It was both good and powered.

After consulting a wiring diagram I shifted my efforts to the interior of the vehicle. From the look and feel of everything, someone else had been here recently. I needed clear access to the interior fuse/relay box and that meant that the under dash panels had to be removed. There are retaining screws at each lower corner. There are two screws on the underside of the hood release handle. All are phillips head.

There is one screw on the underside of the park brake release handle. After the screw is removed the handle can be slid off. This reveals the two screws that hold the panel to the park brake handle bracket.

The switch panel has to be carefully pried out so that the hidden screw can be removed. There are latches on each of the switch harness connectors that have to be pushed in before the harnesses can be pulled from the switches.

The panel will then pull free of the dash with the minor exception being around the ignition lock cylinder. The panel will need to be pulled and wiggled  in order to release the hidden push clip that is located just to the left of the lock cylinder. The panel will also catch slightly under the edge of the panel just above the lock cylinder. I had to use a small screw driver the free the trapped edge.

Now the interior steel panel has to be removed.  There are two  recessed 10 mm nuts along the upper edge of the panel. One on either side of the steering column.

There are two 10 mm bolts. One on either lower corner of the panel. After all fasteners are removed the panel will pull free of the dash. The right hand side takes a little maneuvering around to free it from the surrounding plastic.

The parking brake assembly has to be re positioned out of the way in order to gain better access to the fuse box and it’s rear wiring connectors. There are three 12 mm nuts that hold the bracket to the vehicle. Two along the firewall edge and one above. The lowest one on the firewall side required a swivel socket and long extension. One could use a wrench but it would be a little more difficult.

I was of course doing this repair for the first time and had to fully remove the fuse box in order to determine the actual cause of the problem. Note the over heated connector that I am holding in the next picture.  I realized later that I could have seen  and repaired this without removing the fuse/relay box. Hind site is 20/20.

I called the local Hyundia dealership to find that the fuse box would have to be ordered and would cost $760.00.  The customer did not have the money to replace the fuse/relay box along with the needed labor to diagnose, install and repair the harness connector. I did some extensive research in the wiring diagrams and found that the single damaged wire only supplies power to the #30 and # 86 relay terminals, nothing else. I gave the customer the option of installing a new relay harness and wiring it around the original location as should below.

I tested  and identified the relay terminals within the fuse/relay box. I then manufactured the harness assembly that you see in both the picture above and below.

The main reason I decided to wire around the fuse box can be seen below. Note the discolored large terminal to the left. The internal solder joint had been compromised and due to the construction methods used by the manufacturer, it could not be repaired without major disassembly.

The orange wire needs to be cut and the matching wire from the harness will be spliced into the wire half that is part of the harness.

Even though I know that the orange wire that is still in the harness connector is dead, I feel compelled to cap it off with a piece of heat shrink tubing. One important note for anyone attempting this repair is that although the wire is orange in color it appeared to be brown due to the heat damage.

When reassembling the under dash components, I realized that testing and repair can be done without removing the fuse/relay box.  The parking brake assembly has to be loosened and repositioned to the right to gain access to the wiring. If you will click on and enlarge the following picture, you should be able to see that the orange wire is the very top wire in the wiring harness. I would recommend a quick test of the orange wire to confirm that battery voltage is present at all times before proceeding with this repair.

I used a wire tye to attach the relay harness to the combination switch wiring harness. Notice that I labeled it so that anyone coming into this after the repair will know that this had been done.

The customer had mentioned to me that the combination switch had been replaced without fixing the problem before it arrived at my shop. I thought that I would check and identify the circuit and appropriate test for activation of the park/tail lights.  The control wire is the light blue wire in the center of the second row. It has a dark blue/white wire to the left and a green/yellow to the right. With the switch off there should be a nominal 1.8 volts present and it should go to zero volts when the switch is turned on. A continuity test would reveal an open circuit to ground with the switch off and full continuity to ground with the switch. I had a reading of 1.6 ohms resistance with the switch on. This wire connects the switch to the body control computer. Which in turn activates the park/tail light relay.

Another one done. It should be noted that the dash lights also started working again after this repair. Sadly most people do not know that engineers have designed a safety system into just about every modern automobile. If there is a power supply problem for the exterior park and tail lights power will also be disrupted for the dash lights. This way the driver will be alerted to a lighting problem without leaving the vehicle. Whenever you are driving and you notice that the dash lights have gone out you should pull over and check to see if the exterior lights are working.

1995 Chevrolet S10 Erratic Stop , Tail and Turn Signal Lights

This 1995 Chevrolet S10 pickup came in with the complaint that rear lights were not working properly. The park lights would work but as soon as the turn signals or stoplights were turned on all of the rear lights would go out.  I had a pretty good idea that there was faulty ground issue and just needed to access a light bulb to do some testing.

