Electrical issue on the dash

Discuss any maintenance you've done to your Vibe & Matrix and ask how to perform maintenance on your vehicle
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radioarno
Posts: 53
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2016 7:07 pm

Electrical issue on the dash

Post by radioarno »

Hi 2004 base vibe automatic, Bought four months ago, With an aftermarket radio which the seller took out at my request and put back in the original radio. Four months later I want to use my emergency flashers and the emergency flasher button does not turn on the emergency flashers and right next to it is some kind of heater button maybe windshield heater and that also does not work. my hypothesis is that when they took out the original radio put in the aftermarket and then put in the original radio again they disconnected some wires. does anybody know what wires need to be reconnected what those wires look like to get my emergency flashers and my windshield to work?
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joatmon
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Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: SMC MD

Re: Electrical issue on the dash

Post by joatmon »

I disconnect those wires when I pull that trim panel off so it can be moved out of the way. The wires that go to those switches all have different connectors, so it's easy to reconnect them in the right place. (near impossible to hook them up to the wrong thing) I expect if he didn't reconnect the flashers and rear window heater, he probably also didn't reconnect the passenger seat belt warning light. The wires that connect to those three things are bundled together

To pull that trim off, reach under the bottom of the trim (your palm up) and and with your fingertips pull the bottom of the trim straight out. You should then be able to pivot it up a little bit, as if the top was hinged (its not) and work it free.

Depending on what the previous owner did, the wires might be right there. Or perhaps they got pushed back behind the radio. If the wires are pushed behind the radio, you might need to remove the four 10 mm screws holding the radio in place and pull the radio out a bit. The wires should be the only ones in that area that aren't connected to anything. Fish the wires out, screw in the radio if you unscrewed it, connect up the wires to the trim panel, and snap it into place
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radioarno
Posts: 53
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2016 7:07 pm

Re: Electrical issue on the dash

Post by radioarno »

thanks very much.
radioarno
Posts: 53
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2016 7:07 pm

Re: Electrical issue on the dash

Post by radioarno »

joatmon, one more thing. When I open the doors the dome light doesn't come on. I can't find any switch for the dome light. There must be one somewhere.
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joatmon
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Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: SMC MD

Re: Electrical issue on the dash

Post by joatmon »

radioarno wrote: Sat Oct 31, 2020 5:29 pm joatmon, one more thing. When I open the doors the dome light doesn't come on. I can't find any switch for the dome light. There must be one somewhere.
In the 05-08, there is a switch on the actual dome light. In the 03-04, however, the dome light switch is integrated into the instrument panel dimmer switch in the dash to the left of the steering wheel. It's described on page 3-14 of the 04 owner's manual, which can be downloaded as a PDF from https://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=755 That thread has most of the owner docs that GM sent with new cars for all Vibe years

The switch looks like this :
dimmersw.jpg
dimmersw.jpg (8.16 KiB) Viewed 1626 times
The rotary dial has several positions
OFF always keeps the dome light off
ON always keeps the dome light on, even when the car is off and doors are closed
The horizontal bar (marked by an arrow in the pic from the owner's manual above) represents "Door" mode, where the dome comes on when doors are opened. It also is full dash brightness
Below the horizontal bar is still Door mode, but allows dimming the dashboard lights when the headlights are on

So, check that switch to see if it is in the OFF position, and if it's not, then its possible that all the dome lights are burned out.

Also, if your Vibe has a moonroof, the light in the moonroof controls is only manual on/off, it isn't controlled by the dimmer switch, not part of the dome light circuit
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radioarno
Posts: 53
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2016 7:07 pm

Re: Electrical issue on the dash

Post by radioarno »

thanks very much. By the way, thanks again for telling me how to reconnect the wires for the flashers and the heater. It was so obvious once I opened it up.
Sargeyork
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 2:47 am
Location: Oakland County Michigan

Re: Electrical issue on the dash

Post by Sargeyork »

I love my Vibe but the way some of the controls work is just ODD and why do the cigarette lighter socket or AC plug in not work without the key being in acc or engine running, never had that before in my vehicles.
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