Cavalier Starting in the 1980s. the Cavalier made a name for itself by offering an affordable 2 and 4 door compact.
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Very strange electrical problem

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Old February 25th, 2011, 10:11 PM
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Default Very strange electrical problem

Hey guys this is my first post, i dont mean to beg but no one can seem to figure out whats wrong with my car. I bought it about a year ago, and aside needing new cv axles, ive had an electrical problem. Usually when i start my car and go to put it in reverse, the shift button wont go down (so i have to mash it down). Then as soon as i shift into drive and give it gas, all my dashboard lights up like a christmas tree! If i hit my brakes (or sometimes when i let off the gas) my radio kicks off. Latley its been getting bad and when my radio goes, my lights flicker as well.... Ive had full system checks at both autozone and advanced auto parts, and no error codes were found.
Heres a video! --**you can hear the radio dying, its not me turning it off

<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o7NU0y09mOo" allowfullscreen="" width="480" frameborder="0" height="390"></iframe>
Old February 26th, 2011, 9:04 PM
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Obviously, I cannot know what's wrong. I can make an educated guess though. Something somewhere has bad ground. Maybe it's the dashboard itself which is not grounded properly. Maybe instrument panel has bad ground. Maybe some ground wire is not connected or missing somewhere else. Checking all ground wires under the hood won't hurt either, although methinks problem is somewhere in dash.
Old February 26th, 2011, 10:16 PM
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If the cluster is bad would it make my radio die? how would you go about checking ground wires?
Old February 27th, 2011, 7:55 AM
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I don't think it can kill your radio.
Checking ground wires ... I'm no Cavalier expert so I cannot tell you where they are. Be prepared to spend a day taking your dash apart or ask a qualified electrician.
Old April 24th, 2013, 4:57 PM
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I am expiriencing the same issue on a 99 cavilier.. I dont know how to resolve the issue.. Ive taken it to 3 shops and paid like crazy and no body can diagnose the problem. This issue has already been so costly and no results.. Did you ever figure out what it was? Id appreciate any help thank you
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