With the tailgate down there are two phillips headed screws. In some year models the screws require torx bits for removal.

Observing the bulb elements with the turn signal on revealed that both elements were glowing . The shorter element should have been on and very bright.

With the test light clamp attached to a good body ground and the tip back probing the black wire at the socket assembly, the elements got slightly brighter. The light bulb in the test light also came on. That should never happen on a wire that is supposed to be a ground.

I raised the truck up to get a better view of what was going on underneath the truck. Notice the black wire hanging down and not attached to anything. Also note the shorter broke wire just above the frame rail.

I checked the ground bolt that attaches to the frame rail where the shorter broken wire piece was located. It was very rusted and was not going to move without a lot of effort. I cleaned up the ragged end of the damaged wire and spliced in a extension and crimped on a ring terminal to the end of it.

I then drilled a small hole in the frame rail and wire brushed it till  the metal was cleaned of rust.

Next, I attached the new ring terminal to the frame rail with a self tapping screw. I also covered the connection point with spray paint to help seal it.

The shorter element now shines brightly.

This truck has some heavy rust on the under carriage.

Another one fixed.

While I do my best to detail as much information as possible. There are many repairs that I have yet to document and some of you may wish to have more than I have provided. I would strongly recommend subscribing to one or both of the following data companies for further assistance. Although having an abundance of information does not guarantee an easy repair, the lack of adequate information will guarantee a failed repair!

Need more information? Subscribe to Mitchell1 today!

Do it Yourself Automobile Repair Information

1988 Ford F250 Pickup, Battery Goes Dead While Parked

This 1988 Ford F250 Came in with the complaint that the battery would go dead while sitting overnight. As soon as the truck was dropped off I checked the alternator and confirmed that it was not charging properly. It had excessive ac ripple voltage. This would not explain the battery going dead overnight but it was a definite clue. There are a multitude of ways to see if the alternator was the cause of the battery going dead overnight but I used one of the simplest methods. The customer had stated that he had charged the battery with a battery charger and did not connect the cables until he was ready to bring the truck in. I parked the truck and let it sit undisturbed for about 2-3 hours allowing the engine to cool off. I then simply placed my hand on the alternator and noted that it was much warmer than the rest of the underhood components. Diagnosis, the alternator was draining the battery while sitting. Simply put the battery goes dead because amps are being consumed. Amps equal heat.

Now that the alternator had been diagnosed as the problem it was time to replace it. The first step is to move the belt tensioner and remove the belt form the alternator.

The upper mounting bolt has to be removed by using a ratchet and short socket or a wrench.

Now the bottom mounting bolt can be loosened and removed. It is a long bolt and has to be wiggled out past the fan shroud. Once the bolts are removed the alternator can be rotated and twisted around to  free it from the bottom  bracket.

After the alternator is out of the way the spacer can be reset  so that the replacement alternator will be easier to install.

Note that this alternator  has a plastic shield attached to it. It is very important that this shield be transferred to the replacement alternator if it the same design. The shield is used to guard the fan blade and to help direct air flow through the alternator. Without this shield the alternator will not be properly cooled.

A pair of pliers can be used to remove the hold down strap. The strap is hooked over one of the alternator through bolts.

With one end disconnected the plastic shield can be removed. Then the other end of the strap can be unhooked from the second through bolt.

With the shield and strap installed on the replacement alternator, I removed the harness attaching clip. Obviously it could be removed at any time. It just happened to be at this point for me.

The old rectifier harness connector was damaged from heat cycling and had to be replaced as well. This is a very common problem for this style of what is referred to as a 2G alternator.

I spliced in a new harness connector using seamless splicing terminals and heat shrink tubing.

After connecting the harnesses to the alternator , I taped the hold down clip to the regulator wiring and reattached it to the appropriate hole in the plastic shield.

As a final step I made sure that battery was fully charged and checked the alternator with a meter. Do Not Ever Disconnect A Battery Cable While The Engine Is Running To See If The Alternator Is Charging. It is an untrue wives tale  and can cause severe damage to electronic components.

While I do my best to detail as much information as possible. There are many repairs that I have yet to document and some of you may wish to have more than I have provided. I would strongly recommend subscribing to one or both of the following data companies for further assistance. Although having an abundance of information does not guarantee an easy repair, the lack of adequate information will guarantee a failed repair!

Need more information? Subscribe to Mitchell1 today!

