jaymesdriver

I have a 2009 Impala LT. I have had the car for a little over 5 years. Absolutely love the car. It has been very dependable and has taken a beating (one year the snow was so bad I ended up in a ditch trying to avoid a traffic accident, but the ole Impala refused to get stuck and popped me right back up on the road.) Not to mention the times I have driven it through high water or off road. It's a beast!

Well, Starting a few weeks ago, my climate control center no longer illuminates when the headlights are on.

At first I assumed that the climate control had burned out bulbs, so I removed it from the car, opened it up, only to find that the "lights" are LEDS soldered to the board. Not wanting to destroy my climate control center, I put it back together, re-installed it, and ordered a replacement.

A couple I got my replacement. After replacing the climate control center, the lights STILL don't illuminate when the car's headlights are on! This upsets me as a replacement is NOT cheap.

The climate control center works as expected, but it is really frustrating when you can't see the controls at night.

Is there something that I am missing? Or a fuse I can check? When I looked at the fuse boxes, nothing jumped out at me that seemed like it would be part of the climate control center or pertained to the climate control lights.

I am sorry if this question has been asked before, I used the search feature, but I could not find the answer I was looking for. Perhaps I did not use the correct search terms, but if this has been asked before, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks!

tech2

pull the hvac module...the part just installed....power for the lighting comes from the bcm on the purple/white wire in pin 1 location. check it for power when the dash lighting is on. if you have power...check the grd on pin 5 black wire.

the bcm supplies lighting for the hvac, radio, dic and steering wheel controls all on the same wire. if all these are out you may have a dimmer control problem or a bad interior light/dim fuse 15amp located in the underhood fuse box.

jaymesdriver

Thank you so much!!!

So I tested the pins with a voltage tester. The Purple/White wire was in fact on pin 1, and had 0 voltage. The black wire was on pin 15 though, not 5.
So I checked the fuse box under the hood. The BCM fuse (15 amp) was fine, however the INT LTS/PNL DIM (15 amp) fuse was blown. I have replaced it and all is well!

Thank you for pointing me in the correct direction, I really appreciate it!

jaymesdriver

Okay, slight problem. I replaced the fuse with a 15 amp fuse. Checked the lights all was well. Then smoke started coming from the passenger side of the dash, up by the window and out of the vent. Then the fuse popped and the smoke stopped.

Any idea on what is the cause of this? I have litterally never taken the dash apart, so I dont think it is a pinched wire, but then again I haven't the slightest clue why it would be smoking.

jaymesdriver

I bypassed the original power wires by wiring the HVAC and Cruise Control buttons back to the Passenger Air Bag sensor. There is a wire that supplies 12volts when the power is on. Now the HVAC and the Cruise Control always have lights for backlights when the car is on, this is okay for me, for now.

I was unable to determine the cause of the smoke. I assume it to be something else on the same circuit. I find it odd that the fuse holds on for about 30-45 minutes before popping though.

If anyone knows about this wiring circuit, I would appreciate some insight as to what else all runs on this particular fuse so that I can figure out what the underlying issue is.

tech2

fuses blow due to shorts. You have a short before the load. the fuse blows in 30 minutes because the draw is near the limit of the fuse but not way over it.

I am not clear on what circuit you spliced into....never splice into a restraint system.
You may be on a circuit with a larger fuse...but the wiring for the circuit your running is only rated for 15 amps. you may overheat the wiring and start a fire.