Instrument Panel Went Dead.... - Chevy Malibu Forum: Chevrolet Malibu Forums

allenzachary · 09-08-2010, 01:23 PM

1999 110K.

Driving the 6 miles home on the Interstate, the instrument panel shut down completely; no speed, tach, gauges, idiot lights, nada. The AC control also shut down.

About 600 yards from home, while going around a turn, suddenly everything came back on, but now the "service engine soon" indicator is lit.

Background: On Monday, after two ours of stop-and-go traffic coming home form the Beach, the car overheated. We cooled it down, topped off the coolant and went home without incident. Prior to rolling, a good samaritan mechanic type told us that the radiator fans were inoperative, but when we started the car and idled for a few minutes, the fans kicked on. Are the issues related? Dunno. What do you smart guys think?

Starship · 09-08-2010, 03:06 PM

When you say "AC control also shut down," did the A/C indicator on the control head go out? And, it'd be helpful to know which DTC triggered the SES light.

allenzachary · 09-09-2010, 01:52 PM

Yes, the light on the A/C switch went dark and A/C stopped blowing cold. When we checked for a code, we got no reading. Weird.

Side note that may have bearing on the situation: we determinuined that there is an issue with the A/C switch that causes the A/C to shut down intermittently. Before yesterday we never had any issue with the instument panel. We've owned the car about 5 months. Previous owner made no mention of the issue (not that they would).

Starship · 09-09-2010, 03:41 PM

So, it sounds as if both the instrument cluster, BCM, and HVAC control head lost power. Was the radio off as well? See the following wiring diagrams:

Instrument Cluster
Power Distribution 1 of 2
Power Distribution 2 of 2
Ground Distribution 1 of 2
Ground Distribution 2 of 2

You may want to track down grounding points G201 and G202 and make sure nothing is loose before looking at the hot side. They are supposedly on the left side of the dash.

microo1234 · 11-17-2012, 06:24 PM

Old post above, but does anyone have these diagrams that could repost and make available? Thanks

slosho · 01-27-2013, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by microo1234

Old post above, but does anyone have these diagrams that could repost and make available? Thanks

Ditto! I need this information as well.

microo1234 · 01-28-2013, 09:24 AM

slosho, this the best set of diagrams I found on the Malibu. These are for a 1997, but applied to my 2002. My problem turned out to be the BCM. He's the link to the diagrams. http://mechdb.com/index.php/Chevrolet_Malibu.