Do it Yourself Automobile Repair Information

2006 Acura TSX Changing The Cabin Air Filter

This 2006 Acura TSX needed the cabin air filter changed. After opening the glove box, I pushed the arm on the right side forward to release the hook as shown in the next picture.

Next the stops on either side of the glove box interior have to be removed. I had to lift up on the outer edge of the plastic stop to release the latch.

Then I could slide the stop towards myself and tilt it in towards the interior of the glove box.  You have to continue lifting while moving the stop. I had to break it down into separate steps due to the lack of a third hand.

The glove box has to be closed slightly in order to fully remove the plastic stop assemblies.

There is a retaining string that will keep the glove box from opening too far. This one had become dislodged so I had to re install the white plastic clip into the retaining hole.

The cabin air filter cover. Notice the air flow arrows point down.

There are latches on either side of the cover that have to be depressed and pulled out at the same time.

The dirty cabin air filter.

Make sure the new filter slide into the housing completely and that one fold is positioned behind the lips at either end.

I went ahead and vacuumed up dust and debris that was behind the glove box area.

I also pulled down the passenger side under dash hush panel and cleaned there as well.

Another one done.

While I do my best to detail as much information as possible. There are many repairs that I have yet to document and some of you may wish to have more than I have provided. I would strongly recommend subscribing to one or both of the following data companies for further assistance. Although having an abundance of information does not guarantee an easy repair, the lack of adequate information will guarantee a failed repair!

Need more information? Subscribe to Mitchell1 today!

Do it Yourself Automobile Repair Information

2000 Chevrolet Express Blower Not Working, Resistor Caught Fire

This 2000 Chevrolet Express van came in with the complaint that it had caught fire while sitting in a parking lot. Luckily the fire went out before any major damage was done. The source of the heat was the blower resistor and it’s harness connector but there was a lot more to the story than meets the eye.

I removed the blower resistor and started enlarging the hole per the supplied instructions when I noticed leaves down in the evaporator case.

The hole needed to be enlarged to match the pattern in the third and fourth drawings.  Luckily the melted plastic did not extend further or I would have needed to make a cover plate.

Now I needed to get the leaves out. This vehicle would have been severely damaged if those leaves had caught fire. Believe it or not those leaves were third on the list of the causes of this problem.

Since the resistor hole is not large enough to remove the leaves, I also had to remove the blower motor. There is one 10 mm headed screw that holds the radiator overflow/expansion tank in place at the lower edge.

The two tabs at the top edge will then slide out of their respective slots and the tank can be set aside.

Just a few screws and one harness connector and the blower motor is easily removed.

I know the picture is not clear but there were a lot of leaves in this evaporator case.

I placed my shop vacuum hose in the blower opening and started pulling the leaves out.

I assisted the leaf  removal by using an air hose to blow the leaves free from their resting places. Look closely at the plastic around the terminal end of the red wire on the blower resistor harness connector. The red wire only supplies power to the high blower relay contact and will only be damaged if the high blower speed is over used. It does not supply power to any other blower speed.

Another blurry picture but hopefully you can see that the leaves are gone.

I installed the new blower resistor and positioned the new and old harnesses for splicing and wire transfer.

Since I had already determined that the over use of the high blower speed was the cause of all of this trouble, I only replaced the red wire because it had been burnt. The orange wire because it had melted plastic in it and the black wire because it carries all of the blower system ground load. The other three wires were undamaged and transferred to the new connector to make a neater repair.  This is what I do and do not recommend the inexperienced to do the same.

I finished the job, started the engine and turned on the a/c. Now the whole picture becomes clear. The compressor was short cycling from a low refrigerant charge.  This vehicle nearly burnt to the ground because the owner would not fix the air condition system.

The air flow was restricted due to leaves blocking the evaporator core fins.

The compressor was short cycling because of a low refrigerant charge.

The owner kept the blower speed set on high all of the time trying to get just a little bit of cool air.

The red wire terminal overheated along with the blower resistor board, which had a leaf or two on it that ignited and slightly burnt the case. Luckily it when out before the rest of the leaves caught on fire.

The customer knew that the a/c had not been working correctly for a few years and had started parking the van under a tree to keep it cooler when parked. That way it would cool down reasonably well for his comfort.

So in the end the leaf build up, the damaged blower resistor, the burnt evaporator case, the damaged harness connector and subsequent fire were due to air conditioning system and vehicle neglect.

One thing that the general population is not aware of is that vehicle blower systems are not designed to be run on high or any speed all of the time.  If the refrigerant and heater systems are working correctly the blower speed will need to be adjusted down and back up again to keep the passengers comfortable.

