GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I picked up (daughter says, rescued) an '03 GT Manual for my daughter's first car for a fair price. But as issues keep cropping up, it's turning out to not be a good deal. As I was driving it to the BMV for plates, I lost all power to the cluster, no turn signals (only hazards and lights work), no climate controls and dashlights. The car is driveable, and while I had my truck in the shop, I've been driving it. Of course, I metered the fuses. Figured I would be fine until the weekend when I had more time. Well, it's the weekend, and I actually didn't make it. The car died (actually, I killed it in drive-thru, do'h, been awhile since I've driven a stick), and it was completely dead - battery drained. Fortunately, clutch-popped back to running again. Now, I removed, dremel wire brush, electrical contact cleaner, etc.., the ground points after giving the battery a day to charge. Car is starting again and driveable (maybe until the battery dies again. ) Now for the (removed)'d off parts. I rechecked all the fuses by pulling them out (hey, maybe some corrosion in the contact since I used the test points on top of the fuse the first time), and how be damn, most of the fuses were jumpered. I'm about to seek out a cluster (I prefer the red/white over the red anyway) to see if that's a prob and rip out the POS aftermarket stereo that doesn't work anyway (may reveal a shady wiring job behind. ). Am I on the right track? Or, is there something else I should be taking a look at?

First off, welcome to genvibe

secondly, what kind of idiot wraps wire around fuses?

There was another thread here today with similar symptoms. With all those things not working, it could be the 100A ALT fuse in the under hood fuse block. Its bolted in, don't know what level of disassembly is needed to replace it. I attached a power source wiring diagram from an 03 matrix, should be nearly if not completely identical to your Vibe. If you can't tell from looking at the 100A ALT fuse, you could pull one of the fuses in the under dash fuse block, such as stop, ppoint, inv, tail, etc, and use a meter to check to see if you have 12V on either side of the fuse receptacle. Since those fuses get power directly from the ALT fuse, you get 12V on one side or the other if the ALT fuse is good, even with the no key in ignition.

Wow. Welcome to GenVibe and thanks for sharing this nightmare with us. That's a first that I've ever seen and pretty disgusting to say the least You're lucky that the cars wiring hasn't melted or caught fire yet with those fuses being jumped. Hopefully someone GAVE you this poor Vibe as it sounds like it needs a lot of TLC. Definitely get it up & running as these early Vibe GT's are becoming rare and when running great, are a fun reliable source of transportation

I found out the hard way the 100A was bolted in. It was fine until I tried to take it out. Do'h! I ordered all new mini fuses off Amazon and will replace the big boy from the local auto parts store when they come in.

bLITzJoN wrote: ↑Sun Aug 06, 2023 5:26 pm I found out the hard way the 100A was bolted in. It was fine until I tried to take it out. Do'h! I ordered all new mini fuses off Amazon and will replace the big boy from the local auto parts store when they come in.

Make sure each fuse block has the right fuse! Don't trust what is in there now.

Anyone who would jumper fuses like that would also happily put the wrong ones in, also.

Oh, for sure, you can see others in my hand. I purchased a kit and am pulling all the mini fuses out and replacing them according to the manual with no regard for what is in there for both under the hood and dash. My replacement gauge cluster arrived, so I will likely tear into that as well, starting today, hopefully.

Update. I replaced the ignition switch and the gauge cluster, still no power. Looking at the schematics, the only item left is the Integration Relay. I guess it can't hurt to replace that since I've replaced everything else.

Now, I'm stumped. The car doesn't have an Integration Relay; at least, it's not located in the fuse holder like I'm seeing. Now I have to do some serious metering.

I'm about to give up. I can't get it to start today. Starter runs, but not even an attempt to fire. I've not had an issue getting it started, and had it running last night while doing a diagnostic's check with Blue Driver for clues. I did determine today while the key is on, the gauge fuse doesn't receive power. I checked continuity on all the fuses again to make sure one didn't pop. Doesn't help it's one hot day. I would hate to take this to the shop and be charged outrageous, but I may have to accept the stupid tax if I can't figure this out.

Do wipers work (or does the wiper fuse get power) ? wipers, washer, gauge and one of the ECU fuses get power from the ignition relay, which gets that power from the AM1 fuse via the ignition switch

Ok, I figured out the cabin power!! One of the bolts on the 100A link was missing, so the wire wasn't making good contact with the leg of the link. I'm curious what was really done to this car before I got it. The flipper replaced the alternator and battery, so perhaps they popped the link and forgot to put the bolt back. Either way, I got an M6 bolt and corrected that. BUT, the car still doesn't fire. The Blue Driver still doesn't report any errors. Weird, especially since I had it running the day before to run a full code check on the Blue Driver.

Today is a good day. I let the battery charge overnight. Before removing the charger, I checked the fuses, reseated several plugs I had touched through this exercise, and said a prayer in Jesus’ name before cranking it over. The car fired right up!! Thanks to all for replying and offering some things to look at. Now my daughter and I can dig into the fun stuff on the car to make it snazzy. Btw, anyone interested in a GT gauge cluster (all red, <200k miles on odometer I believe)?

GREAT you got your car fixed!! You and your daughter BE safe and enjoy!