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My '09 Basket Case

4K views 32 replies 7 participants last post by  mpsawchuk 
#1 ·
Well, this car has been an ordeal from the start but I'm getting somewhere and now I have a question for the Forum:
Anybody else experiencing a problem with the power windows?
I drove this car home from the shop that put the new motor in it and the drivers window went down, drivers passenger did as well but it was struggling pretty hard. I replaced the interior (door skins, seats, center console, radio (and yes, it still says 'lock') got the bose amp and DC/AC inverter too- all out of a 2012 that was getting junked) but the switches don't roll down any of the windows... SO I got a new set of switched ($45 on Autozone.com) and was geeked that they showed up Friday while my dad was visiting. We popped the old one out and the new one in and NOTHING. My son and I then took the door panel off and did end to end continuity checks to the main disconnect in the door (everything was good) so I'm thinking it's probably something within the flex tube going back to the body. I'm going to have to visit a pic n pul for the drivers door anyway but where have you had this problem? is it wiring under the dash? (Checked the 20A under hood fuse and 30A fuse on the BCM and both were good) The drivers window actually worked for a little while yesterday before we started troubleshooting; I suspect I'll need to rewire some things to get this back to 100% (plus replacing the rear fuse block on account it doesn't have the blades to install the 30A fuse for the passenger power seat) I've sunk too much money into this project to quit now. Just looking to minimize ripping apart the dash (oh, the horn doesn't work either; same deal- fuse tested good so going to start at the horn and work my way back!)
Hoping there are others out there like me-
Working on a hoopty with their kids making valuable memories!
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#2 ·
A subscription to alldatadiy.com will get you the full shop manual and complete wiring diagrams and troubleshooting suggestions.
I have one for every vehicle in my fleet, makes any job a lot easier.
 
#3 ·
To be clear, you need help with the power windows, correct?

I agree that a sub to get info, such as wiring diagrams and other pertinent data is a good move. Then you'll have it for the long haul.
 
#4 ·
To be clear, you need help with the power windows, correct?

I agree that a sub to get info, such as wiring diagrams and other pertinent data is a good move. Then you'll have it for the long haul.
Yes, I'll have to check out https://alldatadiy.com
I'm going to change the door out eventually because it got bent out a little too far trying to get into it (it was locked, didn't have keys, and managed to disconnect the exterior door handle in the process of trying to unlock it; picture something Tim Allan would do on 'Home Improvement' and you've got me in the parking lot)
The seats coming from a 2012 present another challenge in that they moved the seatbelt pre-tensioner from the B-pillar to the actual seat frame resulting in a 4 pin harness for the SRS instead of the 2-pin harness they were using in 09. Found the repair harnesses on AutoZone.com so just waiting on delivery.
Now that I am thinking about it, I also need to figure out the best way to add power to the passenger seat (as the seats from 2012 are fully power and the old one wasn't) I found the fuse block in the trunk but there aren't any spades for the 30A fuse to go onto in position 1 (position 2 has a 30A fuse that I was ready to swap over until I realized there was nothing to plug onto.) Is it safe to assume that since there is a socket that the seat can plug into that wires exist up to a point within the car that I should be able to run fused power to? (Guess this is my second thing to lookup on alldatadiy.com)...
 
#5 ·
So I went to the Pick n Pull in Virginia Beach Monday!
They had a few cars that had hardly been touched and I spent all day carefully removing a complete interior wiring harness (well, the parts I needed anyway), all the seat belts, a drivers door (that came with a nice aftermarket speaker SO I grabbed the matching one for the passenger side too) Seeing it in a list like this doesn't make it feel like such a big deal but I'm getting really good at dismantling the interior of these things.
BUT that's not the part I wanted to share: My new toy from Amazon came and I finally got to test it out yesterday. It's a 2-way code-scanner/programmer and I was able to unlock the 2012 radio! I was also able to program my key fob so now I can get my trunk open again (haven't put the door skin back on the drivers side yet)
Well, that's my update for the week. More to come; I haven't subscribed to alldata yet but it's on my to-do list!
 
#8 ·
So I went to the Pick n Pull in Virginia Beach Monday!
They had a few cars that had hardly been touched and I spent all day carefully removing a complete interior wiring harness (well, the parts I needed anyway), all the seat belts, a drivers door (that came with a nice aftermarket speaker SO I grabbed the matching one for the passenger side too) Seeing it in a list like this doesn't make it feel like such a big deal but I'm getting really good at dismantling the interior of these things.
BUT that's not the part I wanted to share: My new toy from Amazon came and I finally got to test it out yesterday. It's a 2-way code-scanner/programmer and I was able to unlock the 2012 radio! I was also able to program my key fob so now I can get my trunk open again (haven't put the door skin back on the drivers side yet)
Well, that's my update for the week. More to come; I haven't subscribed to alldata yet but it's on my to-do list!
Mind me asking which programmer you bought? Also have a 2009 malibu and great news!
 
#6 ·
I have an SUV that has benefited from several runs to the junkyard.
 
#10 ·
Oh, I was awful excited until I saw the $$ — good for you but can’t personally make that happen.
That looks like one heck of a machine though; share with family/friends and get your money worth! Plus I bet lots of free beer haha
 
#12 ·
My apologies… I did a search for the launch x431 and the full non Gm one is over a grand… I did a better job of being detail oriented and am now seeing it at $140. Wow! I need to program two keys for a 2005 GMC. If I can do that, I pretty much broke even.
Thanks again, I’m now back to considering this :)
 
#14 ·
Looks like it's getting there.
 
#16 ·
Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Automotive wheel system Gas

So you're looking at the backside of the back bumper cover. I'm thinking the best place for a backup camera would be exactly where the existing license plate light bulb resides. Has anybody done this yet? Any pointers? The light would still need to exist so I'm considering some kind of drilled in side lighting inside the frame housing (hopefully not bright enough to overpower the camera though)
 
#18 ·
I've modified mine a bit. Above the license plate you can see an LED bar that serves as my backup lights, and in the center of it is a dark spot that is my backup camera.


In this image, you can see how bright it is at night, and I was able to capture the yellow blinkers that are flashing in the backup light housings.
 
#20 ·
Wheel Tire Motor vehicle Automotive tire Car

Tire Wheel Car Vehicle Automotive tail & brake light

Well, win some-back bumper cover is on!
You lose some-you may notice that those studs don't quite lineup with the bolt holes in my new rims. Looks like they're for a 2013 and not a 2012! Blebs, but I only paid $400 for the set of wheels and tires so there is that. Anybody need some decent 18s for a 2013 +?
Also, anybody got a set of 7th Gen 18s for sale or trade?
Parting thought: parts come Monday for the trunk hole drilling camera! Can't wait to share😁
 
#26 ·
Your "basket case" seems to have a better life ahead of it now. Congrats on the successes from all your hard work!
 
#27 ·
One thing I need to solve for the check engine light is that when I had the mechanic putting in the engine they discovered that the oem cat had been stolen. I had opted for a universal fit cat and now am getting the light on for the second O2 sensor. Anybody had this problem and what did you do to fix it?
 
#28 ·
Does it have CA emissions? Verify that by the under-hood sticker. If so the uni. cat will not satisfy the systems requirements and trigger the P0420 code saying cat is inefficient. OEM cat is the only one that works properly on a Cali. emissions vehicle. Cali. emissions cars are not only sold in CA but have to have it in a lot of NE states also. Cheap thing to try first is a spark plug anti fouler spacer in the rear sensor and see if it works, sometimes they do if you need to pass state testing.
 
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#31 ·
#30 ·
Wow, that's a wrap? Nice! Definitely not a stock color.
 
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