My rule of thumb is to never keep a manual blower system on one speed for more than thirty minutes. Especially the higher speeds. That is only true if the rest of the system is working normally. If it is not, no more than ten minutes on any speed. Wait at least five minutes before returning to the same speed.

1994 Chevrolet 1500 Pickup, Stoplights Will Not Work With The Ignition On

This 1994 Chevrolet K1500 pickup came in with the very unusual complaint that the stoplights would not work with the ignition on. I checked the brake light operation and sure enough the stoplights worked with the key off but as soon as the key was turned on they stopped. I did notice that the CHMSL (center high mounted stop light) did not work at all. I installed new CHMSL bulbs and found that it worked properly with the ignition on or off. Since I have worked on so many of these trucks and have the wiring schematics tattooed in my brain (I thought),  I went under the dash and disconnected the harness connector from the stoplight switch.

The first thing that struck me as unusual was there was not a white wire present. Normally on a GM vehicle of this era the orange wire would be power into the stoplight switch from the stoplight fuse. When the pedal is depressed,  power is sent out on the white wire to the turn signal switch assembly. There it splits and goes to the right and left rear turn signal // stoplight bulb elements.

I confirmed that the orange wire had power on it with the key on or off. I then installed a fused jumper wire and rechecked the lights. Same problem.

I checked the wiring at the turn signal switch harness connector and found that the wire was white as it should have been. I checked the signal at this wire and it reacted the same as the signal for the lower stoplights.  Experience tells me that there must be something wired in between the stoplight switch and the turn signal switch.

I did some research of the vehicle wiring diagrams and found that GM placed a relay in the system between the two switches. It is located under the hood above the power brake booster.

Looking at the diagram I realized it would impossible for the relay to cause the problem if it was getting the proper signals.  I saw that the ground for the relay was located at the rear of the passenger side cylinder head. I also remembered that the customer stated the windshield wipers do not work (customer was not interested in fixing them though).  From experience I also knew that the ground for the wiper system terminates at the same location.  It is hard to see but under the heater hose pipe, back in the shadow is the ring terminal that is supposed to be attached to the rear of the cylinder head.  Only the edge can be seen and it is positioned in a line from 12:30 to 6:30.

In the next picture you can see the ring terminal in the center of the picture. There is a stud just below it that one might think it is supposed to attach to but it is not the correct location.

In the next picture you will see the grounds properly attached to the ground stud at the rear of the passenger cylinder head assembly.

So many times the lack of a good ground is the cause of really strange vehicle electrical problems. This truck was no exception. Some checking around and it was evident that the engine and or the transmission had recently been changed.

I find it strange that as long as I have been doing this and as many of these trucks that I have worked on, I have never seen this exact problem before.  Any how this one is fixed.

While I do my best to detail as much information as possible. There are many repairs that I have yet to document and some of you may wish to have more than I have provided. I would strongly recommend subscribing to one or both of the following data companies for further assistance. Although having an abundance of information does not guarantee an easy repair, the lack of adequate information will guarantee a failed repair!

Need more information? Subscribe to Mitchell1 today!

Do it Yourself Automobile Repair Information

1992 Chevrolet K1500 Pickup, No Headlights

This 1992 Chevrolet K1500 pickup came in with the complaint of no headlights. A quick check of the dimmer switch found that the switch did not click when operated.  It could have easily had a complaint of no high beams or low beams but in this case, there were no headlights at all. The panel that covers the opening below the steering column had already been removed. On this truck the panel is held in place by two screws. Earlier models had four. I find it easier to remove the upper steering column bracket when doing this repair. There are four 13 mm bolts that hold the bracket to the column.

Remove the shift indicator cable from the shifter shroud or you may break it when the column drops down. Most just clip on the edge of the shroud but I have seen some that also use a screw.

Now the two 15 mm nuts can be removed and the bracket placed out of the way.

Note the position of the bracket. The edge with the turn downs is at the fire wall end of the column.

Using a small roll of electrical tape I wrap the dimmer switch rod and steering column housing together. It does not have to be wrapped tightly. Just a firm grip. It hardly ever happens but if that rod slips out of position, the steering column may have to be disassembled to put it back in place. It took over ten years of working on steering columns before it happened to me.

The upper screw can be removed with a 5/16″ or 8 mm wrench.

The lower nut is easier to remove with a wrench or short socket and ratchet.

It is a 3/8″ hex.

The switch can now be pulled off of the steering column housing.  Note how the heat has discolored the wiring at the switch.

The switch also has heat damage.

The connector has a burnt terminal and melted plastic housing.

This test can be done earlier if you are unsure if the switch is the problem. It is easier to show with the components removed. Check for power on the yellow wire with the headlight switch turned on.  This had power so it proved that the signal was coming from the headlight switch.

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Jumping the yellow wire to the tan wire will supply voltage to the low beam headlights. Jumping power between the yellow and the two green wires will power up the high beams. There are two green wires because one goes to the high beams and the other goes to the high beam indicator bulb in the instrument cluster.

I spliced in a new harness connector.

Then installed the new dimmer switch. When installing the new switch it will need to be positioned with the rod in the socket and then the lower hole placed over the stud.. Start the screw and the nut and barely tighten them. Slide the switch up until the rod just lightly touches the bottom of the socket. Tighten the mounting screw and nut. Notice the metal retaining bar in the new switch.

It is removed after the switch is installed.  Now connect the harness and check the switch operation.

I placed the turn signal switch harness connectors in the proper hold down bracket on the right side of the steering column and tidied up the wiring. Sorry no pictures of the finished job as I was ready to get out of this dirty truck.

1999 Mercury Villager Turn Signals Do Not Work, Flasher Buzzes

This 1999 Mercury Villager came in with the complaint that the turns signals would not work. The owner had replaced the turn signal flasher twice and stated that now all it does is buzz when the turns signals are activated.

The first thing to check was the turn signal fuse and it was okay.

The next thing to check was power at the orange wire at the flasher harness. There was no power with the key on.

There was power when the hazard switch was turned on. The hazard lights do work properly.

Time to check the circuits at the hazard switch . To remove the switch there are two phillip’s headed screws above the instrument cluster that need to be removed.

Then the center vent bezel needs to be pulled away from the dash.

Then the instrument cluster bezel can be pulled loose from the dash. Note the overlapping plastic edges that prevent the instrument cluster bezel from being removed without first pulling the center vent bezel back.

There is a latch that has to be depressed in order to unplug the harness from the hazard switch. I am showing this with the  switch already removed from the panel. It is located on the underside of the switch so there was no other way to get a good picture of it.

By installing a jumper wire between the orange and the pink/blue wire I was able to determine that the problem was indeed inside the switch.  With the wires jumped, the flasher installed and the key on the turn signals worked when activated.

To remove the hazard switch there are two latches that have to be depressed  so that the switch will slide out  the front of the bezel.

There are four little latches that have to be depressed while the cover is being pulled slightly away from the switch body.

There are tabs on both sides that have to be cleared before the switch will separate.

The disassembled switch should look like this.

I used a screwdriver to gently scrape the oxidation film  off of the contacts and the rollers.

Then followed it up by polishing the contact surfaces with an eraser. I did not use the eraser on the rollers as I did not want to get eraser bits down into the roller tracks. A little dab of dielectric grease before I put the switch back together.

A quick follow up test and reassembly and this one was done.

While I do my best to detail as much information as possible. There are many repairs that I have yet to document and some of you may wish to have more than I have provided. I would strongly recommend subscribing to one or both of the following data companies for further assistance. Although having an abundance of information does not guarantee an easy repair, the lack of adequate information will guarantee a failed repair!

Need more information? Subscribe to Mitchell1 today!

Do it Yourself Automobile Repair Information

2008 Chevrolet Impala Blower Speed & A/C Cooling Erratic

This 2008 Chevrolet Impala came in with the complaint that the blower speed would shift up and down. This was also accompanied by a drastic change in the air conditioning vent temperatures. This was actually quite easy to figure out while sitting in the driver’s seat. I have the luxury of having a Tech 2 scan tool and could look at the a/c high side pressure readings.  When the problem would occur the head pressure was in excess of 400 psi.

While working the a/c and recirculation LEDs were on.

When the problem occurred  the a/c and recirculation LEDs would go out and the fresh air LED would come on. There would seem to be a change in blower speed but it was actually just the fresh air/recirculation door changing positions. The compressor would also turn off.

The same high pressure could be seen on the gauges in my a/c machine.

I recovered the refrigerant from the system.

The level in my machine increased by two pounds of refrigerant after the system was empty.

This Impala has a 3500 V6 engine.

The label clearly states 1.4 pounds of refrigerant for this system.

The system was back working with the correct refrigerant charge installed. I did notice the high side pressure was slightly high at 275 psi and found that the right or passenger side cooling fan was not on.

Someone had already replaced the Fan 3 relay with an inexpensive replacement.  I performed some bidirectional tests on the relays with my Tech 2 scan tool and found that all three relays would click and that both fans would work on low speed, when the fan 1 relay was energized.

I keep the relays in stock so I replaced the cheap replacement relay with a genuine ACDelco relay and the problem was corrected.

The pressures are now good and the vent temperature is in the mid forties.

Another one fixed.

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Do it Yourself Automobile Repair Information